Flats Fishing & Drift Bags
The pursuit of big hungry fish in skinny water, often less than 12" deep will create an adrenaline rush like no other. Highflying tarpon, snook and redfish, cobias, trout and jacks etc; ooh life is good! We envision poling through uncharted backwaters teeming with fish. Crystal clear waters with a mirror like surface; it would make Norman Rockwell cry.
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But what is this? Wind, we are talking about wind. It's everywhere you want to be. It messes up everything; from not being able to see your quarry to blowing you off line, to stirring up the bottom making the water murky.
But let's face it, it will happen far too often. If you don't believe me, just try taking a day off from work and see what happens.
You crawl out of bed; the wind is blowing so hard that the palm trees are doing a war dance! Darn, can't fish today because the wind is blowing.
If this sounds familiar to you or if you have ever been given the task of operating a flats boat in the wind, you will quickly learn it's not much fun for you or your passengers.
Ok, let's see what you can do about it. How do you make the winds, tides and currents are your friends?
Even though you are faced with less than perfect fishing conditions, you could be missing out on some of the best fishing there is. Here's why.
- Wind cuts down on fish being able to see you.
- Fish are more active through out the day.
- Fish are usually more active because wind stirs up food for the little fish.
But how do you adapt to it. What do you do?
The best solution to dealing with these types of conditions is the Wave Tamer floating drift bag. What's that you say? You're a flats fisherman? I don't use no steenking drift bag. After you read this, you will. Having learned from freshwater fishermen in the upper Midwest, you can turn a rough day on the water into a pile of fish quite easily. Here's how.
Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle designed a drift bag for flats fishing. The Wave Tamer.
They float so they can be used in as little as 18" of water without touching the bottom.
Used alone or in tandem, they can slow the drift of your boat up to 75%. Think about that if you're fly fishermen. (Check out the pro-page for info on this from Cpt. Rick Grassett)
They can be used while anchoring to keep your boat stationary. Cool.
Used as a trolling bag in current, they can be used with your motor to slow you to fishable speeds of zero up to whatever speed you want.
Positioning your boat: Most boats have a tendency to drift bow down wind; this makes it difficult for other people to fish. Tie a Wave Tamer off the bow and you will drift, beam to the wind. (You fly fishermen are going to love this.)
Check out the diagrams for these techniques and visit our pro page to find out what the best fishermen in the country are saying about the Wave Tamer.
Pros
Capt. Rick Grassett, Sarasota
Capt. Pat Price, Palm City
Capt. Terry Parsons, Wabasso
Capt. Ed Zwach, Palm City |
