Flats Fishing 101: 23 Proven Tips from Lefty Kreh

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This article was originally titled "Flats Fishing 101" in the March 1997 issue of Fly Fisherman. 

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As more and more fishermen discover the excitement and challenge of fishing the flats for everything from bonefish to redfish, tarpon, permit, and mutton snapper, they usually find that the techniques required for success are far different than those used for freshwater fish. Saltwater flats fish are sight-feeders that move here and there to find food with the changes in the tides. They are very alert to danger, for there are other fish on the flats prepared to eat them. They are especially attuned to sounds, detected through the lateral line along their flanks. To catch such fish requires a silent approach and techniques that are basic but important. Lefty Kreh has long been the master of these techniques. Here are some of the lessons he has learned over 40 years of fishing the saltwater flats. [THE EDITORS.]

There are a number of procedures to follow that will pave the way for a productive day of flats boat fishing. Here is a checklist of things you can do before and while you fish that will prevent spoiled casts and lost fish.

1. Clean your lines before entering the boat. Dirty lines can often drastically reduce your casting distance and can mean lost opportunities. Many new fly lines have a thin outer coating that can't take the abuse that older lines could–lines we used to scrub with Bon Ami or other mildly abrasive soaps. Modern fly lines can be cleaned by washing them with warm water and a gentle liquid detergent. Just make sure you rinse them well enough to rid them of all the soap. Carry a small clean cloth. If your line becomes sticky during a long day of fishing, you can wet the cloth with fresh water from your drinking jug and wipe the line surface clean. The cloth can also serve to clean your glasses of salt spray.

2. Don't wear footwear with big shoestrings. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a cast fouled in mid-flight because the shooting line tangled in a shoestring. I tie a square knot in the shoestrings of my sneakers, clip off the ends, and place a drop of cyanoacrylate glue on the knot. Then, I just slip my feet into the shoes, as I would with my bedroom slippers.

3. Always wear a hat with a dark underbrim. Many fly fishermen stand without a hat on the bow of a flats boat, but the glare from the sun reduces how well they can see. A hat is certainly an aid, but if it has a pale under-brim, light bouncing off the water reflects on the underside of the brim and then into your eyes. A cap with a dark underbrim eliminates this glare. Use dark shoe polish or a permanent marker to make a light underbrim dark.

4. Clean your shoe soles before entering a boat. This will endear you to the guide. Remember: Dirt carried onboard can stick to a wet fly line, greatly reducing the distance of your cast. The dirt can wear out both the rod guides and fly line. The boat deck should be clean and clear of obstructions at all times.

5. Pull off only the amount of line you will need to cast to a fish. Too many anglers step up on the casting platform and then pull off 70 to 80 feet of fly line. Never pull off more line than you will need for the next cast. Any extra line lying on the deck is a potential trouble source.

Master permit fisherman Del Brown has a great idea. He figures that 50 feet of line and a 10-foot leader is all he'll need for most situations. He makes a foot-long mark on the fly line at 50 feet. When he steps up to the casting platform, he simply strips off line until he reaches that mark.

6. Stretch all coils from the line before making the first cast. Fly lines stored on the reel usually come off in tight coils and can cause tangles on the cast. One of the quickest ways to get rid of coils is to hold about eight feet of the line in your hands so that it hangs in a loop down to the deck. Place your foot on the bottom of the loop and give a firm upward pull with both hands. This will remove the coils. Make sure the deck is clean, and don't grind your feet into the line or you may damage the line.

7. Make a cast with all of the line you have stripped from the reel and then retrieve it onto the boat deck. When you strip line from the reel, the forward-end of the line falls to the bottom of the pile. As you continue to drop line from the reel, the pile gets larger and your last strip ends up on the top of the pile. If you make a cast with such a pile of line, the forward line comes from the bottom of the pile and tangles. By making a long cast before making a pile of line and then retrieving the line, the rear of the fly line is placed on the bottom of the pile, ready for a quick cast.

8. If possible, don't drop the retrieved line on the deck where you are standing. Most flats fishermen can tell you how often a cast was ruined because the line was underfoot. The perfect casting platform, in my opinion, is one with a small, two- or a three-inch elevated platform to stand on, and behind that, a lower platform on which to place the line. I recommend that when you are on a typical flats-type boat, you stand a little back from the bow and drop the shooting line in the well or on the main deck below the casting platform.

9. Clear the area where you will drop the fly line on the deck. Protruding fly-rod handles, and any other items in the boat should always be placed out of the way so that line won't grab them on the shoot. Check frequently to make sure that the line has not become tangled or placed where it will not cast properly.

10. Use a stripping basket on windy days. I favor the hip-type baskets or plastic containers that suspend from a shoulder strap because they offer better control for retrieving and striking. The basket prevents wind from blowing the shooting line around and ruining the cast.

11. Be prepared. Flats fishing is sight-fishing that requires quick, accurate casts after locating fish. The time to practice this type of casting is at home–even on a lawn. Far too many fly fishermen don't practice and then fail when the opportunities arise on the water. Place rings or targets on a lawn at 40, 50, 60, and 70 feet and practice casting to them.

12. Don't stare at one spot when you are searching for fish. Constantly shift your eyes when you search the shallows. By staring at one place you fail to see tiny wakes, moving fish, skipping minnows, and tailing fish. Using your peripheral vision can help you locate fish.

13. Watch low-flying birds. Gulls, cormorants, and other birds see fish chasing bait and they go to where the action is. When birds fly low over the shallows, they often spook fish. Usually, a spooked fish will only swim a short distance and then settle down. On flats with lots of shrimp, you may see gulls inches above the surface, grabbing shrimp that have been pushed up by redfish, snook, and other flats fish.

14. Use your rod to locate the fish that the guide points out. When the guide says the fish is at 10 o'clock, point the rod in that direction. The guide can tell you to move left or right. Before you head out to the flats, discuss with the guide how you will communicate with each other. Reach agreement on how he will tell you where the fish are–the clock system coupled with the rod-pointing system.

15. Don't cast until you see the fish. Unless the guide insists that you cast, never throw your fly where you think the fish is. This almost always results in a bad cast.

16. If a fish is directly ahead of the boat (at the 12 o'clock position), don't cast until the guide has had time to move the rear of the boat to one side. If you cast straight ahead, you will almost always hook the guide–not a good idea!

17. Don't cast too soon or wait too long. Making a cast too soon means you will probably have to frantically retrieve line and recast. If you wait too long, the fish will be too close and may see the boat and flee, preventing a second cast. Cast when the guide tells you to cast.

18. If the fish obviously doesn't see the presented fly, cast again. Most of the fish we seek on flats with a fly are sight feeders. If you make a cast behind, too far to one side, or out of the sight of the fish, don't continue to retrieve. Instead, quietly pick up and cast again.

19. Keep your hooks sharp. If the fly hits anything while casting (boat pole, motor, or any other hard object), check the fly. Make sure that the point hasn't been broken or dulled. If you strike two fish and don't get a hookup, check the hook point. Sharpen your hooks before heading to the flats to fish, and resharpen them while fishing.

20. Never make a backcast if there is any line on the water. Surface tension grips your fly line. When making another cast in the shallows, always make sure all line is off the surface before making the backcast. If only a foot of line is on the water when you make the backcast, the line, ripping loose from the surface tension, will make a noise that can frighten fish. Making backcasts with line on the water is a major reason why many anglers fail to catch fish in the shallows.

21. When false-casting, never let the fly hit the surface. This happens more often when bonefishing, because the flies with lead or bead-chain eyes are more difficult to cast. Slapping the surface with the fly or fly line ruins many opportunities. Practice the pickup and cast before you begin fishing.

22. Retrieve the fly with the rod pointed at the fish. Keep the rod tip close to the water's surface. If you hold the rod high, the sag in the line will create too much slack on a strike and can spoil your retrieve. Never use the rod tip to manipulate the fly–this also increases the chances of having too much slack when the fish strikes. Keep the rod pointed at the fish and manipulate the fly by stripping in the line.

23. Strike the fish by moving the rod side-ways or with a strip-strike. Fishermen have the tendency to lift the rod tip when a fish grabs the fly in shallow water. If the fish misses the fly and you flip the rod up, not only have you missed the strike, but you have also removed the fly from the water.

If the fish is close by and in the shallows, another cast may spook the fish. To strike properly, move the rod side-ways or use a strip-strike. A strip-strike involves grasping the line during the retrieve and pulling back a few inches to set the hook. lf you miss the fish on a side or strip-strike, the fly remains near the fish, where it can see and take it.

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Lefty Kreh was a Fly Fisherman Editor-at-Large. He is the author, with Mark Sosin, of Fishing the Flats (1983).

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