The Best Tactics For Wade Fishing Tidal Creeks (To Catch Inshore Slams)
- By: Richard Thomas
- on
Tidal creeks are great places to fish if you want to catch an inshore slam!
And you don’t need a boat or a kayak to catch a ton of fish in this easily accessible spot.
So in this new video, you’ll learn:
- When to fish these areas
- The two things you need to scout out to be successful
- How to find the target zones for fish
- And more
Check it out!
Wade Fishing Tactics For Inshore Slams [VIDEO]
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Tidal creeks have several feet of water moving in and out through a tide cycle.
My favorite time to target tidal creeks is at low tide.
But make sure it’s wadable!
There’s almost nothing worse than scouting out a new area to find there’s no way to walk it.
Try to find spots with a sandy bottom or a high bank that will help you walk around that creek safely.
Also, you need to be stealthy.
Walk around these areas slowly and methodically because, at low tide, there’s not much distance that separates you from the fish.
Target deeper holes because that’s where the majority of the fish will be located during the lower part of the tide.
Cast past the deeper holes and retrieve through the over those areas slowly to locate where fish are holding.
When fishing tidal creeks, you also want to cover the entire area by fan casting.
This helps you cover the creek at all angles!
Lastly, you need to identify the types and sizes of bait present.
Sometimes all you need is a change in the profile size of your bait to have success catching fish.
Conclusion
Wade and bank fishing are great ways to catch a ton of fish!
And great news, you don’t need a boat or a kayak (and only need minimal tackle).
Have any questions about wade fishing in creek systems like this?
Let me know down in the comments.
And if you know someone who loves to wade fish, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Richard – great piece – Thanks!
Glad you liked it, thanks David!
Way to go Richard!! Nice work in that creek buddy!! Solid work with the video too man!
Thanks Matthew! It was a fun trip!
Very nice report
Thanks David!
What a great video! Thanks for putting this together.
Caught a slam and your feet never left the spot! I would love to do something like that. If I ever find my way up there I’ll be sure and try it.
Thanks Pat! It was definitely a fun one, and always great to mix it up. It’s a blast, and almost always worth it.
If you have a kayak or small boat it opens up even more areas like this if your willing to anchor up and walk in.
If you head up this way be sure to give me a shout!
Very nice Richard. 80% of my Florida fishing is wade fishing. Please keep the quality wade fishing coming. I appreciate it. Buzz
You got it Buzz! Thanks for the great feedback!
Very nice, Richard! I never have noticed the white dots on the flounder make complete circles.
Yeah Flounder are one of my favorites to catch inshore, and believe it or not they can actually change their camo with their environment as well!
Anyone got any tips for wide bottomed mud boots for walking through softer mud to do this? I love this article. Just the other day a school of big slots reds were feeding in a creek at low tide in only 6″ of water. We scored one, but spooked the rest because our shallow draft gheenoe boat displaced the water too much when trying to follow them and spooked the rest.
Hey Christopher, I’ve been there! If I’m in an unfamiliar place, I’ll usually bring actual wading boots that slip over standard waders. You can buy the neoprene socks separate so that way there is no need for wearing the actual waders especially when its hot. However, we do have a video that our coach Wyatt did on the right ones for your situation! https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/soft-science-fin-boot/
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/ultimate-guide-to-waders-saltwater-fishing/
Yea well Richard while these tactics work great where most of the members fish and live in central and South fl we here in northeast fl Jacksonville and st Augustine area wading is almost non exsistant considering over 95 percent of the bottom content in our creeks and st John’s river bottoms are pretty much mud I have fished northeast fl for saltwater fish since 03 and pretty much know where most of the creeks are and can tell you that wade fishing them is pretty much almost impossible there are very few areas that have a firm enough bottom for that kind of fishing and if you know anything about the east coast of the US pretty much all of the state’s running along the Atlantic coast are that way I have been a life member of saltstrong since 17 and have been disappointed in the amount of info that really works in my area while they work great in central and South fl and anything along the gulf coast the Atlantic side is totally different and in my opinion left out we don’t have see grass w Sandy potholes or even clear water for that matter it’s murky w shoreline grass w oysters back even the tides ate much different then your area much stronger here and the hiegth is much more variable you guys tides are weak and differ very little day to day sorry just telling you the facts and what I have experienced and like I already told you I have alot of experience in the inshore saltwater seen here in northeast fl but you can have your ungodly heat and redtides we here never have to worry about them and that’s just the way i like it
Hey Steven! Great response and I agree that there are many areas that are not wadeable especially here in the SouthEast United States! However there are definitely a few! It will take a bit of research on google earth at times and even have to be tested once you get there, but you would be surprised! Thats a big reason I wanted to make this video to shed some light on the opportunities that are available for wade fishing especially in the coastal regions. Many people don’t do it, but there are areas all up and down the coast that are possible. Also some mudflats are actually wadeable, I’m sure as you’ve seen flyfishermen wading on flood tides for Redfish. Most everything that I put out will be focused from South Carolina, Ga, and parts of N/E Florida. I’ve noticed your sandy areas are often closer to your sounds/inlets and beaches, so look for creeks close to these areas!
It’s like I said yes there are a FEW areas but very few and mostly the ones that are wadeable are not excessable by foot only a boat or a yak is needed to get there but yes I know of an area by St Augustine which im sure you have looked at on google maps matanzas inlet but while it is a very wide area with hard sandy bottom it can get extremely crowded on weekends when most people have time to fish
I’ll be coming to N Palm Beach in Jan. Are there any of these type creeks in that area? Loved the video.
Thanks
Hey Bob! Thanks, glad you liked it! So from looking at the imagery and layout of the Palm Beach area, there doesn’t seem to be as much similar geography as the “coastal” areas as in this video. Such as NC all the way down to some parts of N/E Florida.
However there does look to be some areas with possible wading opportunities not too far from roads! Be sure to see in the community any members who fish that area and if they have any tips! I also included a spot dissection that focused on surf fishing which should be great this time of year in that area. https://www.saltstrong.com/fishing-tip/structure-to-find-surf-fishing-spots-insider/
What an awesome video!! Thanks for all the great tips Richard… makes me miss fishing those coastal creeks!
Thanks Wyatt!! Always fun to change it up!