So you want to begin flats fishing? Well good for you, flats fishing is a great easily accessable sport for most people near a coast. Sure they call it backwaters fishing or bay fishing in some areas but here in Florida and most of the gulf coast we call it flats fishing. What a great name, it allows the boat manufactures to sell expensive custom boats, platforms, rods, push poles, and just about anything else you can think of. So what do you need to get started? boat? kayak? Of course not! You can fish from shore, wading, in a canoe, or a bathtub. The key differenting factor is that you are fishing on the flats. Now I have a flats boat, it is a 19′ Carolina Skiff, floats in about six inches of water with me in it and can take me ten miles offshore on a nice day. I also fish from a canoe a lot and do quite well. So back to the question, what do you need to start?
First things first, you need at least one rod and reel. I have been a diehard spinning reel person my entire life and you will see most flats fishing is dominated by spinning reels. So what kind of rigs do I recommend? Well first try to borrow some from friends and see what you like, but that is no fun so let’s talk about spending money! A good flats rig will cost between $70 and $100 usually. I fish in the Florida Gulf of Mexico in Pasco county, so one minute I can have a 15″ trout on the line and another moment it could be a thirty pound shark or a 100 pound cobia. So what kind of rig can handle that range of fish? I suggest getting a 4 series spinning reel, they usually hold between 120 and 200 yards of 12lb test mono and that is what I recommend you spool with. In my experience the difference between 10lb test and 12lb test is huge, technically it is only 20% but it feels bigger. With good technique, a good leader, and a little luck you can land a huge fish with 12lb test mono. A good brand reel built for saltwater will last a lot longer, I personally recommend Okuma because of the quality for the price. A mid level Okuma spinning reel should cost between $40 and $50 and last a long time if taken care of. My goto reel is an Okuma Avenger 40 purchased in 2001, it is still kicking and will still haul in the big fish.
Shimano Sedona left Okuma Avenger right
So we have the reels figured out, what about the rods? Well here is where personal choice and what feels good in the hands comes into play. Personally I like cork grips, they just feel better and do not slime up as quickly as cushion grips. You may feel different. So what do I look for in a rod? Must be made of graphite for it’s stiffness, strength, and sensitivity. I like a one piece rod if practical seven feet long medium weight with a fast action for good hook setting power. I know you have seen the commercials where they bend a certain brand of rods and touch the tip to the butt of the rod, well I am not even sure why you would ever want that but good for them. A good stiff graphite blank will not bend that much, that is a good thing for setting hooks or playing a large fish you do not want a piece of spaghetti in your hands, you want something with a little backbone. One major factor in the life of the rod is the quality of the guides, that is the holes the line threads through, remember this is not the local freshwater pond, guides need to be high quality stainless steel. I recommend Fuji guides, they are the industry standard and if a rod has them they will tell you. I know one manufacturer who uses CHEAP guides on their rods under $50, this to me is unacceptable when you have manufacturers like Ugly Stick and Okuma using good guides on $20 to $30 rods, if you reed my review of the Okuma Avenger on my blog you know the maker I am talking about, it rhymes with Kimano. So what rod do I recommend? A good 7′ rod that is both sensitive and stiff, the rest is up to you just look for good guides.
So we now have a rod and reel, what do we do with it. Spool it with line of course, I have used 12lb Ande mono for twenty years now and I am not going to stop. Of course any reputable manufacturer will produce a good mono, a few brands are Penn, Berkley, Stren, and more. If you have never spooled a reel with line get the sporting goods store to do it for you on their machine, otherwise you will have to wait on my article on how to do it the wrong way.
Now let’s talk about what we are fishing for, personally here in the Florida Gulf we target or catch the following species on the flats: speckled trout, redfish, cobia, jack crevalle, bluefish, grouper, blacktip shark, bull shark, bonnethead shark, snook, whiting, flounder, tarpon, ladyfish, catfish, and a few other species I forget. If you are from elsewhere it is time to do some research on what you can catch in your area. Regardless of the regional aspect I am going to attempt to put together a basic tackle kit for you, something that if you have been doing your research few people will cover. So what are the basic fishing techniques? Bait fishing, artificial casting, and trolling. We are going to cover the use of artificials in the article as bait fishing will be my next article, it deserves it’s own article trust me.
Clear open gulf flats can hold any type of fish big or small
So what should every inshore fisherman’s tackle box contain? Well read on, remember these are only the basics but they will get you started.
Jigs, these are a staple and have probably caught more fish than any other type of lure. Jigs can be worked slow or fast and come in a variety of shapes, colors, and flavors. So what do you need, well I never leave the dock with curly tailed and flat tailed. Growing up we fished the Mann’s white stingray grubs with a red 1/4 ounce lead head for trout exclusively, and we caught plenty of trout. Through the years I have come to appreciate the white grub with a red tail, I carry three colors of the stingray grub in my tackle box, white, white/red, and root beer or motor oil for murky water. These grubs fished with a 1/4 ounce red lead head put fish in the boat.
The Mann's Stingray Grub, a classic must have
I prefer red in 1/4 ounce size
What is the one thing I like better than the stingray grub? The curly tailed grub with a white body and red tail, once again I go with a red 1/4 ounce lead head, these things catch fish too, a lot of fish, they are trout candy. Just to plug a local mom and pop tackle company, I use the cotee brand 3″ curly tail grub almost exclusively in the red and white color, they are a great product and company here in Florida. So what other jigs do you need? None, learn to work these first, they will catch fish. Once you are working these good you can move on to more sophisticated/expensive designs but you will eventually be back to these again.
Cotee Swirl Tail, red tail white body.
Gold Spoons, the staple for redfishing, it must be gold! What brand? Who cares as long as it is gold, I know my tackly box contains severals brands but if you must choose one the 1/2 ounce Johnson’s Weedless Minnow in gold has to be in the box. Carry two in case you loose one (you will.) So what can you catch with these? Redfish for sure but just about everything else will eat it too, but this is your redfish lure!
A must have for redfish
ClarkSpoon, I am not one to recommend a particular brand but this is the spoon for Spanish Makeral! The only one you ever need, it can be cast or trolled. What else eats it? Anything, spoons can catch anything really, but these ClarkSpoons put makeral in the boat. Get a couple in silver in size 1, 2, and 3. If you only get two of them get a size 1 and 3.
A very simple design that works
Artificial Shrimp, this is a huge competitive market. Some people like the Berkley Gulp shrimp, others like the DOA Shrimp, and there are about twenty other types out there. My one complaint is that one of those brands has a bad habit of drying out before you get to use them and they are very expensive. Get shrimp in penny/rootbeer color and a near clear color to match natural shrimp. Fish these slow, cast let them sink and reel veeerrrryyyyy slowlyyyyyy. Do they work, for some people, do I have a lot of luck with them, not really but I never leave home without them. These catch trout, snook, and just about everything else that is hungry.
DOA Shrimp, pic a color any color
Topwater lures, one of my personal favorites and when the conditions are right these things can drive trout, redfish, and snook crazy. There are special techniques to working these, try a slow retrieve with frequent pauses, expect a crash on those pauses as the pure gets attacked. Another very effective technique is walking the dog, but that is a topic for another post on it’s own so you will have to wait. Who makes good topwater lures? Try the Zara Puppy, MirroOLure TopDog, or the Rapala Skitterwalk.
Zara Puppy, it does come with hooks
MirroLure Top Dog
Rapala Skitter Walk, who comes up with these names
Colors can be based on local conditions. I like a red head and white body but color is not as important in the topwater lures as it is in the other baits. On windy choppy days get a chugger style lure such as the Rebel Pop-R, Rapala Skitter Pop, or even a good old Heddon Lucky 13. The keep to working these is to pop them while reeling or just let them sit and pop them every so often, drives trout mad.
Rapala Skitter Pop, I sense a trend
Rebel Popper, a sweet little lure
Heddon Lucky 13, a timeless classic
Minnow, the classic lure, get two types. The MirrOLure slow sinker and a lipped minnow such as a Traditional lipped minnow and I have been having good luck lately with the A Salt Bomber minnow. For the MirrOLure get the classic 52M in the green back/white belly and black back/white belley colors. For the lipped minnow I like black back back/white belley, blue back/white belley, and green back/white belly. The only problem with the traditional Rapala minnow is the hooks rust fast so be prepared to replace them.
The classic rapala floating minnow, great action
The classic MirroLure 52M Slow Sinker
Well there you have it, a full tackle box, rods, and reels. Ready to go fishing? Now you gotta learn a few more techniques so stay tuned, go out and practice some and come back and share what you catch.
