Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Saltwater-Estuary » Skinny Saltwater Techniques

Skinny Saltwater Techniques

By Vinnie Versfeld

For the last year or so I have been fishing smaller systems, smaller creeks and drains, all of which shoot off from larger systems, with some great success. My reasoning for targeting these areas was simply because they quite often get overlooked. If anything, the mouths of these tiny creeks get a visit from a cast netter chasing some live bait or sometimes crabbers will venture up them for a short way dropping their pots. This works out great as often this means there has been no other boat traffic. They almost always have bait in them and that means that the predators won't be too far away!

So, what is a skinny creek? Or a wide drain for that matter? Well, my definition is one that is seldom twice as wide as my boat and generally on the bottom of the tide not much more than a metre deep. Some of these micro systems can snake their way around for some considerable distances and I have found a few that can offer a full day's fishing.

Generally I plan a 'skinny' day around the tides, preferring to fish them two hours before the bottom of the tide, and then normally for an hour or so after the turn on the incoming tide. I find that this displaces the bait the most, along with the target species, and less water sees fish concentrating more around obvious structure as there simply less water and structure to hide in.

This in turn leads to a run and gun approach. I find that as the fish are more concentrated in the shallower water around the structure, they are much more competitive for a feed and reaction bites are the norm. It's very seldom that a snag, slip or laydown will get more than three or so casts, before I move onto the next one. It's also worth mentioning that if you do get a fish off a particular piece of structure, then more often than not you will find more fish on it on the way back past.

Finding the structure on the low tides or outgoing is the easy part. You can see them and I rarely rely on my sounder to find either fish or structure. I also look for structure that is different to whatever else is around. For example, if you are cruising down a muddy bank with a million hanging down mangrove roots, a lay down log in that area will more likely hold fish than the roots and so on.

This makes it easier to be more selective in terms of spots to concentrate on, which saves a lot of wasted time and casts, also meaning more fish in the boat! If it is your first time venturing up some skinny water take it slow. Quite often there is structure in the middle of the creek that would be worth fishing, or worst case can do some serious damage to boat hulls and props. Stealth definitely is a must when fishing in the skinny shallow creeks.

Next I'll look at lure selection and snag proof or weedless is an absolute must. I fish super tight in the structure, so I avoid anything with more than one hook. Many fish are missed because of over eager casts getting snagged and lures having to be retrieved, so one weedless hook minimises this. My Top 3 lure picks for this type of fishing would have to be;

1. ZMan CrossEyeZ Power Finesse Jigs

2. TT Lures #4 Jig Spinner HD / 3/8oz SnakelockZ jighead and ZMan 3" MinnowZ

3. ZMan MinnowZ / DieZel MinnowZ in either 3", 4" or 5" on a TT Lures SnakelockZ jighead

I have been having some awesome success on the CrossEyeZ skirted jigs of late and I find the ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ work a treat as a trailer on their 2/0 hook. They have an awesome profile and those little 2/0 Mustad heavy duty hooks are super strong. The only thing that I do with them out of the packet is trim out their weed guard slightly and trim it a bit shorter. The skirts are hand tied with wire, instead of the old rubber rings, so you won't end up with a tackle box full of silicone strands.

The skirts are awesome for adding bulk to the profile, while also slowing down the sink rate. They are best fished on smaller tides or as the run eases, so that you can keep them in the strike zone a bit longer. A bit of Pro-Cure scent never goes astray on them either. They work a treat on a variety of species and the hook up rate on them is awesome. Mangrove jack especially love them as they are a great crab imitation. Be ready to by-catch a lot of cod!

They are best fished on a high gear ration baitcaster, with a good drag and a fast action rod too match. I fish my jigs with an Okuma Helios TCS baitcast reel, on an Okuma Cerros 5-12kg rod, and have this combo spooled with 20lb Platypus Bionic Braid and 50lb Platypus fluoro leader. This same outfit gets used for fishing the various ZMan MinnowZ on TT Lures SnakelockZ jigheads.

The TT HD Jig Spinners are a great option for covering a lot of water and for when the tide has a fair bit of run in it. The blade of the Jig Spinner offers a lot of flash and vibration, and that paired with a 3" MinnowZ / SnakelockZ combination is lethal. It is also insanely snag resistant and you can cast them into some seriously heavy structure and they will come out every time.

A good tip for the Jig Spinner combos is to fish them with the current. Cast them well ahead of the intended structure and slow roll them past with the current. Be sure to be ready for a bite as often the bite will happen on the pressure edge side of the structure. Combo of choice here is the Okuma Komodo baitcast rod and reel, again spooled with 20lb Platypus Bionic Braid and 50lb Stealth FC fluorocarbon leader. 

Remember to consider your barramundi season closures, like up here in Qld for me, and use this time to go and concentrate on jacks in the skinny creeks. Barramundi will still be a by-catch, along with cod, flathead and the odd fingermark. It is great 'locked drags', close quarters, fun fishing that really gets the adrenaline  pumping, especially when a solid fish eats a lure in tight structure and you don't have much room to move in.

Next time you get to the ramp, go and have a look up that skinny creek you have driven past many times... you might be pleasantly surprised!

Gearing Up:
Okuma Cerros Baitcast Rod - CER-C-661H 6'6" 5-12kg
Okuma Helios TCS Baitcast Reel - HTC-273V
Okuma Komodo Baitcast Rod - KM-C-661MH 6'6" 6-8kg
Okuma Homodo Baitcast Rod - KDS-273
Platypus Bionic Braid - 20lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 50lb
ZMan CrossEyeZ Power Finesse Jigs
ZMan 2.5" TRD CrawZ
ZMan 3" MinnowZ
ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ
ZMan 5" DieZel MinnowZ
TT Lures SnakelockZ Jigheads
TT Lures Jig Spinner HD