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After four decades as a Floridian, it’s been my pleasure to fish all venues – offshore, back bay, bridges, wading from shore and even freshwater lakes. I have enjoyed working mangrove edges, casting my baits under docks and from the beaches. But now I have concluded that, given a choice, I would much rather spend my time floating across our lush grass flats to catch whatever cares to bite. It could very well be a sign of age, but I find that kicking back and tossing lures into a never ending tableau of grasses and sand holes is my idea of a relaxing and agreeable day of fishing.

Sure, coaxing that big snook from under a dock or mangrove stand still makes my pulse quicken. And should I spot a huge herd of redfish “tailing” around shallow oyster bars, my bait would be the first to fly out past them like a bullet.

But for the sheer pleasure of a laid back drifting day on the water is awfully hard to beat.

It’s often been said that most fishing trips with friends are in actuality “social events” – wise cracking, telling jokes, talking about our favorite sports teams, the opposite sex, etc. And the setting that ideally accommodates this personal fishing forum is a drifting the flats.

However, the main joy of this of this fishing mode is the fact that I never know exactly what will strike my baits. One might say that it is almost like participating in a grab bag of fishes.

My angling cohorts and I have always been amazed at the great diversity of species one encounters on a drift. A short list would include the ever-present sea trout, flounder, jacks, ladyfish and lizardfish. But there are invariably other surprise species that show up --- mackerel, bluefish, even an occasional snook, redfish or cobia.

Of course, no drift would be complete without hooking the occasional sail cat, puffer fish, sea bass, pinfish or grunt. It just goes with the territory.

Drift fishing sites are not only very easy to find, they are available virtually everywhere along our expansive Florida coastline.

The first thing we look for are the broad meadows of lush grasses, pock marked with numerous sandy “potholes.”

Our primary choice of baits would be sub-surface lures, mainly jigs, artificial shrimp . I might rig my jig on a cork, slurping the cork which in turn, raises up the lure. Then on the release, the it drops and becomes a very enticing presentation for most species. 

We cast along the transitions between the sand holes and the grasses or along drop-offs and other structure. These are all natural ambush points for foraging predators.

When the fish are feeding heavily, we break out our surface lures and plugs. Top walkers and chuggers are my favorites. Most agree that there is nothing more exciting than watching a large fish “wake” after a plug and then unleash a punishing strike.

It’s all a blast. But then the main attraction is spending the day with friends, sitting back, relaxing, and casting. Then it’s just a matter of time before we learn what variety of species the fish gods have to offer on any give day.

From this angler’s perspective, it’s awfully hard to beat a day of drifting the flats.