The author depends on Clouser Minnows for both trout and reds.

The first time I fished Steinhatchee, I knew immediately that its shallows stood apart from those I’d sampled elsewhere.

From the mouth of the Steinhatchee River south to the Pepperfish Keys, big, upended rocks litter porous limestone bottom. Oyster and shell bars are not as common as they are to the south, from Horseshoe Beach to the Suwannee River. Continuous grassflats extend for more than a mile offshore.

If you sight fish with a fly rod, you can certainly do it on this unique stretch of Florida’s Gulf coast. The jagged, marshy shoreline is scrubbed clean by good tidal flow and protected by distance from the muddy outflow of the Suwannee.

From the mouth of Steinhatchee River, the shoreline of Deadman Bay begins a westward swing toward Rock Point and Dallus Creek. This is a natural catch basin for baitfish, redfish and surprisingly big seatrout. The town has become an angler-friendly destination within the last few years.

The Steinhatchee River channel is well-marked. To clear the extreme shallows on either side, you’ll have to run out quite a ways to hang a left and head south to the best flats. If you have a shallow-draft skiff, with a moderate tide and calm winds, you can easily run due south from marker No. 9, but on the lowest tides you’ll need to run as far out as No. 5 before you make your turn. And once you do, you find yourself nearly two miles off the coast, but don’t worry—the shallows you’re heading to extend several miles into the Gulf of Mexico in places, so don’t make the big mistake of swinging back to shore at full tilt.

Hard bottom here claims many props, so your approach takes some patience. Once I’m directly offshore of the stretch of flats I want to fish, I come in with my motor trimmed up, come off plane, idle in a ways, and then shut down, perhaps drop the trolling motor to get even shallower, then grab the pushpole and start my hunt.

I like easterly winds here, for the sake of clean water. Strong easterlies are fine for fly fishing close to shore, but make the run south difficult, especially while crossing the deeper sloughs on the way to the fishing grounds. Moderate westerly winds, swinging from south to north, are a good reason to get out the spinning gear and rainsuits. Strong westerlies are reason to stay home, to be frank, if you have your heart set on fly fishing.

If redfish are your goal, understand that on a low tide, you may find shin-deep water a mile offshore in places. At that phase, reds may be tailing or pushing wakes, but also may hold in two to four feet, schooled up where you find good potholes in grassy bottom. That’s another good reason not to roar in under power until the last second. You may have just run over redfish in the process. Once the tide floods, the shallowest water smack against the grassy shorelines, and the creekmouths, are the places to look for fish. And it is those creekmouths that can hold some eye-popping trout that have made a comeback in this region.

Seatrout can be taken blind-casting streamers or poppers, or by sight casting on occasion.

So, where to start? Those who regularly fly fish this area have favorite spots, many smaller than an urban backyard, but there are things to look for to get you off on the right foot.

Fellow fly and light-tackle guide Sam LeNeave, of Gainesville, keeps a house at Steinhatchee and launches at Sea Hag Marina (directly across the river from the public ramp), near the mouth of the river. He is quick to say that sight fishing for reds is a low-tide deal.

“An early morning with light wind and a low incoming tide, preferably a spring tide, is best,” said LeNeave. “The top tide phase for me has been the last two hours of the ebb through the first of the riser. Once the water gets high, I switch gears and pole into the spartina shorelines, particularly at mouths of creeks.” At high tide, blind-casting with fast-sinking flies is the rule.

LeNeave and I agree that a good sight fishing day out of Steinhatchee means around 20 shots with a fly, and three to five hookups. For that reason, I would suggest blind casting to likely cover while waiting for fish to show.