Dissecting Grass Flats

I want to talk this month about the way I try to analyze and plan my wades on large expanses of grass flats. What I want you to gain from this is that the Middle and Lower coast regions have literally hundreds of thousands of acres of shallow grass flats and they basically all fish the same. What you gain from this article can therefore be applied to your home waters or any area of extensive grass flats. I promise you, there is no X marking the spot with this style of fishing, it’s more about angler awareness and knowledge.

The knowledge part includes the makeup of the flats; various types of bottom structure and contours that provide ambush points when water currents will influence movements of baitfish toward areas that might or should be holding gamefish. What I look for most often are individual potholes amid solid carpets of grass, and small patches of grass that stand out prominently on larger areas of sand bottom. Of the two, I prefer the smaller, well-defined potholes, although broken lines and patches of grass dotting predominantly sandy bottom that slopes toward deeper water can also be very productive. I mentioned currents, and on large areas of flats these are mostly created by wind; something we have plenty of on the Texas coast.

It is a given that the areas I choose must have an established food source. What I mean by established is a food source that’s consistently present. Bait definitely moves and we have to be prepared to move with it because the fish stay with their food source. I believe flats that lie in proximity to passes where tidal movements are constantly providing new arrivals of baitfish comprise prime gamefish habitat, especially during winter.

Over the years I have become keenly aware of the impact boat traffic can have on fish that inhabit shallow flats. For this reason I am constantly on the lookout for areas within a flat that are receiving the least amount of traffic. That said, I also look for areas on the flat where boat traffic is most likely to push fish. It’s Fishing Smart 101 at its finest and I have used it effectively from Port O’Connor all the way down to the Lower Laguna. 

I remember one day on Cat Head many years ago when the larger trout had pushed inshore and were setting up in the scattered potholes close to the shoreline. We all know that it is common practice for boats to run inshore of the rocks along the shoreline in that area. On this particular afternoon the bite was slow but we were finding solid trout of six-plus pounds holding in the smaller potholes. After about an hour of no action, a boat came from the south and ran between me and my guys. I made the comment to my group that we  were fixing to see the fish push towards us. Before the boat was barely a hundred yards past us we hooked up two trout and a redfish, all over six pounds. For the remainder of the day my guys were begging for boats to come by.

The key is to setup far enough away from the area holding the fish, on a line between the fish and deeper water. On this day the winds were NE but very light and tides were unseasonably high, so our setup was perfect.

Boat traffic will have the same effect along shorelines and in back lakes. In the lakes I like to setup in an area where the bottom structure is suitable and then create a quiet zone by spreading my group out a bit farther than normal, maybe twenty-five to thirty yards between anglers. Just for the record, I am not a fan of anyone dropping off groups of anglers purposely trying to block out other anglers. If your only game that day is an area that you need to block off then you have some work to do on your fishing game.

When working large areas of shallow grass flats, the first thing we need to determine after we are confident the flat is holding the fish we are seeking is to identify the type of structure they are using. I will use yesterday’s trip to explain the process.

After seeing more bait than it typically takes to get me out of the boat, I told my guys to spread out and work ALL the structures in front of them. The structure on this particular flat was not unlike most, large areas of grass with smaller potholes, and larger areas of sand with individual grassbeds within them. “Be aware of where you get your bites,” I told them. This is critical because it shows us were the majority of the fish are holding and then allows us to basically sight-cast to specific pieces of structure. The odds swing greatly in our favor when we are able to put each cast into high-percentage areas.

During early morning the fish were milling over short grassy areas, not in potholes or individual turtle grass beds. They were not in the larger areas of big sand either. As midday rolled around it was the smaller potholes around the edges of the larger sand areas that held some really great trout. By 1:00 pm it was big sandy potholes with little grass and it took a slow but deliberate action on the Fat Boy to get a strike. Later that afternoon the fish had pushed to slightly deeper water and scattered grassbeds along the edge where water was slightly deeper and the NE had created a slight color change. These movements occurred in an area of not more than about 300 yards, so we really did not move very much all day. This process can work in the reverse order as well after periods of extremely cold nights with daytime warming.

Throughout the day as the fish change the structure they prefer; they will likely also change the size of the bait they are most interested in – another aspect to be aware of as it develops. The best anglers typically bounce from one size lure to another once the bite slows or prior to establishing a bite. On this particular day we used Custom Corky Fat Boy floaters and sinkers, Custom Corky Soft-Dines, and Texas Customs Double Ds. We did not use soft plastics and one of the main reasons was that we were able to throw the heavier lures farther. This is huge when the water clarity in very high. Yes, we could have gone to heavier jigheads but they would have grassed up a little too much for my liking, or so I thought. The water was knee-deep on me (so pretty shallow), really clear, virtually no wind, and what we had was NE. I personally love it when the wind creates a color change that makes up along a break in bottom composition. The “sanding” creates some cover for both bait and gamefish alike.

I think it is important to mention that while you are deciphering, dissecting might be a better term, the flat you’re on; you need to be thinking of other areas that make up in the same manner as the flat you’re having success on. By doing this you will increase your knowledge of other areas that might have possibilities. I will often leave one area during a lull and run to another that offers a similar setup. I honestly believe this is the best way to increase both your area-specific knowledge and your confidence in the pattern you have established. I also honestly believe that this mindset has been the single-most important ingredient in my learning process and continues to be a vital part of my daily processes. The video that accompanies this article discusses more concisely the approach and visuals I am looking for when entering a flat.

As always, try and release your trout if you can see your way to doing it. Our fishery still has a long way to go toward recovery.