Hooked on Sight Fishing

Hello. My name is Mike and I’m hooked on sight casting. Since my first attempt at sight casting several years ago I have become hopelessly addicted to what I consider the most challenging and rewarding style of fishing the Texas coast has to offer. I consider my guide service something of a floating therapy center for fly casters and light tackle enthusiasts who share in my addiction.
As the name implies, in sight casting, a cast is not made until the angler sees a fish or group of fish. In this sense it is closely related to hunting. Often compared to bow hunting, sight casting requires stealth, nerves of steel, and a quick, accurate “shot” or cast. For the angler who has progressed to the point where the “sport” is more important that merely filling the cooler with fish sight casting can be the next step. I no longer measure the success of a fishing trip by the number of fish caught, but by the number of fish seen. For the trip to be successful I want to show my clients at least 50 redfish in a day.
I will do my best to get the angler in an area of clear, shallow water where redfish feed. While silently poling my flats boat along a shoreline or grass covered flat, from my elevated platform, I scan the area looking for our prey. If we are lucky we’ll find reds tailing. Tailing fish are the easiest to see and normally are actively feeding. Otherwise I focus on the bottom, not the surface of the water, searching for that beautiful bronze color or maybe just a fin or blue tipped tail. Sometimes it’s just a shape that doesn’t fit the scene.
Once the fish is spotted I tell the angler where the fish is related to the clock and distance. The bow of the boat is always 12:00. Therefore a fish at 11:00 and 30 feet is just a little left of directly in front of the boat and 30 feet away. From this point the challenge is in the hands of the angler. He must make a quick accurate cast to the target. The target is not the fish. The last thing you want to do is hit the fish with your lure or fly. Depending on the conditions, the target is a few feet ahead of and a few feet beyond the fish. This allows you to make the cast without spooking the fish and then work your lure or fly to the fish. Sounds easy enough but it’s not.
Several factors affect the situation. The boat is moving, the fish may be moving, the wind is blowing and you are probably a little nervous or excited. You must calm your nerves and adjust to all the other factors to take advantage of the opportunity. A well placed cast and the proper twitch of the lure or strip of the fly can result in a heart stopping strike at your offering. Your rod bows and the line screams from your reel as the red rips across the flat frantically swimming for freedom. The rush you experience is incredible as the adrenalin runs through your veins. In short order the fish is brought to the boat and the fight come to an end. You take a few moments to relax and snap a few photos. Now let’s do it again. By the way you might as well call for another therapy session because now you are hooked too.

The Perfect Sight Fishing Bait?

I don’t know if the Texas Tackle Factory folks had a sight fisher design the Killer Flats Minnows, but if they didn’t they still came up with what just might be the perfect sight fishing soft plastic. Sight fishing is primarily done in very shallow, clear water. In this environment the fish are usually very aware of what is going on around them and tend to be a little spooky. The size, action and colors of the KFM make them very effective in shallow water applications.
The KFM is noticeably smaller than it’s Trout and Red Killer brothers, both of which are very effective baits. The KFM lands in the water with very little splash or disturbance. Unlike some fish in deeper water that may be attracted to a splash reds and trout in really skinny water tend to shy away from such a disturbance. Once in the water the smaller size makes for a much less invasive presentation.
The subtle action of the paddle tail is just right for fooling spooky fish. When twitched, the up and down motion of the KFM does a great job of mimicking a fleeing shrimp or a baitfish looking to hide in the grass. The straight track also allows the angler a good line to bring the bait directly to the fish.
The wide variety of colors allows the angler to cover the entire spectrum in search of the color the fish really want. I almost always start with light colors such as liquid shrimp or salt-n-pepper with the chartreuse tail. My main reason for this is that the lighter colors are easier for me to see. When I can see both the bait and the fish I can do a better job of “coaching” my client that can’t always see the fish. If I see that a light color makes the fish shy away I will switch to a little darker shade such as pumpkinseed chartreuse or strawberry white. On rare occasions I may have to switch to one of the really dark colors. I have to say that on most days the liquid shrimp does the job for me.
One more attribute of the KFM, actually all the TTF baits, is their durability. A few years back I used brand “BA” baits and for the most part that meant catch a fish and put on another bait. The TTF baits are much tougher and will normally stand up to multiple bites. Sometimes small trout or piggy perch will bite off the contrasting colored tail. When that becomes a problem I just switch back to the liquid shrimp.
If you enjoy sight fishing you owe it to yourself to try the KFM baits…quite possibly the perfect sight fishing bait.