Flats wading around SSI / Brunswick

[pupnsuds]

Greenhorn saltwater fly angler here. Any tips or recommendations on wading the flats for redfish, sea trout around Saint Simons Island and Brunswick? I will be down there all this upcoming week. Plan to visit On the Fly outfitters in Brunswick for some intel as well. I see there will be some morning low tides early in the week.
Thanks

 

[GLS]

Low tide flats? You'll sink to your knees or worse in the mud. Best wading is spring tides in the low (short rather than tall) marsh grass flats on high tide. Probably best spring for a guide on a half day trip to learn the how and maybe also the "where". Folks don't typically share online their wading flat information and hold it close to the vest. Gil

PS: here's some info you might find useful on how we do it on this end of the coast. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122224833/http://flytyingworld.com/PagesG/gilstacy.htm

 

[Railroader]

What he said...^^^^

 

[Taxman]

Really it is about knowing where to go there, even with a boat.
The wading scenario is even more limited. Even with guidance
from those nice guys at the fly shop who will not give up the
few spots that they can take people on foot. I DIY a lot of
places and lived on SSI for 12 years. Its one place worth spending
the money for a guide if you want to catch fish.

Just my humble opinion!

 

[Djangofly]

I have been out with guides for redfish in that area (on the fly), spent a good deal of money, and gotten skunked. I have done maybe 4 redfish guide trips in the area and only connected with a couple fish - the reds did not cooperate. I would DIY and save "guide money" for a Keys trip, unless you really plan to spend some time in that area and have flexibility in dates so that you only go out when the conditions are really good i.e. clearish water, manageable winds, etc.

If you just want to catch redfish, maybe throw some bait under a dock or DIY fly with managed expectations.

 

[redneck_billcollector]

I have been out with guides for redfish in that area (on the fly), spent a good deal of money, and gotten skunked. I have done maybe 4 redfish guide trips in the area and only connected with a couple fish - the reds did not cooperate. I would DIY and save "guide money" for a Keys trip, unless you really plan to spend some time in that area and have flexibility in dates so that you only go out when the conditions are really good i.e. clearish water, manageable winds, etc.

If you just want to catch redfish, maybe throw some bait under a dock or DIY fly with managed expectations.

Interesting, I have never gotten skunked with a guide on the GA coast, got hit a good bit. I did have a freshwater fly fisherman with me the last time, he spent a lot of time on the bow and never caught anything, but it was not because the fish did not bite, he had a hard time with setting the hook.....strip setting was a skill he had not yet developed, whereas I spent about 1/4 of his time on the bow, I caught some nice red fish. This was fishing out of SSI with a guide we contacted in Brunswick. I would point out that people who mainly fish for trout with a fly rod often have an issue switching to saltwater. Every saltwater fly guide I know says they cringe when the first words out of a potential client's mouth are "I fly fish for trout all the time." Saltwater fly fishing is nothing like freshwater fly fishing, different styles of casting and you have to strip set, "trout setting" is a surefire way not to catch fish in saltwater.

 

[GLS]

Tight loops and dealing with wind are the troublesome areas for trout stream anglers transitioning to the salt. My advice to friends who want to stretch out in the salt is to practice casting into the wind which requires a tightening of the loop. OTOH, West Coast big water steelheaders and salmon anglers encounter the same issues as do saltwater fly fishermen and make the transition easily. Gil

 

[Para Bellum]

Learn to double haul.

 

[redneck_billcollector]

What was said above plus FORGET setting the hook like you do for trout, you will never get a hook set except by luck. Strip set with redfish it does not need to be much. Your rod tip should be pointing at the fish....lifting the rod before the hook is set is the best way NOT TO CATCH a fish in saltwater.

 

[Mexican Squealer]

Guide

 

[GLS]

Breaking the freshwater habit of using the rod to set the hook is easier said than done. My experience was that once the red decided to pick up the fly they rarely spit the fly out and often it'd be down to his crushers. My style of fishing in the flooded marsh grass entailed the fly being motionless and the take wasn't felt like it would have been stripping a streamer. Often Mr. Red would set the hook when he felt something wasn't right and spooked. Best practice is to have the rod tip low with as much slack as possible out of the line. You don't want the strike to take slack out with little pull at the hook. Another advantage of the slip strike is that there is less commotion caused by the strike as opposed to the rod lift which creates more line disturbance and it also takes the fly out of the fish's strike zone if he didn't take it when you thought he took. With the slip strike the fly isn't moved but a few inches and if it's missed, the fly is still in the fish's strike zone for another chance at a hopefully undisturbed red. Wading to a tailing red in the Georgia marshes, flooded by spring tides, is the best game in town with a flyrod for me. Gil