Shallow Water

[Dirty Rotten]

The past two seasons I've found myself fishing in the same places with the same routines and want to make a point to try some new things this year. Do some more exploring. The areas I fish in have tons and tons of shallow water. When I say shallow I mean one to three feet. The rig I have doesn't have a problem getting in and out of an area like that and I want to start taking advantage of it if only to escape the boat traffic that is soon to come. The question is... what would be the best method to fish an area like that? Can it be productive? What can I expect?

[snichols]

DR,

I fish shallow water (1-4 feet) although I wade instead of using a boat. This is very productive water in low light conditions. I use small topwater/swimming plugs, 1/8-1/4 oz jigs and my flyrod.

It's rare to get a fish bigger than 24" but once in a while, a bigger fish will hit your offering and give you a nice surprise.

Most of the time, I find schools of 14-18 inch stripers, flounder and snapper blues. But they will all hit the same lures in the shallows.

Good luck this season.

[Saltshaker]

DR, I also fish shallow water in the way back. I use very light tackle and throw top water plugs most of the time. I fish the shallows out of my wood garvey. It draws only inches of water. I time high tide with the summer evenings. Some years, ( the summer before last ) the bluefish are so numerous, that I leave that spot and continue on to the next looking for Mr. Bass. If for so reason I am fishing the early am tide just at sunrise, I may troll along the sod banks before heading back to the dock. I caught my largest back bay flounder that way last season.

Tight Lines & Safe Returns,
Saltshaker

[Bill Couch]

Second the low light conditions, even better dark. Fish almost exclusively 4ft or less, have caught fish up to 35"s in the back am trying to better that I know they are there from time to time. Keep casting.

[CapeMayRay]

Low light is the key. Light tackle or flyfishing if you are into that. Surface poppers and shallow swimming plugs or small rubber baits on small jig heads. Might try to nose around the areas you want to fish during the day and find out where the bars and holes are. At night it is much harder to know where you are and it could be a long night if you get stuck. Give it a try.

[Dirty Rotten]

Ok, looks like I have a mission for tomorrow evening. By the time I get there it will be low tide but at least I'll get a good survey of the area. Every year it changes and it seems like there are some new channels that criss cross the area I'm thinking about. Figure there's got to be some fish cruising in and out looking for trapped bait and scraps plus the water should be a little warmer I would think. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks.