Shamrock Cove has always been one of my favorite bodies of water for flying fish. The first time I saw it, I knew it was a special place. It is between Port Aransas and Padre Island on the East Side of Corpus Christi Bay. It holds some of the prettiest shallow-water flats in South Texas. Here are a couple of reasons why I think Shamrock Cove is a great place to fly fish.
One is that it is nearby, and we can get there without traveling a great distance, letting us spend more time fly fishing instead of boat riding. The main reason, however, is the beautiful shallow-water flats I find all over the cove.
These flats are famous for holding large numbers of big redfish. The water depth ranges from 1 to 4 feet in the shallows and about 6 feet in the channels that run through them. Because the shallow waters have a hard sand bottom, they are great for wading. Shamrock Cove’s water depth lets fly fishermen wade and be poled around from a boat.
Wading on the flats is excellent for fly fishermen who must master their long-distance casting techniques and skills. You can get very close to tailing redfish, making it an easy solution for fly fishermen who have not yet mastered casting 60 or 70 feet.
Another advantage of wading is that one can position himself at the correct angle to the target. Positioning is critical because of the wind and light. The wind plays a vital role when you are fly fishing. It’s always advisable to get the wind from the left side for a right-handed caster and the opposite for a left-handed caster.
Adjusting to the direction of the light is just as crucial a contributing factor. The light is critical in helping you see the fish, especially those not tailing. A good pair of Polaroid sunglasses is essential for any fishing situation, especially if ripples on the water catch the sun’s reflections. In flats fishing particularly, they’re critical. When the fish are not tailing, you must know which way they are moving to cast them in front of them.
Poling the boat around on the flats is very productive. It lets you cover a lot of water fast and effectively. A considerable advantage of fly fishing from a boat deck is the distance above the water that it places you. Since you’re casting from a platform atop the boat’s deck, the higher you are, the easier it is to spot the fish. In turn, this gives you more time to cast to the fish.
