Fishing The Flats With Henry Waszczuk

As viewers of the Fishing the Flats TV show already know, the state of Florida abounds in prime locations for that sport. Fishing the flats may be done anywhere from Mosquito Lagoon to Indian River, from Fort Myers to Naples, not to mention the Keys themselves at the tip end of the state.

The host of Fishing the Flats, Henry Waszczuk, has himself dipped into the skinny waters of Charlotte Harbor for cold-weather hunting of redfish, as well as many other Floridian fishing grounds. Fishing the Flats in Florida could be a weekly series all by itself.

Still, I didn't hit gold in fly fishing the flats until I did a little research on the huge importance of tides. What's going on is that the fish themselves sense tide changes, and they use them to their advantage in searching out their own prey. If I'm serious about fishing the flat waters, I'd better grab me a time table!

Low tide will find you in 12 inches of water, staring down into a sandy bottom thatched with turtle grass, or a muddy bottom dotted with manatee grass. Either way, the fish will be darting around, hunting baitfish, or in cool weather sunning themselves against the sand. He who would fish the flats in search of redfish will do best with an 8-weight rod, with a floating line.

More reds, more chances for me. This is prime fishing time, when the game fish are rushing in on the flats, right on the top of an incoming tide. Fishing the flats at time like this is what it's all about. Think about it mathematically. Fishing during a full moon plus a spring tide equals 3 to 4 hours of good fishing!

Down around Sanibel and Captiva Island in the southwestern part of the state offers the chance to fish the flats for snook, tarpon and sea trout. To fish the flats here, which are thick with turtle grass and studded with oyster shell bars, is practically guaranteeing catching some redfish, which hunt the baitfish hiding in the oyster shells.

North of Tampa Bay can be found the Steinhatchee River. Fly fishing the flats here means taking a shot at cobia, tarpon, Spanish mackeral and scallops. The rocks in this area play host to crabs and shrimp, which in turn attact the redfish.

Any question you may have about fly fishing the flats is sure to be answered in the course of watching this show, or perusing Waszczuk's magazine called "Fins and Skins.