Inshore Sight Fishing Tips and Techniques
Sight fishing for inshore fish species is great in the clear and shallow estuaries and grass flats. You can catch redfish, snook, tarpon, permit, sharks, black drum.... and lots of other species too.
The key to sight fishing is getting elevated and having a decent pair of polarized sunglasses. The higher that you can get your eyes, the better that you will be able to see the fish that you want to catch. Then you will need to make a stealthy approach to your fish and make a subtle cast with your bait offering.
You also have to learn the difference from a submerged log and a big redfish like the monster in this photo. This redfish was caught near Titusville, Florida.
Sight fishing is one of the best ways to catch fish, in my opinion. It's as much hunting and stalking as fishing.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the oyster bars, mangroves and grass flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about inshore sight fishing.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more snook.
Sight fishing for inshore fish species is great in the clear and shallow estuaries and grass flats. You can catch redfish, snook, tarpon, permit, sharks, black drum.... and lots of other species too.
The key to sight fishing is getting elevated and having a decent pair of polarized sunglasses. The higher that you can get your eyes, the better that you will be able to see the fish that you want to catch. Then you will need to make a stealthy approach to your fish and make a subtle cast with your bait offering.
You also have to learn the difference from a submerged log and a big redfish like the monster in this photo. This redfish was caught near Titusville, Florida.
Sight fishing is one of the best ways to catch fish, in my opinion. It's as much hunting and stalking as fishing.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the oyster bars, mangroves and grass flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about inshore sight fishing.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more snook.
Sight Fishing for Redfish
Sight fishing for redfish can be kind of easy because they have a tendency to forage for food in the grass, sand, mud and oyster bars in shallow water. This means that they often have their tails sticking out of the water as they feed. Your job is to get that fish to perceive and eat your bait or lure. It can be hard to do because they are already preoccupied with feeding.
Where are the best places to sight fish for redfish?
Well, obviously, clear water is better than dirty water and shallow water is better than deep water BUT those conditions are not necessary for sight fishing success. You have to figure out where redfish like to hang out.
The answer is: They like to hang out where the water temperature us comfortable for them; where there are no predators that want to eat them; and where there is food for them to eat.
Example: In the middle of July, at noon, in south Florida; on an exposed, dark mud flat that is only 18 inches deep, there won't be any redfish there. Too hot!
Example: A pod of dolphins just ran through the grass flats where you are; there won't be any redfish there either. Dolphins and sharks love to eat redfish as much as we do...… I think that you get my point.
Oyster bars: Oyster bars are a great place to sight fish for foraging redfish because they love to eat those mud crabs that are under every clump of oysters. Redfish have evolved an extremely hard face so that they can root around in the sharp oyster beds for crabs and shrimp.
My favorite live bait in this scenario is a shrimp. You will want to position the shrimp up current if possible so that the scent molecules will move to the redfish's 4 nostrils with the tide. Redfish have extraordinary senses of smell.
Shrimp smell delicious to the redfish and move around making those low frequency vibrations that redfish can feel through the water. Another great choice in this scenario is a fiddler crab or small blue crab. Use just enough weight to keep the bait near the fish but not so much that you spook the redfish away.
My favorite lure for this scenario is a white, molting or new penny Berkeley GULP 3 inch shrimp with a 1/8 ounce red jig head. These baits stink to high heaven but reds love them. You can also try gold spoons, spinner baits..... BUT smell will trump vibrations and flash almost every time for a redfish.
Mud flats: One of my favorite ways to sight fish for redfish is on mudflats at low tide. Redfish are one of the first fish to hit the super skinny flats with the incoming tide. They like to get first dibs at the shrimp, crab and fish buffet before most other fish will brave the super shallow water.
I have seen them belly slide with half their bodies out of the water to get to the spots where they want to hunt. The problem with this scenario is that you have to get there before they do and wait for them to come to you. You will want to find a choke point like a channel in the flat that will funnel the fish to you.
Redfish are very skiddish in super shallow water. If you have that buddy with you that likes to clunk around and drop his beers, then make him sit down until you catch a few reds. One big clunk can spook a whole flat full of dozens of redfish.
I wrote another article that covers in detail how to catch a redfish. You can read that article on this website by clicking right here.
You only have 45 minutes or so to use this technique before the reds disperse all over the place with the rising waters. And as soon as the lemon sharks and bull sharks hit the flats the redfish will be gone.
Use the same baits, lures and techniques mentioned in the oyster bar section above.
Watch the video below and learn more about sight fishing?
Sight Fishing for Tarpon
Tarpon are another one of those fish that make it easy for us sight fishermen to find. Tarpon have rudimentary lungs and can breathe air. This gives them a big advantage over fish that have to get their oxygen from the water that they are in.
This makes it easy for us sight fishermen to figure out where all of the tarpon are hanging out too. When they come up and gulf some air we want to just cast in front of them. Now we just have to figure out how to get them to eat what we are trying to sell to them.
Tarpon move around a lot. Once you find them you will often have to follow them around because they will move based on the schools of fish that they are feeding on. If they are feeding on a school of finger mullet, then you can expect to move around with the school until the bite stops.
I am a tarpon specialist. They are my favorite fish to catch and when they are around in decent numbers, that is just about all that I fish for. Tarpon can be very picky and the best time of the day to fool them into eating lures is the first two hours of light in the morning and the last hour of light OR at night.
WANT TO CATCH A TARPON? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
Best lures: I like to use a walk-the-dog type of to water lure like a zara spook or a top dog mirrolure in a white or a natural color combination. Tarpon on top water are a lot of fun but it is very dangerous to get the treble hooks out of their mouths without you getting hooked in the process.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in detail how to catch a tarpon. You can read that article by clicking right here.
That is why most of my top water hooks have inline single hooks for tarpon fishing. The single hooks actually give you better penetration in the bony mouths of the tarpon.
I also like to use a white DOA CAL with a 1/8 ounce red jig head or a white DOA Big Eyz for targeting tarpon.
The best bait is live bait. If you can match the hatch to what they are feeding on, then you can catch a ton of tarpon. A 4/0 circle hook, in a back hooked finger mullet, under around 3 feet of leader, with a cork is a great way to fish for them.
The size of your hook depends on the size of your tarpon but a 4/0 hook can handle one up to 50 or 60 pounds very easily. The cork slows the bait just enough where the tarpon can consistently catch them. That means the you can consistently catch tarpon.
The video below shows you how to avoid DEAD ZONES.
Sight Fishing for Snook
Snook are another great fish that lends itself well for sight fishing. Big snook will go into very shallow water in the search for food. Snook are hard fighters and their first run can be pretty amazing. They are one of the most protected species of fish here in Florida.
They have strange seasons that change depending upon where you are fishing in Florida too. Make sure that you check the rules before catching snook. Snook harvesting requires you to have a special snook stamp. You cannot keep a snook with just a saltwater fishing license. You have to get the stamp too.
Where are the best places to sight fish for snook?
Mangrove roots: One of my favorite ways to catch snook is sight fishing them as they cruise the mangrove roots with the incoming and outgoing tides. There is almost always a sand bar or mud flat area next to the mangroves unless there is a heavy current in that area.
Snook will cruise within a few feet of the mangrove roots in less than 2 feet of water as they move with the tides. They are easy to see and you can often get them to hit your offering.
This is a great time to pitch a live pin fish, finger mullet, shrimp or white bait a few feet in front of the them.
Dead bait works too. A big chunk of ladyfish or mullet is another good choice for snook cruising the mangrove roots.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in detail how to catch a snook. You can read that article by clicking right here.
The best lures are a white DOA CAL or a shallow diving suspending mullet imitation lure. A fake shrimp is another good choice in this scenario.
Docks: Docks and snook go together like college football and chicken wings. Snook like structure. They use structure to stay out of the current and let prey items come to them. Dock piling and bridge pilings are some of the best places to sight fish for snook.
If you are up current, then you can use a float and let the tide bring your live bait offering to the snook. A pin fish, finger mullet, white bait or shrimp is a good choice. You will need to beef up your tackle because snook are pros at wrapping your line around the pilings.
Grass flats: Snook love to hide in the grass near the sandy pot holes in the grass flats. When you are drifting the flats make sure to focus on the pot holes.
Live bait works best so send your live pin fish, finger mullet, white bait or shrimp to the pot hole and hold on for the bite if a snook is around.
The best lures are the usual suspects. DOA CAL, DOA shrimp or Big Eyz, suspending mullet imitation lures, spoons, Berkeley GULP shrimp or swimming mullet......
Beach: Snook love to cruise the trough right next to the beach within a few feet of shore. This trough made by the waves, is where croakers, whiting, pompano and other fish that the snook like to eat are hanging out. They are easy to spot on clear water days BUT they can spot you too so be stealthy.
The best baits for this scenario are croakers, pin fish and finger mullet. Just send them into the trough ahead of the snook.
The best lures are suspending imitation mullet lures, white flair hawk styled jigs, white DOA Big Eyz and just about any soft plastic that looks like a mullet.
Watch the video below for the best DOA lures.
Sight Fishing for Black Drum
Black drum are another fish that lend themselves to sight fishermen in shallow water. Drums in general like to cruise around the flats looking for shrimp, crabs and small fish to eat. As they swim in shallow water they create a V wake. It is a sight to see a school of a 100 black drum cruising the flats.
Drum like to bury their faces in the mud, sand or grass and will often have their tails sticking out of the water. This makes it easy to figure out where they are foraging. It is hard to get their attention so use something stinky.
The best bait is a shrimp, crab or a clam strip. The drum will smell your offering and slurp it right down if you get it close enough to them.
I wrote another article that covers in much more detail how to catch a black drum. You can read that article by clicking right here.
The best lure is a white, molting or new penny Berkeley GULP 3 inch shrimp with a 1/8 ounce red jig head. Just get it near enough to the fish for them to smell it. You don't have to move it if you don't want to.
Conclusion:
Sight fishing is a great way to catch fish. It requires stealth, patience and precision casting but once you get good at it, then you can have a blast. I like it because it is like hunting.
You have to scan the waters to find your prey. You have to use stealth to quietly get within range of your cast. You have to have the perfect cast to get the bait in front of you target fish. Then you have to make sure that you don't lose you fish once it is hooked. AWESOME FUN!
If you are ever in the Treasure Coast of Florida book a kayak fishing trip with me. We can sight fish for all of the fish mentioned above and then some from a kayak.
I hope that this article helps you catch a lot more fish the next time you go sight fishing or at the very least helps you have more fun trying to catch them. Let's get some lines wet.
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