When I was growing up, the shallow water flats we used to avoid were dubbed "shadow" water by me after I heard an old timer obviously mispronounce the word shallow. Flats back then were huge areas of water that, on a low tide, caused you to run several miles farther than you wanted to run. On a high tide you could "cut the corners" on many of the flats, a fact born out by the numerous prop paths cutting through the turtle grass on most flats.
No one really had any idea in the 50's and 60's, and even into the 70's that these flats really held some good fish.

But today's angler, whether with a guide or on his own, is prowling the shallow flats from North Carolina's Pamlico Sound all the way to Brownsville, Texas, in the US, and all down the Mexican peninsula.

Fish to be found on the grassy mud flats include redfish, trout, snapper, jack crevalle, and sharks. Tarpon and cobia are often in the cuts adjoining the flats.

On the subtropical coral flats that dominate the southeast coast of Florida and the entire coast of Mexico, expect to find bonefish and permit, along with lemon , bull, and black tip sharks. Nurse sharks also occasionally plod there way onto a flat in search of food. Most fish feed on the flats for one reason, and that is, the prey is easier to find and chase down. In deeper open water, bait fish and crabs can move in almost any direction, up, down, left or right, to escape. Sharks have excellent movement from side to side, but are very slow when attempting to move up or down in pursuit of food. So, they prowl the flats where the bait can't move up or down.

Fishing the flats can be done from any small boat, or even while wading. Wade fishing is very popular along the Texas coast for trout and redfish. But the perfect way to fish the flats is from one of the many very specialized flats boats which have arrived on the fishing scene in the past 10 to fifteen years. And if you're lucky enough to have a friend or guide pole you along from the stern of the boat, all the better.

One or two boat makers probably did as much as anything to perfect and market shallow water boats. Some of the classics that have been maintained well bring top dollar today. It wouldn't be fair to try and name some here, but you can find a number of them on our Boats and Equipment page.

You've watched the shows and seen the guides working from the back of a boat. In Part II we will detail the fishing methods used by a lot of folks for some of these marauders of the "skinny" water. We'll see just how to go about catching them.

Are you a "Skinny" water fisherman fishermen? Know someone who is, or has a story to tell? Tell me about it or post on the bulletin board page. Got a favorite recipe, or fish story? Let me know by sending me an Email.