15 Tips to Better Wadefishing All Year Long

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Wadefishing is perhaps the most enjoyable way to fish the flats in much of Florida for reds, seatrout and snook. It puts you down there where you can experience the environment almost the way the fish do, feel the bottom texture, the vegetation, the water temperature and current flow—and all of this helps catch more fish, too. You’re also not constantly fighting to keep the boat in the right position, not too far to cast to the fish, not so close that it spooks them.

And your approach can be dead silent—bites almost at your rod tip can be expected. The very low, small profile of a wader compared to a boat also helps a lot. While you cover a lot less water than you might in a flats skiff, bay boat or a kayak, you’re likely to find yourself catching more fish if you’re fishing the right area because you rarely flush anything when you’re wading slowly and mindfully.

Here are 15 tips that will help you be successful, at least most of the time.

• 1.) Don’t get into the water until you’re in an area highly likely to produce. Once you start wading, your mobility is limited, so if you go over the side in part of the bay where the tide flow has already ceased and the bait has left the flat, you’re probably going to come up empty.
• 2.) Look for “live” flats, whatever the tide levels. Some flats just have what it takes to attract and hold fish—good water flow, good bottom vegetation, often turtle grass but sometimes only lots of scraggly limestone bottom. Learn what the fish like in your particular part of the estuary.

• 3.) Wade where the bait is thickest. Areas where you see lots of pinfish, grunts, scaled sardines or small crabs are highly likely to be visited regularly by gamefish.
• 4.) On low water, fish potholes, sloughs and the edges of the flats. As it starts to rise, watch for fish pushing up with the tide, usually through small cuts in the outside bar.

• 5.) Don’t weigh yourself down with a lot of excess gear. Put a few extra lures inside used pill bottles or other small containers in your pockets, add some extra leader material in case you get broken off and some sort of de-hooker and go for it. Carry only one rod—a second rod is way more trouble than it’s worth.
• 6.) Carry topwaters, soft plastic jerkbaits, plastic shrimp and jigs with 1/8th-ounce heads, large hooks and a 3- to 5-inch swimmer tail. Anything more will just weight you down. (But do carry extra soft plastic tails because the blowfish can wreak havoc on these!)

• 7.) Wadefish with a partner if you can—your buddy can drop you off, motor a quarter mile down the flat and anchor the boat and then you can wade to it, then go pick him up—hop scotching is a lot easier than making a long slog back to the boat when you’re already tired.
• 8.) There are a few potential issues when you wade. Of course look out for stingrays—even the little guys—by moving slowly and shuffling your feet. Sharks are rarely a problem but I’ve had a few bulls take an interest in me in the murky outflow of some Everglades rivers. Be alert and if you see a shark more than 6 feet long looking you over, head to shallower water. If you haul fish on a stringer, make it a long one, 10 feet or so, just in case.

• 9.) Good footwear is a must. Flats booties like those from FroggToggs, Simms or Cabelas not only protect your feet from sharp shells but keep sand out from underfoot. Wear thick cotton socks inside the boot for comfort. Wading in sneakers or slides just doesn’t cut it.
• 10.) If you wade when water temperature is much below 80, light waders will feel good. FroggToggs Hellbender and White River Montauk are durable and reasonably priced models. If you wadefish in winter, insulated waders or insulated liner pants will be a must anywhere north of Tampa Bay/Cocoa Beach.

• 11.) Carry water in a bottle on your belt, especially in the warmer months. You can get dehydrated even out there in the middle of all that water—drink regularly.
• 12.) Move with the flow on broad flats. The water might be just starting to flow out between mangrove islands when it’s already pouring out strong at the slough through the bar or channel—fish where the movement is strongest and you’ll usually have more success.

• 13.) Look for subtle variations in the bottom that may hold fish. “Wheel tracks” made by outboard motors are slightly deeper than the surrounding flats, and reds and trout sometimes settle into these as the water drops. Mangrove points usually concentrate tidal flow, so cast to any that you encounter—snook love these spots.
• 14.) Don’t wade into likely fish-holding spots—stay well back and make long casts to where you hope the fish will be. Sometimes fish will hold just on the edge of a pothole or runout, so if you wade right up to the lip to start casting, you’ll flush them before you start.

• 15.) Keep your phone on you, fully charged and in a waterproof casing. If you have a medical emergency or if somebody in the family needs to contact you immediately, you’ll be glad you did. And of course you’ll want to make a photo of that 30-inch redfish before you let it go.

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Of course, the usual flats fishing necessities should also be part of your gear—a long-billed cap to shade your face and quality polarized glasses so that you can see structure and hopefully even spot fish before you cast.

Wadefishing takes more energy and more caution than standing on a dry deck and flipping your casts ahead as the trolling motor does the work, but you’ll often wind up enjoying the day more, and maybe even catching more and larger fish, if you get down there with them.

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