Fly Fishing the Texas Flats
Essential Skills
By Chuck Scates & Phil H. ShookCasting from Boats
Fly casting from a flats boat presents special challenges. The fly caster is moving because the boat is being pushed by the wind. The targets — game fish — also are moving. In the time it takes for the angler to make the cast and begin stripping in the line, the boat has moved about 10 feet. So fishing from a drifting boat requires skill and timing in imparting action to the fly while keeping control of the fly line.
Identifying Game Fish on the Move
Different gamefish leave different signatures, called"muds," when they move along the soft sand and mud bottoms of the Texas flats. An ability to decipher these signatures gives fly fishers an advantage. A redfish will leave a "puff" of mud on either side. A flounder will make a series of boils.
Trout usually leave a "slither" effect, with very little mud disturbance at all, but if a large trout is spooked, it will leave a puff or boil of mud. Mullet are so prolific and so distracting on the flats that it is important to be able to separate them from redfish, trout, and other game fish. When mullet move off the bottom without being alarmed, they leave a small stream of mud. Unfortunately, the mud boil made by a large mullet that is alarmed is very similar to that of a redfish.
Learn to spot cruising redfish |
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When drifting through tidal marshes, it is important to rely on hearing as well as eyesight. Anglers should listen for the sounds that redfish make, especially at high tide, when they move into the grass along the shoreline. Anglers can learn to filter out the splashing of mullet and other baitfish from the more aggressive"popping" and "crashing" sounds of the redfish. When the wind is light, you can hear redfish hitting bait up in grass 1- to 2-feet tall.Handling, Tagging, and Releasing Game Fish
One of the problems with trying to release larger fish in the bay systems is that if you fight them too long, they will become stressed and die, especially during the hot, summer months.
If you are not planning on keeping a fish for the grill, try to get it back into the water as quickly as possible. During the spring, when the water temperatures hit highs between 75 to 78 degrees, anglers have a longer period to revive and release game fish. But in the heat of the summer, the fish decline rapidly.
Seatrout have a pair of canine teeth that are very sharp and very long. So anglers should not try to lip them like a redfish or a bass, because the trout will leave an imprint from those canines on a finger. Seatrout lose these canine teeth twice a year while spawning — in spring and late fall.
Trout also have a thin membrane around their mouths that is about the thickness of tissue paper. That is why many fish are lost when they come up and shake their head during a fight. Seatrout are known to be less hardy than redfish, but handled with care, they can easily survive a landing and quick photo before release. Stainless steel hookouts, lipper gaffs, and the Boga Grip are excellent tools for releasing trout.
Fly fishers who land a trout in the 28-inch range — a fish of a lifetime, for most Texas anglers — are certainly justified in having the fish mounted. A photograph and accurate measurement is another option that will allow the angler to release the fish and still produce a lasting replica mount.
© Article copyright Pruett Publishing.
from Away.com
