[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his winter has been a cold one, but springtime is just around the corner! If you haven’t dusted off your fishing gear yet, now is the time.
The cool weather has given us in a little bit of a delay for spring fishing, but the hot weather is coming soon. I have already heard some reports of big schools of reds run- ning in the surf. The full moon is right around mid-month, so you can really look for them to be biting around that time. To catch reds out of the surf, I recommend using a four-inch paddletail bait on a jig head, or the heavy-sized MirrOlure-style lures.
The reds and specks alike are going to be schooled up in the backwaters where they can find warmer waters. Remember, the dark muddy creek bottoms back in the shallows will allow that water to be warmer and you should look for the fish to be huddled up there. With cooler water, the fish like to school closer together and in larger schools as opposed to the smaller schools you find in the summertime. This means that you will have to move a lot to find the schools. If you don’t catch them, move to another spot and keep up the work. Hopefully, sooner or later, you will hit it big and find them schooled all together. Some of my biggest number days have come in the cold weather.
This time of year I still like to use float rigs for speckled trout but the mullet-like lures will enable you to cover a lot more area. The absolute key to catching them on these baits is working the lure very slowly. If you think you are moving it slowly, GO SLOWER! The cold water makes the fish not nearly as aggressive as in the summer, so you want them to be able to catch up to your bait.
The time is NOW, guys! At minimum, just go pickup each of your rods and reels and give the handle a spin and check the line quality. There is no reason for your citation-sized fish to get away because of aged line or an equipment malfunction.