Corpusfishing.com

[ironmanstan]

[quote="ziacatcher"]

[5moreminutes]

The best thing you can do is go slow, get some good polarized sunglasses, and study Google earth.
I have had some with me to show me some ins and out on big flats but for most part just putting in time.

Spend that money on SeaTow.

Also a good GPS helps.
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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

[rodandroll]

[rodandroll]

[snakecan2]

just like IMS said. go out there and do a little, a little more, a little more and you will have all the confidence in the world.

plus just loading and unloading at the boat ramp, you tend to find others out there talking, etc.

most good and experienced guides learned it that way. granted it has been every day for most of there lives. So yeah they should be good at it.

It has been some time since I have been on the bays, but that is how I learned.
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Fish and Hunt Baby.... so tight lines and clear scopes.

[RPool]

I remember visiting a nursery shortly after buying my first house years ago. My wife and I were anxious to add some landscaping so there we were. The owner approached us and I explained our goal. He said "great, but first let me ask you - do you have time or money?" I told him we had little money and he said "great - let's look at small plants that will take some time - costs way less". That has come to mind in so many scenarios over the years and this is one as well. Do you want to take time to accumulate your own knowledge or do you want someone to provide it quickly and extensively? If it is the latter, expect to cover their costs plus a profit. I slowly learned some areas by trial and error in the beginning, but as my finances improved, I tried the alternate approach. I put my cards on the table with an experienced guide some years ago, after I could afford it, about a specific area I wanted to learn - I just didn't have enough time to do it on my own. It was the best decision I could ever have made. Not only do I know that area like the back of my hand, I know its history, geography, biology, hydrology, weather patterns, seasonal influences, etc. plus I made a life-long friend. In fact, I have a hand-carved tailing redfish on my desk that he made from driftwood - reminds me of that friendship daily. Either approach, it's all been a blast! Good luck.

[Bryhn]

Just test it little by little and SLOWLY. If you know where the channels are you can stay in them until you get a better feel. Don't forget that 1/2 a foot makes a big difference in where you can go, so if you're in a Blue wave or comparable, going out with a guide in a pescador will not tell you where you can go and not go. Not to mention tide movement, strong wind, etc..

Watch other boats that are similar to yours and where they go and don't go. Enter shallow water where you know deep water is down wind. Its a lot easier to walk a boat to deeper water if it is down wind. If you can idle through then you should be able to go through on a plane. I idled across estes flats numerous times before I was comfortable going through on a plane staying on the same track. Also know that getting up on a plane can be difficult if not impossible in a shallower water.

If you were to hire someone, you would be better served going on your boat.

[Oil Field Trash II]

until you've ran there in YOUR boat, don't trust what you see anyone do. I run edges of sandbars, small guts through spoil islands, ~100 feet away from rock piles in baffin... no way would I watch someone else run a boat, then run there on plane if I didn't know exactly what was there for myself.

when I got my last boat, I spent a god awful amount of time idling around, if I can idle through it, I know I can run on plane through it. Right now is not a good time to test where your boat can go. I don't even know what kind of boat you have, but with the tide being 2 feet high, you can go just about anywhere you want. Wait until the tide drops out, and go look around at all the spoils and other crap sticking just about the water line. Mark it all on your GPS, and make notes of water depth, even when the tide is out. That will keep you out of trouble

[bollie]

Yes so glad for guys sharing their wisdom. I do watch a lot on YouTube, use google earth and navionics app. Think i am going to be better prepared next time out with a drift plan. I always go slow to old to be a speed demon.

[CaptPatrick]

Bollie; no anger. Maybe salty but not angry. This is some of the best info I've seen on this subject. Going with someone else is the fastest way over the learning curve. No doubt. We've all done it. Mine started
forty years ago when the boats where Robalos and Aquasports. Talk about something you don't want to get stuck. I don't know what to say about your friends experience other than it really helps to talk to a few about your expectations. Yesterday I had a great charter. Jane and Reed. She wasn't satisfied with shrimp and cork. Preferred arti's. But Reed hadn't been fishing in a long time. They were perfect for him.Jane used a swim bait. I told her that hit would be hard. Dozen cast or so later she gets a drag burning 24" Baffin bay snaggle tooth freckled fish.
I was disappointed when they had enough at 10:30 and wanted to go in.it was hot.
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Adrift on the Mother Lagoon

[manuel9622]

Man this is all great info. I run a 18' Shallowsport, floats in 6" runs in 3", but that doesn't give me the ticket to run anywhere I want. I take every precaution just like all these guys explain. Plus I don't like tearing up the sea grass. If you keep anything in mind let it be that one. Take care of our flats.
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Shallow Sportn' it

[BayFly]

Bollie, you have not mentioned where you are from, so I will speak in general terms. Maybe you should advise us where you are from and maybe, just maybe someone will offer to sit down with you with a topo map and advise you of how to read it, and where the primary trouble spot are, so you can spot them in the future. It takes years to learn most of the dos and don't, and that is not to say you will ever learn all of them, or that you won't have to learn them twice.
There are two types of oldtimers, those that will openly share their knowledge, and those who won't. Find you someone near you, or at least in the area you reside who will spend some time going over the ins and outs of the bays, and with some caution you should be fine. BTW, the earlier advice to get tow insurance is very good advice, because about the time you think you have it figured out you will be scratching you head and trying to figure out how you are going get your boat off of that high spot, especially if you are alone! My policy is with TowBoat US and it costs about $130 with trailer coverage, as well.

[CROAKERSOAKER]

Considering I just got my, boat registration, boat & trailer insurance, boat storage bill and bought a few boat accessories the past month, guide fees( especially split with a party of 4) seem pretty reasonable. Love having a boat and learning things on my own but still doing 1 or 2 guided trips a year are well worth the money.
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Take a kid fishing, best investment for them and our future of fishing.

[Gotta Catchem All]

I'm surprised noone has said Hook-N-Line map!.. it will tell you any obstructions and give you water depths and even the popular fishing holes and gps coordinates... a great place to start