Some of my favorite conversations on the Fly Fishing Insider Podcast are with people who are not guides. They are anglers, just like you and me, who figured out a fishery by putting in the days. Jake from Fish and Grits is exactly that. He grew up near Florida's Indian River Lagoon, started out wading and throwing spinning gear as a kid, learned to fly cast in college, and turned years of trial and error on that water into a real DIY sight-fishing game for redfish and sea trout. What he learned applies to almost any shallow saltwater flat you want to figure out on your own.
Know Your Water Before You Know Your Flies
First, a correction I needed myself. When I heard "Indian River" I pictured a freshwater river. It is not. The Indian River Lagoon is a long brackish estuary on Florida's east coast, and Mosquito Lagoon sits at its northern end. Jake described mostly mangrove shorelines with grass flats, a little oyster, plus seawalls and docks. That mix of habitat is the whole game.
Jake's biggest advantage was not a fly pattern. It was that he fished the same fifteen or so miles of water for years until he knew it cold. He knew where the grass was, which shorelines held fish on which conditions, and what happens when the tide drops out of a skinny spot. That kind of knowledge is what makes DIY saltwater fishing work, and the only way to get it is to keep going back to the same stretch and paying attention. When the water got tougher in the lagoon, he did not give up. He pushed north into Mosquito Lagoon and started that learning process over.
What to Look For on a Flat
Jake's checklist for picking a spot is simple and worth stealing:
- Grass first. Whatever seagrass is left is where bait lives and where reds and trout feed.
- Variety of shoreline. A grass flat next to a mangrove edge, a couple of oyster bars, or a few docks gives fish options, and options hold fish.
- Wind on your terms. He tries to get out of the wind when he can because it makes spotting fish hard. But a dead-calm day has its own problem: every fish sees you coming. A little ripple can actually help disguise your approach.
- Go slow. When conditions allow, move as slowly as you can and keep your eyes working. Fish can be anywhere.
Clarity and spookiness are the two big challenges in these shallow estuaries. The payoff for going slow is that you see fish before they see you.
Tailing Fish vs. Cruising Fish
This was my favorite part of the conversation, because the two shots call for different presentations.
Cruisers: When a red is moving, Jake leads it. He puts the fly out ahead where the fish is going to intercept it and lets the fish come to the fly. Landing a fly on a moving fish's head is the fastest way to blow it out.
Tailers: A tailing red is head-down rooting for shrimp and crabs in the grass or mud, and its world is very small. Jake puts the fly much closer, practically on top of the fish, and lets it settle so the fish finds it rather than stripping it past. He has watched a fly get stripped right in front of a tailing red only to sail over its head unnoticed. Give the fly time to sink to the level the fish is feeding at, then make small, subtle movements.
Jake admitted he prefers tailing fish, and I get it. Seeing that tail wave in the grass and knowing exactly where the mouth is makes for some of the most exciting shots in fly fishing.
Dock Lights and Sea Trout
When Jake was first learning to fly fish, dock lights were his classroom. At night, fish stack up in the glow and you can see their shadows sitting in the light. It is technically blind casting, but you are casting at fish you can see, which makes it a perfect way to practice accuracy and get a lot of eats in a short session.
Sea trout are often a blind-casting fish over grass flats, but Jake pointed out that you will see trout snaking slowly through the grass or cruising and feeding, and those sighted fish are usually the bigger ones. Treat them like a cruising red: lead them and let them come to the fly.
Gear
For this kind of fishing the gear that matters most is a good pair of polarized sunglasses, an eight-weight saltwater outfit, and a handful of small shrimp and crab patterns in weights that let you match the depth of a tailing fish. A local Florida fly shop near the lagoon will steer you to the right patterns for the season and current water conditions. A FFIP Five Panel Cap is a must alongside those polarized lenses, because cutting glare off the water is half of sight fishing. If you want to sharpen the fundamentals that make DIY trips work, from leaders to presentation, grab our Tips and Tricks for Fly Fishing eBook. Wet nets and tight lines!
