Matt Jenkins wrote:Hi Marcus,
I'm sure steve P will give you a reply but i'd recommend getting a pair of snowbee flats boots
Spot on Matt
Snowbee flats boots, as featured in the pic that Marcus refers to.
You can pay £60 / 70 for Orvis or Simms (and they are good boots) but I wouldn't skimp on a pair of thin dive boots for £25 when the Snowbees are only an tenner more and have a protective sole plate to avoid foot injuries.
It isn't essential to have flats boots, as you can fish off of the stone jetty at Sandy Point for tarpon, jacks and the occasional (big) grouper, but even fishing from the sandy beaches, when not intending to wade, the surf often races several metres up the beach and you end up knee-deep in water which carries a lot of sand, grit, small stones and sometimes coral lumps the size of grapefruits. One of these bashing into your ankles and you know all about it. Neoprene flats boots just give that extra bit of protection and I wouldn't fish without mine out of choice.
Some people get by with just trainers or plimsoles, but I prefer the keep the skin on my feet and ankles - but I'm a softy Southern pansy.
The local guys who fish from the shore mostly use wellies because that's all that is available in the way of protective footware. They are as fit as butcher's dogs, running up and down the beach after blitzing jacks for a few hours with boots full of water!
I think that you may have mis-understood about the trout poppers.
I don't think Mike has ever used one - he was almost certainly referring to popping surface plugs e.g. Rapala Skitterpops, Yo-Zuri Mag Sliders or Hydro-tigers. I guess you could use poppers (as in 'flies') but not trout lures. The hooks wouldn't stand a chance against some of the fish. You want salt-water hooks in sizes to match, say rainy's poppers in 3/0 size or crease flies in 2/0. Other baitfish patterns work and we find these easier to use. If you use clousers or deceivers, then these could sort out larger bonefish as bones of 3lb + will certainly feed on baitfish. We had 3 well over 6lb on 9cm plugs this last trip, so they will take a large fly too.
One of the best 'flies' is a small redgill superglued to a stainless steel fly hook. A real killer for all sorts, including tarpon, palometa and snook.
The traditional Charlies and Gotchas tend to select for smaller bonefish, but please don't get the impression that the Tobago flats are teeming with bones - either big or small. One or two during a two week trip is pretty good going on average and it's taken us several years to find out where they hang out and what will fool them on a regular basis.
On one flat you can set your watch by the turn of the tide and ambush them on the fly if you are there 45mins after the tide begins to flood and they stop long enough you give your fly a second glance. Nine times out of ten they will be swimming purposefully with the tide, in a knee-deep gully which gives acess from deeper water, where they hang out at low tide and they will ignore whatever you cast to them. Make it worth their while by offering a baitfish immitation (fly or plug) and they may just decide to hammer it, but you only get one shot and then they bxxxxr off to feed elswhere over a couple of square kms of flat. In less than five minutes your ambush point is fishless and it's time to go elsewhere (flats boots required).
On the flat in question, I saw three permit together this year. The first time I've seen permit on this flat, but I emphasise the word 'saw', as they were rooting around in the surf-line and disappeared before I could get a cast to them. All of this is often middle of the day fishing, so don't forget the regulation hat, shades and sun-screen.
You can catch some good fish in even the most obvious places like Pigeon Point or Canoe Bay, but or experiences lead us to search for baitfish and feeding birds when looking for tarpon and jacks.
Find the shoals baitfish around the piers and beaches and the predators won't be long in arriving.
Hope these snippets help
Cheers
Steve
What a perfect location...
Right moan over