I have been reading the kayak threads everyday since I bought my yak a month ago and they have really been helpfull. I have had some great days catching reds and trout on the fly rod using the tips I’ve learned on this site; but here’s my question: “How come nobody warned me about the quick-sand mud in the flats when you get out of your yak”? Am I the only fool who’s stepped out of his yak in 12" on water only to immediately sink up to their chest in the mud? I actually had to lie on my back in the water, pull my body, legs and feet free from the mud and back stroke back to my yak. Wish someone had a video of that 5 minutes. Needless to say, I’ll be staying in my boat from now on. If I can’t catch it from my yak, it ain’t gonna get caught.
It’s called Spartina grass. It is much shorter that regular marsh grass. Be careful what kind of shoes you wear out there. I made the mistake of wearing crocs one time only to step in some soft mud which had oysters underneath. Made some pretty good gashes on the bottom of my feet. i prefer to were Patagonia Marwalkers while wading.
22’ Scout Winyah
150hp Yamaha 4 stroke
“Live like you will live forever but live like you will die tomorrow.”
Thanks for the advise. I’ve got a pair of antique snow shoes hanging on my den wall. I may try those puppys out. Yea, this grass isn’t very tall; maybe 18" at low tide.
Short grass is a good rule but not gospel, last December I was wading a hard bottom flat , like walking on a sidewalk and my next step had me sunk so far the water was about an inch from coming over the top of my waders , I sat there for a minute debating on just exhaling or trying to get out…
I use my hard sole scuba boots. Works pretty good on oysters and will not come off in the pluff mud.</font id=“Comic Sans MS”></font id=“size3”></font id=“blue”>
www.wadefishing.com is a wesite that has alot of neat wadefishing products and shoes or boots to wear. It has alot of things that are used in Texas where the wade fishing is huge.
The belts that would let you carry two rods and thick booties to wear that are oyster proof are pretty cool.
Congratulations on popping your pluff mud cherry!!! You are more of a man now Where you from, ranger??? DD
… I just moved to Wadmalaw Island from Santee on Lake Marion. I fished B.A.S.S., BFL and Stren bass tournaments for the past 3 three years; got burned out, sold my bassboat, bought a yak and a 21’CC SeaFox and moved to the saltmarsh ( and I’m loving it here ).
Congratulations on popping your pluff mud cherry!!! You are more of a man now Where you from, ranger??? DD
… I just moved to Wadmalaw Island from Santee on Lake Marion. I fished B.A.S.S., BFL and Stren bass tournaments for the past 3 three years; got burned out, sold my bassboat, bought a yak and a 21’CC SeaFox and moved to the saltmarsh ( and I’m loving it here ).
“Lead The Way”… US Army Rangers '62-'72
Glad to have you here! My first real deabacle with pluff mud was out behind the Ocean Course on Kiawah. I thought I would never get out! That stuff can be down right nasty some times. I have found that once it starts to get soft, don’t stop moving, but get back the way you came before you start to sink. Sometimes I can step down on the grass and use it for a bit of a wider footprint in the mud.
FYI, I have tried snowshoes, they work great until the mud starts to ooze up and over the sides, then it just weighs them down and you get stuck anyway. I have an idea for a design that I think will work great…top secret right now, but I am working on it.
DD
“Dude, dolphins are intelligent and friendly.”
“Intelligent and friendly on rye bread with some mayonnaise.”
What the heck is pluff mud anyways? Decayed marsh grass? Does it keep getting deeper as the millennia roll by? Do the creeks slowly go out of existence as the pluff continues to be produced?
Can pluff be legally dug out if I’m on a dry creek at low tide or is that dredging?
Is there a yellow book: “An Idiot’s guide to Pluff”?
I am suprised no one said stick your paddle into the bottom to check the hardness before you get out? This is what I do every time to check. I also wear a life vest even wading just in case.
Ranger, that is too funny that all of us have had our encounter and fears about pluff mud. Just the other week I fell or rolled out of my kayak as I was reaching back for my cooler. I was in 3 feet of water over pluff mud. I fell over the side to keep my gear from sliding off the yak. I went into a modified back stroke to keep off the mud and get back into the yak. I always wanted to practice ditching and recovery but, not while actively fishing. -break-
Thanks guys for the info posted on wading products. I’ll have to check them out. I had quickly shifted from “cool guy” kayak sandals to “save my ankle from the bad oyster” hiking boots. Those oysters are like razor blades. v/r txfisher
Old-Ranger,
I am a life-long Low Country resident (52+ yrs). Fishing, hunting, and swimming in the salt marsh. Pluff mud separates the men from the boys. Back when I was a kid we used to “swim” across the pluff mud flat at my Aunt’s (back of St Helena Sound)pushing a 10 ft boat to go swimming or shrimping. This was before we built the dock. Also, when I used to duck hunt alot (60’s-80’s) we would hide our boat and walk over to set up on “potholes” in the marsh. I was hiking over to pick up a duck one trip when I went from solid under one foot to chest deep. I had to rack the round out of the chamber of the pump shotgun and use it to get out. I washed it in the saltwater and kept hunting (got to love the old Remington 870), then bathed it in WD-40 that night.
