Staking out with a push pole means stopping your skiff by sticking the pole in soft bottom and looping the boat to it, done at a low angle so you never snap the pole. In this How 2 Tuesday I cover a skill that has injured pride and broken expensive graphite poles all over the flats. The keys are reading which way the wind and tide will push the boat, staking exactly down-current at a low angle so the pole is nearly straight, and letting the boat settle gently so the friction of the mud, not a big bend in the pole, holds you in place. Do it wrong at a high angle and you will hear a crack like a gunshot.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
You find soft, muddy bottom, stick the push pole in firmly at a low angle, and put a short loop of dock line, usually kept around the poling tower, over the foot of the pole so the boat hangs off it. The boat should sit directly down-current of the pole, pointing away from it like a needle on a compass. Done right it stops the skiff perfectly and is extremely quiet, which is why guides still do it even with a Power-Pole aboard.
Almost always because the angle is too high or the boat swings across the pole. If you stake the pole too vertical, a twenty-foot pole bends like a pole vault and snaps. If you stake out at the wrong angle and the boat swings around, the side load cracks it. The fix is a low, nearly straight angle with the boat directly down-tide, so the mud's friction holds you and there is almost no bend in the pole.
Before you commit, figure out which direction the wind is pushing the boat and which direction the tide is running, then stake out roughly 180 degrees away so the boat settles directly down-current of the pole. The mistake to avoid is staking where the wind or tide will push the boat over the top of the pole, because then the boat runs the pole over, shoves it out, or snaps it, and people holding on get thrown right off the boat.
You need a soft, muddy bottom for staking out to work well. The pole has to penetrate six or eight inches into the mud so friction holds the boat. On hard or rocky bottom the pole will not bite and you risk it skating or breaking. When you have soft bottom and the right angle, the mud grips the pole and the boat sits quietly in place.
Use a Power-Pole when you can, because it stops the boat at the touch of a button. But a push pole still has its place. A Power-Pole maxes out around ten feet of depth, while a twenty-foot push pole can reach bottom and bite the mud in deeper channels where the Power-Pole cannot. So Power-Pole when it works, and stake out by hand when the water is too deep for it.
You overload the pole. A near-vertical pole develops a huge bend at the top, just like a pole vault, and high-end graphite poles will crack with a sound like a gunshot. Then your day is likely over, because nobody carries a spare push pole, and on a multi-day trip you could lose the whole week of fishing. That is exactly why the low-angle, down-current technique matters.
Every safe stake-out starts with knowing where the boat wants to go. I always check the wind direction and the tide before I commit, then stake roughly opposite so the boat never runs over the pole. I explain how to picture the boat pointing down-current like a compass needle in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The single biggest difference between a clean stake-out and a snapped pole is the angle. Low and nearly straight lets the mud do the work, while too vertical turns your pole into a pole vault that cracks. I describe the gunshot sound you never want to hear in the episode, so press play in the player above.
A Power-Pole is great inside ten feet, but a push pole still wins in deeper channels where you can bury twenty feet of pole in the mud. I walk through when each tool makes sense, and why I still stake out by hand, in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Staking out is a quiet, deadly-effective way to stop a skiff on tarpon, as long as you respect the wind, the tide, and the angle. Get those right and your expensive pole lives to fish another day.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
push pole · staking out · skiff · Power-Pole · tarpon · Florida Keys · graphite push pole · wind and tide · poling tower · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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