Kayak fishing in the flats can grant you access to areas and times of day that anglers with other boat designs cannot reach. But don’t be fooled into thinking that just because fish can be lazy means that filling your daily quota will be a, well, walk in the flats. A lot of people think the flats are, well, flat. But really, there are so many spots that a fish can wait and hide, planning their ambush on unsuspecting baitfish. Learning to find structure and ambush points on the flats takes some take to learn. The best way to really get an understanding is to stakeout or anchor up in the center of a flat, jump up onto a cooler (if your boat is stable enough…and you’re athletic) and just watch for a tide cycle. Eventually you’ll start to see where fish stack up and hide…and where you need to be to catch them.
Living on the Edge(s)
The best spot for fish to hide from baitfish and lie in wait is edges and drop offs. The deep channels where non-kayak fishermen are stuck (haha!) is where the fish are lying in wait and looking towards the flats. Baitfish will be staging up on the sandbar/flat waiting for the right moment to dart into the channel.
Experiment with casting and retrieving your lures or flies along the edges, drag them off the drop offs or back from the channel onto the flat. Whichever combination works the first time, most likely, will continnue to work all day long.
Fish Fights: The first thing a fish will do when hooked in or neaby a channel is to jump back in that current and try to take the highway out of dodge. Keep your drag tight and set up downstream of where they’re about to run to so the take less drag. If you get them on the sandbar they’re at a disadvantage because they’ll have less depth to run with.
Current Sense
It may not be a river full of trout, but fish are fish. Imagine the tides moving across the water as a river and look for depressions or obstacles that the fish can lie out of the current. Fish are lazy no matter where they are, they don’t want to move unless they absolutely have to in order to eat. Kind of like a fat guy ordering pizza from his couch.
Deliver that lure as close as you can to the edges of the buoys or rocks that are sitting in the current and hang on. As soon as you work that offering past the edge you’re in for a ride.
Fish Fights: The trickiest part is making sure that the fish can’t wrap you or break you off into that structure their hiding behind. Make sure to plan your approach so your drift will allow you to pull the fish away from the current. Make sure to keep your rod angled low to the water and you’ll have more leverage and power to pull them away.
