We are losing those wetlands faster than any other state in the nation. For sportsmen, canals brought fishy blessings to the marshes. Anglers seek bountiful speckled trout, redfish, flounder and other species in these canals. Pipeline canals opened enormous acreage of formerly isolated fish-rich waters by making marsh navigation much easier. These canals also serve as conduits for moving schools of bait and predator fish.
Canals dominate water flow through shallow marshes.
Often, canals intersect with numerous lakes, bays and lagoons. With deeper water and more tidal flow, fish and bait flow from marshy lagoons into canals like water running downhill. Shrimp and baitfish leave the grassy edges and drift with the tides into canals. Speckled trout stack up on the down current sides of points formed by the intersection of bays and canals to watch for morsels flowing from shallow marshes during falling tides. Water moves out of a pipeline faster than it does out of a wide lake or major river.