The most productive flats afford ready access to deeper water; fish move up onto the flat to feed and exit to the security of the surrounding depths.
less than the length of a good field goal. Many Northeast anglers and even a number of captains new to the Long Island flats game equate skinny or thin water with water that is simply shal- low. True northeast flats follow much the same pattern as those of the Southeast and Gulf Coast regions. Skinny water is not merely the low edge of a channel or the portion of water that comprises the wash off a beach. Neither is it the taking of stripers from weed-lines and shorelines, unless those locations are adjacent to a well- defined “flat.” Catching a fish in shal- low water does not automatically sug- gest that you caught a “skinny” water flats fish. Long Island’s skinny water is technically defined as that which is part of a feeding flat, an expanse of very lean water used by game fish as a feeding plateau, a formation where fish can hunt or root out food and then escape to a deeper safe haven.
This type of water can be but ankle- deep or range to a few feet in depth, and is usually also associated with tra- ditional sight fishing. The most pro- ductive flats more often than not afford ready access to deeper water; fish move up onto the flat to feed and exit to the security of the surrounding depths. Deep-water access is also used for defensive purposes. Since most fish sense vulnerability when feeding on a flat, a residual imprint from when they were fry, the security of an escape route is an essential feature of all productive Long Island flats.
Some Long Island flats that I have
fished are relatively small and don’t hold legions of fish, yet all can be quite productive during certain periods of the tide or season. While classic flats fishing is most always identified with tropical or southerly locations and with destina- tions like the Keys, Yucatan, Belize, the Bahamas, the Seychelles and so on, some of Long Island’s flats rank right up there in terms of fish-generating potential. A number of years back, I explored a small sand flat over the course of
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many outings before unlocking its secret. Once the relationship between season, tide and crab swarms was dis- covered, that tiny flat began to yield what has amounted over the years to literally hundreds of school-sized striped bass.
One of the key elements for Long Island style flats fishing is clear water. You want to see the fish that you are casting to. Sunny days are a critical fac- tor since they enhance the angler’s abil- ity to spot the often difficult-to-discern forms of cruising or stationary fish. Days that have mild winds, which do not create too much sight distortion from wave activity, are also preferred. The combination of bright, sunny days, clear water and the ephemeral images of fish make polarized sunglasses an essential piece of fishing equipment.
ATYPICAL FLATS SCENARIO
Fishing Long Island flats is not something one does from a deep-V center-console boat. Recognizing yet again that stealth is a critical element of successful flats fishing, very shallow draft boats are the rule. Long Island anglers have adapted traditional flats boats to this task as well as hybrid hulls like bay boats. Access to flats can also be effectively achieved with a kayak. A ’yak is a personal choice of mine, and I use one primarily as a conveyance to get to where I like to wade. Since the flats that I fish are very small, that is about the only way that you can approach them without spooking any fish that might be in a feeding mood. The best of Long Island’s skinny water guides will always approach a flat quietly, often cutting the main engine well before reaching the flat. Then he or she will move the boat onto the flat with either a pole or electric trolling motors. A typical tactic is to first work the peripheral edges of the flat. Stripers will habitually cruise that seam area between the shallow water of the flat and the deeper perimeter water. Once on the flat, the boat can either be quietly moved to an area where fish are known to concentrate, or maneuvered in some well-defined searching pattern. Tide movements make a big differ- ence as bass will locate on different portions of a flat during the various tide phases. When fishing a flat for the first few times, it is beneficial to work the area as thoroughly as possible in some orderly pattern since you never know where you might bump some
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bass. When fish-holding areas are located, such as a pothole, grass or mus- sel beds, or changes in the bottom con- tours and structure, the boat is either moved slowly and quietly through those areas or staked-out to enable the angler to carefully prospect the location. You also want to keep hull slap to a min- imum since those reverberations will send fish fleeing in a heartbeat.
The ability to spot bass on a flat in time to make an effective presentation of a fly or lure is the most critical ele- ment of this game and takes some get- ting used to. All too often the untrained eye misses fish that are either moving along the flat or just cruising feet from the boat. Learn how to spot not only the entire fish form, but also pieces and parts of the whole, much like whitetail deer hunters do in thick cover.
Bass over sandy bottoms present distinctive shapes, but fish in grassy or weedy areas can appear as if camou- flaged. Feeding fish will usually travel about the flat searching out a meal or remain positioned in a feeding lane waiting for food to come to them. Striped bass will often feed this way and orient to a favored holding area. I have watched stripers root sand eels at dusk in the same manner that redfish or bonefish will root out small crus- taceans, crabs and baitfish. If the water is skinny enough you can even see their back and exposed tails. When that happens, try to maintain composure and make the casts count!
Although striped bass are the pri- mary targets of Long Island flats anglers, some other interesting surpris- es await those who spend time on skin- ny waters of the northeast. I have had bluefish, Atlantic bonito and little tunny move into water that was no more than calf-deep. Hook one of those pelagic speedsters in thin water and hang on for the ride of your life. Long Island flats fishing is an ideal scenario for fly and light-tackle anglers. Match your tackle to the available species and predominant size range of fish, and you are sure to enjoy yourself.
Angelo Peluso is an outdoors journalist and book author whose work has appeared in numerous local, regional and national magazines and newspapers. He has authored several fly-fishing books including Fly Fishing Long Island; Saltwater Flies of the Northeast; and soon to be published Saltwater Flies of the Southeast and Gulf Coast. For further information visit
www.angelopeluso.com.
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