Wade fishing tactics?

[CKRIGAR]

I tried wade fishing for the first time yesterday out in the bay had a few hits but nothing on the line but had some rat reds feeding around me. Question I have is it as simple as get out on the water and fish or is there certain ways to move to not scare the fish and when I see fish hitting bait how close do I get to them? I had a blast even though I didnt catch anything. Still trying to figure out my strategy and how to make the super spook jr work right in the water. But if yall have any helpful hints they would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the advice thats already been given to guys.

[TTU Wader]

If you are fishing a new area try to wade all of it and learn the bottom. That way you can come up with a plan next time like cover the flat first with a topwater then wade along the deep gut throwing plastics. Just remember when you start getting hits stop and cover it good before you proceed on.

[CKRIGAR]

Ok thanks. I know this area pretty well cause Iv hunted it during the winter when all the water was blown out.

[ubermensch1324]

SS jr. in bone, clown and black.

Soft plastics in chartreuse.

Look for bait getting busted. Cast and repeat.

Win.

[dhkdl1]

The good old popping cork worked good for me while searching. Not to be a poacher but I would look for someone else and ask them if was ok to follow them. I dont mind sloppy seconds. Besides most of the people in the Galveston area are willing to advise, when asked respectfully, you might even get some truth!!!.LOL

[Silver Wolf]

ask MOE about following second. he'll tell you a lot of people miss a lot of fish. when people say, "look at your surroundings", it means not only look at bait, water, tide, moon, etc. there is always someone catching fish. look at his style, way he works his lure, rod, where he's throwing, retrieve, etc. you can learn alot by just watching. i did. i fished for about 5hrs one day and not a bite. i saw this gentleman walk into the water and started fishing. at first i thought the gentleman was crazy the way he was working his lure. it went against everything i had heard and learned. well, this gentleman caught 9 flounders back to back. i started to imitate what he was doing, and started to catch fish. i modified it to make it easier on me, and it works. catch flounder, specks, reds, angel fish, and others. TTU is right about fishing an area real good. when you don't catch anymore, just move a little bit and find the fish again. you can fish with us whenever you want. to many fish in the sea to be greedy. watch what each one does, and modify their techniques. you'll be amazed at what this old timer can still learn from young and old. i have learned from Moe, and Moe has learned from me. that's why we enjoy fishing with each other, because we share what we are doing and using. we even tell each other to cast to where we are catching fish, or have missed fish. hope this helps. Lord Bless.
robert

[FlatoutFishin]

Move slow, catch a fish shut down and work it out some more. Shuffle feet slowly and don't raise and stomp...fish hear and feel everything. Avoid walking on top of reef, the crunching noise carries as well. Just a few more tips I try and follow...along with the ones already suggested! #1 rule though...avoid old grumpy guys in FlatCats...you'll just work them up, and maybe have to kick their *** when they won't stop cussing you about being in their spot!
Nothing like it really, everyone says...why would I get outta my perfectly good boat...never really experianced it the way it should've been experianced!

[luvs2wade]

If you are fishing a new area try to wade all of it and learn the bottom. That way you can come up with a plan next time like cover the flat first with a topwater then wade along the deep gut throwing plastics. Just remember when you start getting hits stop and cover it good before you proceed on.

That is excellent advice, topwaters are great fish locators...lots of times I get blowups on top and will switch to plastics and catch fish. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING beats putting your feet down and wading in terms of learning structure, guts, shell etc. It is slow but it is productive. Also...many guys here including myself enjoy fishing with new anglers and meeting new people so jump out there and see if you can team up with someone that has a little more experience because that helps as well with technique and other tips.

Never lack confidence or determination!

[ryno1975]

I can tell you from experience that just getting online and reading the forums is very informative. I moved from Florida to Texas 4 yrs ago but didn't really start fishing here until last fishing season. One of the first things I did was get online and just read what people had to say. I stumbled upon FWE and it just seemed that members were very willing to help. I felt it was important for me to have some knowledge before I even got my feet wet. I took what I learned from reading the forums and used it to learn alot of stuff on my own as well. Networking works on all levels whether it's the business world or fishing. The key really is to just pay attention and take good notes.

[ubermensch1324]

ask MOE about following second. he'll tell you a lot of people miss a lot of fish. when people say, "look at your surroundings", it means not only look at bait, water, tide, moon, etc. there is always someone catching fish. look at his style, way he works his lure, rod, where he's throwing, retrieve, etc. you can learn alot by just watching. i did. i fished for about 5hrs one day and not a bite. i saw this gentleman walk into the water and started fishing. at first i thought the gentleman was crazy the way he was working his lure. it went against everything i had heard and learned. well, this gentleman caught 9 flounders back to back. i started to imitate what he was doing, and started to catch fish. i modified it to make it easier on me, and it works. catch flounder, specks, reds, angel fish, and others. TTU is right about fishing an area real good. when you don't catch anymore, just move a little bit and find the fish again. you can fish with us whenever you want. to many fish in the sea to be greedy. watch what each one does, and modify their techniques. you'll be amazed at what this old timer can still learn from young and old. i have learned from Moe, and Moe has learned from me. that's why we enjoy fishing with each other, because we share what we are doing and using. we even tell each other to cast to where we are catching fish, or have missed fish. hope this helps. Lord Bless.
robert

Move slow, catch a fish shut down and work it out some more. Shuffle feet slowly and don't raise and stomp...fish hear and feel everything. Avoid walking on top of reef, the crunching noise carries as well. Just a few more tips I try and follow...along with the ones already suggested! #1 rule though...avoid old grumpy guys in FlatCats...you'll just work them up, and maybe have to kick their *** when they won't stop cussing you about being in their spot!
Nothing like it really, everyone says...why would I get outta my perfectly good boat...never really experianced it the way it should've been experianced!

That is excellent advice, topwaters are great fish locators...lots of times I get blowups on top and will switch to plastics and catch fish. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING beats putting your feet down and wading in terms of learning structure, guts, shell etc. It is slow but it is productive. Also...many guys here including myself enjoy fishing with new anglers and meeting new people so jump out there and see if you can team up with someone that has a little more experience because that helps as well with technique and other tips.

Never lack confidence or determination!

Some awesome advice from great anglers...I'd listen to these guys! I'll throw in my 2 cents about some things other than bottom contour once you figure out your spots.


1. PM people a lot and ask around! People on the boards will be more that happy to help you. We are a community for a reason and that's because we all enjoy fishing and helping others share our passion.


2. Always keep your line in the water. Biggest tip from watching Moe and Jeremy (FP10). I know a lot of people like to tie on their lures direct, but when fishing a new area, I highly advise the quickswirl w/swivel. Google quickswirl and there are two types to buy on their page, the one with swivel (140 lb.) and the one without - get the one with swivel. You can get them from Marburgers in Kemah too.

The reason you want this when fishing a new area is obvious. Each area is different and some areas require different baits! With the quickswirl w swivel, you can switch out in an instant which means you learning your spots quicker and more efficiently without spending minutes tying on.

You need to have your line IN THE WATER when they are in there thick! Sometimes the bite only lasts for 30 minutes sometimes a few hours. Best tip ever - when fishing you can't catch fish if you are messing with your dang rod/line/switching lures/backlashes etc.


3. Keep your rod tip down when wading so you can set the hook better. Another huge tip from Moe. The reason you wanna keep it down is so that you can set the hook more efficiently. A lot of guys like to hold the tip way up which results in sub-optimal hook sets.


4. Set the hook properly per bait. When fishing topwaters the technique is different. Firstly, learn to make your lure walk the dog but back to hookset. For a top-water you will increase your hookups x3 if you make sure and let the fish take the top-water under - count to two or three and then set the hook firmly. The biggest mistake is just ripping it out of the fishes mouth on his first strike because a lot of times them come back for 2,3 or more strikes and will take it.

Soft plastics - I know Moe/Jhua/FP10/Reeltime all like to just set it as soon as they bump it. I've heard some people who fish for flounder on bottom like to let it take the bait before they set it. I'd set it as soon as they bump which is the opposite technique of ^^^.


5. Learn to rig and fish your soft plastics properly. Here's some videos from the TTF site that will teach you how to rig/throw them right http://www.texastacklefactory.com/in...d=5&Itemid=111

I would also go look up aqua pimps posts on how to rig a soft plastic the right way/color selection of lures/tides, etc. I can safely say that changing to the bass assassin 1/8-1/4 jigheads w/ SCREWLOCK, depending on wind, has allowed me to catch more fish without a bait change than ever before. This means less $$$ spent on soft plastics and more importantly, more time in the water!!!


6. Look for slicks>nervous bait>birds working>mullet pods and cast over them. I usually prioritize them in this order but it doesn't really matter. This is where a lot of your good days will come from. Make sure and "match the hatch" which means throw a lure that matches the bait in the water.


7. Don't bring fish in pre-maturely. So what if your friends make fun of you for fighting a fish and loosening your drag when it's only 15" (that's what she said). I have lost so many fish because I just didn't fight them long enough, they get right up to the net, take off and spit the hook out. When you net/grab them they should be almost floating on the water.

Too many anglers still do this...myself included!


8. Stick with field tested baits. I can tell you right now that everyone is going to have a different go-to bait because it's a confidence thing. The only tip I can really give you is that some colors just seem to work everywhere. No matter where you go - chartreuse is ALWAYS a good color choice. Same with bone. Both of those colors seem to really produce in the upper coast - bone is even better on the lower coast or so they say.

As far as lures go, I think some of the best anglers on the board all agree that a very good top-water to start out with is the super spook jr. One reason is that it's one of the easiest top waters to work when you are starting out. The main reason is that it downright catches fish when nothing else when (in my experiences).

Soft plastics - You really can't go wrong with any swimming minnow in 4", rat tailed (straight tail) soft plastics in 5", or GULP shrimp in 3".

Bait wise, I recommend you start out with these:

1. Bone super spook jr. for your top-water. Maybe grab a darker color like black or chart/black for the cloudy days and clown (or a chrome color) for the sunny days.

2. Bass Assassin 4" shad minnow. I'd grab some chartreuse glitter ones (I think space guppy is the name) and also some plum/chartreuse.

3. Bass Assassin 5" rat tail/straight tails. I'd go with plum/chartruse tail again. I know this bait is the aqua pimp special and he won't leave house without them. They work.

4. GULP 3" Shrimp. I'd get them in the color New Penny for starters. If NOTHING is biting, a gulp will do the trick. Apparently the claim is that they outfish live bait - but whether that is true or not - they seem to work when nothing else will. Rig them the same as a soft plastic.

5. Silver Spoon. One of reeltimes favorite baits. They just seem to work and they produce a nice flash in the water. They are simple to use because you can just reel them in! You can also jig them.

6. Corky regular or corky fatboy. I know Jhua loves to fish his corky when they won't hit top-waters. Pink is his goto color and it seems to work when fish are acting finnicky on top.


That's it! The only other baits I'd bring with me is possibly the TTF Hackberry Hustler in whatever color you want. I know a lot of people love morning glory and a lot of people love the gold glittery clear one. I have also heard of people (Hogie) really liking the brown lure devil eyes. I think pink is a popular choice as well as chartreuse/pearl.