Sightfishing
Florida’s upper IRL Lagoons
Our
area’s waters are usually clear & clean
all year, but especially during winter, spring, and
up to mid-summer. With the help of calm winds and
sunny conditions a sightfishing angler can usually
expect to see the fish they’re casting at in
our shallow lagoons. Of course, it also takes preparation,
experience, patience, the right equipment, and a strong
interest to do it the best that it can be done.
A good shallow-running flats skiff with an aft poling
platform and a forward casting platform is a great
asset, and quality fishing gear and line is a must-have
as well, but one of the most important pieces of equipment
successful sightfishing anglers rely on is quality
polarized sunglasses, and the best for shallow water
are those with amber or copper colored lenses.
Polarized glasses with amber or copper lenses reduce
or eliminate the maximum amount of glare that is created
on the shallow water's surface from sunlight, which
is usually worse during the dawn and dusk hours, but
glare is on the water’s surface to some degree
at full-noon as well. By reducing or eliminating it
with the proper sunglasses anglers are able to better
see through the glare and spot seagrass beds, sandy
spots, and fish. Even in overcast conditions, amber
or copper colored polarized glasses are very helpful
while fishing shallow saltwater flats.
* We can provide quality, medium-sized polarized shallow
water sightfishing sunglasses by Action Optics for
up to two anglers if you don’t have your own,
but if you lose or break them you bought them! Unfortunately
they are not the wear-over type that will fit over
prescription glasses.
There are times when "blind-casting" is
employed and necessary, especially on cloudy, windy
days, but sightfishing our local flats is a very common
practice which this area is well known for. At times,
such as during calm wind conditions, fish can be very
visible and you’ll see redfish and black drum
actually “tailing” which they commonly
do in shallow water while digging in the grass for
crustaceans like shrimp or crabs, or they may show
their “backs” or dorsal fins when swimming
along the surface, especially in very shallow water.
Casting to tailing redfish, black drum, and tarpon
is considered the ultimate sightfishing experience,
and many anglers get shaky knees or what hunters call
“buck fever” when they experience the
opportunity to cast at very large tailing redfish
the first few times. We also look for clues as to
where the fish are when we can’t actually see
them yet, like v-shaped pushes & wakes well ahead
of the boat that are created by moving fish. We also
check out big swirls, boils, and occasionally muddy
water caused by feeding fish beneath the surface,
but in this area small muddy water areas are usually
caused by mullet, stingrays, or manatees.
For those who are unfamiliar with sightfishing in
shallow saltwater there are a few things that you
should know before you start out on your own or pay
for a guided sightfishing trip. ~ First is the reality
that no fishing guide can control the wind or any
other aspect of the weather which may affect your
ability to see fish! Sightfishing in shallow water
is not an exact science, and it's not something you're
going to completely master in one day or in a week.
Although as a novice you can catch fish, it takes
time to learn enough to be consistently proficient.
If your interest level is high you’ll learn
it faster. If you want to become a successful sightfishing
shallow-water angler here are four basic “rules”
you'll need to learn that will affect your ability
to catch fish:
# 1 - "Be Quiet in the Boat" ~ Try hard
not to make a lot of noise; think “Stealth”
at all times, even if you’re using a trolling
motor, and you’ll catch more fish. When you're
around predatory fish in shallow saltwater you have
to be quiet, especially big fish. You can talk, just
don't change your trolling motor’s speed any
more than you have to and don’t drop gear &
tools in the boat or stomp around the deck! Pole or
troll up on a flat as quietly as you possibly can.
# 2 - "Develop Casting Accuracy" ~ Casting
accurately is the most important thing you’ll
need to learn. It’s all about presentation,
no matter what you’re using or what color it
is. Casting to tailing or moving fish in shallow water
without spooking them is a learned skill. Whether
you're throwing bait or lures, to consistently make
accurate casts takes practice.
# 3 - "Learn To Read The Water" ~ It's important.
In theory it's simple; you have to be able to tell
what kind of fish you're looking at, both baitfish
and predator, and if the predators are moving, where
they really are. A single fish that’s pushing
a V on the surface as its moving or that’s making
a wake as it changes directions is rarely where the
novice angler thinks it is, and the same can be said
about fast moving schools of redfish at times. It
is always easier to catch fish when they’re
in a school, but learning where moving fish really
are still takes time, experience, and patience, especially
if you’re casting at single fish. When you see
a moving fish making a V on the surface it’s
dorsal fin is usually making the disturbance and it’s
head is actually somewhere in front of that. Where
that is exactly depends on how large the fish is and
how fast it’s moving. The same goes for fish
that push water and turn, which redfish and big black
drum both commonly do. Sometimes you’ll see
a rounded wake but that doesn’t mean that’s
where the fish actually are anymore. They both like
to swim in circles. If they’re moving towards
you near the surface you’ll see the V shape,
but if they push water, turn, and drop you will see
a curved wake and you have to watch closely and fast
to see where they really are. When a boat or an angler
spooks fish they rarely swim towards you, but a badly
placed lure or bait can send them running right at
you!
# 4 - "Don’t Spook the Fish" ~ Never
throw bait, lures, fishing line, or fly line on top
of fish in shallow saltwater. If you’ve obviously
spooked a single fish or a school and they start moving
away from the boat give them a chance to calm down
before you start casting again. Wait until they settle
down and then quietly move up to them again. Sometimes
they’ll charge off at full-speed towards the
horizon and there’s not much you can do about
that. I don’t recommend chasing spooked fish.
Let them go and maybe they’ll stop. If they
don’t, just consider it a lesson-learned and
move on. Never throw in front of spooked fish that
are swimming away from you, more times than not that
will usually just make matters worse. If there's one
thing predatory fish know for sure it’s that
baitfish never attacks them, so anything that’s
moving above them (or coming at them from their front)
they’ll consider a potential threat. Even huge
fish don't like movement above them, and when it happens
it's logical to assume the fish think a bird is attacking
them. They have an ingrained fear of birds that is
a learned behavior from their days as young fingerling
fish. Last but not least, driving with an outboard
motor through a shallow water area that you want to
fish is not very wise unless you plan on waiting at
least an hour for things to settle back down, but
sometimes even that doesn’t work because you
may have already ran the fish off the flat.
* Capt. Jaspers loves teaching interested anglers
how to fish the flats and sightfish. It’s his
job; expert instruction is part of your charter if
needed and is always available at no extra charge.
He will gladly teach you as much as you’re willing
to learn, but please realize that a novice flats angler
is not going to learn it all in one day. Discounted
rates are available for multiple-day charters for
novice anglers, but that is best done on a one-on-one
basis because you will learn faster if there are less
distractions..
The Banana River No-Motor-Zone
The
nmz was established in the south end of the Merritt
Island Wildlife Refuge in the Banana River between
the Nasa Parkway and State Road 528. It is a pristine
area with extensive seagrass flats that are comprised
of Cuban shoal grass, manatee grass, and widgeon grass.
The northern Banana River is owned by NASA and managed
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The “No
Entry" area of the Zone north of NASA Causeway
is the actual manatee sanctuary. Entry by the general
public there in any form is a Federal violation. Following
the preparation of an environmental assessment after
the closure of the area in 1990, the lower portion
of the no entry zone was converted into a non-motorized
watercraft area. Anglers are allowed to enter the
southern-most portion of the Zone south of the NASA
Parkway by wading and use of any non-motorized vessels
only.
Anglers who may be considering hiring a guide for
a Banana River no-motor-zone trip need to be aware
that most nmz charters are being offered by guides
who have little or no actual experience there. The
truth is few guides offer nmz trips because it’s
very hard work. Most who do advertise nmz trips on
their websites aren’t out there any more than
twice a year, if that much, but they will gladly take
your money hoping they’ll stumble upon fish,
and they’re very willing to learn what they
should already know on your time.
The potential charter angler should also be aware
that any charter that requires you to paddle anything
anywhere out there should be considered suspect. When
you fish the Zone with me you fish and I pole, and
I commit myself 100% to help YOU catch fish, which
I also do everywhere I take charter clients. Only
the west side is open to the public and its seven
miles long from bridge to bridge. That’s a lot
of open water and I know every square inch of it.
I know where the fish are and where they aren’t,
and I know when the fishing is good there and when
it’s not. When you call me inquiring about a
charter there I will be honest with you about that
so you can be confident you aren’t wasting your
time and money.
The No-Motor-Zone is my playground. I fish there frequently
because I feel it’s an extremely special place
and I love the peace and tranquility it offers canoe
& kayak anglers. I also do it get away from the
crowds in the northern Indian River & Mosquito
Lagoon. I’m not doing it to get rich; I do it
because I love it, and I work my butt off for my clients
out there. I pole my canoe in search of big fish an
average distance of 12 miles or more every time I
fish there, which is at least once a week, all year
long.
On cold winter days, the dead-calm heat of summer,
or in the screaming wind, I’m out there putting
my time in. I have decades of local knowledge &
sightfishing experience in the Zone and the required
CNS permit for my canoe so I am legal to guide there.
Whether you fish by kayak or canoe I can help you
learn how to catch big fish in the Zone. No one knows
it better, and no one can put you on fish there like
I can, and that’s a fact.
Capt. Robert A. Jaspers ~ USCG #955013 ~ flatstime@cfl.rr.com
321.626.0104
