It may be necessary to adjust your strategy a bit to ensure skinny water success.

Story and photography by Danno Wise

There is a common misconception among inshore fishermen that the shallow flats are not productive once the summer heat sets in. While it is true many fish will seek shelter in deeper water this time of year, there will also still be plenty of fish in the shallows. More often than not, the fish that do remain on the flats throughout summer are better quality than those found in the deeper water. There is absolutely no need to abandon your aspirations of fishing knee-deep water when summer temperatures rise. However, it may be necessary to adjust your strategy a bit to ensure skinny water success.

For starters, there is no getting around the fact the water temperatures will be much higher from July through September. There are a number of ways in which that will affect where and when fish are found on the flats, as well how they will behave. There are also variables with the water and weather that can have an impact. That means there a combination of generalities that apply to summer flats fishing that can help shape your overall plan, while prevailing weather and water conditions will help to refine it.

It’s important to understand while some shallow water areas will be productive throughout the summer, others will not. Water temperature will be the primary determining factor between those that are and those that are not.

The most consistently cooler – and productive – flats will be those nearer Gulf passes. This is because the incoming water from the Gulf is typically cooler than water within the back bays. As a result, flats are adjacent to or very near passes will see a much healthier population of both bait and predator fish.

The next best place to look will be flats which are adjacent to deep water with good current flow. Moving water is like air conditioning on the flats during summer. In this situation, narrower flats or the portion of the flat closest to the channel is often the best.

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