Most dedicated flats anglers do their best to stay well clear of water where the prop is likely to contact bottom. The days of running with the skeg buried in marl and seagrasses are long gone—unless we protect the habitat, our reason for being out there goes away. It’s unethical, irresponsible and illegal to blow across the shallows just to carve a path to our fishing spots.
This bar is obvious, but this angler is wise to stand while running to spot depth changes ahead that pose a hazard.
Sometimes you can’t avoid sticky situations—they come to you. You start up in a slough deep enough to run safely, without touching bottom with so much as the paint on the tip of your skeg. But then, you get pinched. The water thins out. The slough narrows. And suddenly, a patch of cadaverous water looms dead ahead. It could be a bonefish or redfish mud. But it could be water three inches deep, where the boat may flop over on its side like a beached whale while the motor spouts a roostertail of mud.
Do you motor through, hoping that you’ve got enough depth, or jerk back the throttle, drop off plane and break out the pushpole for a long slog back to deeper water?
Where there’s seagrass, it’s a no-brainer. You pole your way out because the habitat has to be protected; no conscientious angler wants to leave a “wheel track” on his favorite flat. But in other areas, learning to “read” the water can allow you to take advantage of all the shallow-running capabilities of your boat, with no risk either to your lower unit or to the habitat.
Basically it’s a matter of color. Green or blue water is good. Black, brown, tan and white water is usually bad. Yellow water can be good or bad, depending on water clarity and sand color.
Of course, we’re not really talking about the true color of water here, but about how the water transmits the colors of whatever is below. Water that looks green or blue is going to be plenty deep enough to float any flats boat—two or three feet at a minimum.
Going aground may mean a long wait for rising water.
Water that looks black or brown to reddish-brown is likely to be covering rock or coral—definitely not something you want to risk running over. And remember, in some areas like the Florida Keys, you can be happily buzzing along in three feet of water and suddenly smack a coral head growing just under the surface. So, always keep an eye out even where you think you’re in safe water.
Water that looks tan or white likely covers a shallow mud or sandbar. The clarity of the water tells you what is safe to cross and what is not. Where the water is typically murky, a light tan bar is surely too shallow to cross, while in clear water, a bar showing the same color may have plenty of water over it—local knowledge is the difference here.
In general, any color change in the water ahead can be cause for concern. Of course, sometimes the color change results from overhead clouds; a spot of sun on otherwise green water can spook you into thinking that a sandbar has suddenly grown out of the bottom dead ahead. But otherwise, regard any obvious breaks in color with suspicion anytime you’re in water less than three feet deep. Between Florida’s Homosassa and Crystal rivers, for example, there are stacks of solid limerock rising within inches of the surface as much as five miles from the nearest shoreline—and the surrounding water is four to eight feet deep. It’s been the ruin of many a poor boy, and Lord, I know I’m one! (Surviving Animals fans will know what I’m saying.) In spring and fall, these rocks are great places to catch gag grouper, but each grouper season they ruin a fair number of bottom-fishing trips. Seasoned locals recognize them by the red-brown streaks they make in the otherwise blue-green water.
