By: Capt. Tim Ramsey
We’ve all heard the old adage “never leave fish to find fish.” It’s sort of true. On the one hand, it’s great to be steadily reeling them in. On the other, there are only so many juvenile snappers, ladies, and catfish you can pull in before that gets old. But what if you’re not catching anything?
Springtime fishing in the 10K can be tough. It’s been windy, making the gulf and bays choppy and uncomfortable. Add to that a bunch of strong tidal days and the crowds keep getting bigger. Windy days often mean the shrimp boats aren’t going out, so if you tip jigs or shrimp fish, have alternatives ready. Windy days mean boats not meant for the backcountry give it a try and jet skiers avoid any open water and plow through the backcountry with increasing frequency.
The biggest problem with the wind isn’t the chop or the crowds. The water gets dirty. Really dirty. Add that to strong tides and difficulty finding bait to castnet in wind, tide, chop, and dirty water, and fishing can get tough. What do you do? Keep moving. There’s clean water somewhere.
The first thing is get out early. I know more and more people are at the mercy of a marina forklift, but the earlier you get out, the longer you can enjoy a few hours of light winds, calmer seas, cleaner water, fewer crowds, and lower sun glare. Come summer, you can also avoid the afternoon thunderstorms.
Next is determine the wind direction. Think about where you want to fish. Will the wind be blowing against your favorite mangrove island? Will it push more water in or out? Can you expect for everyone to be good at casting into the wind? Are you bottom fishing? Is the tide coming in or going out? Do you have a trolling motor? Are you any good at controlling it? What color lenses are you using in your sunglasses? Take these considerations and ask yourself the most important question; how dirty will the water be?
On a recent backcountry trip, perseverance was the key. Winds in the teens with gusts to thirty. Strong tides. One weird all-day tide. Above average air temperatures. Dirty water. All the usual spots were uninhabited. In a couple places, an experimental bait left to soak on the bottom went untouched. No shrimp at the marina. Couldn’t find any baits to net. Reverted to my trusted bucktail/Gulp combination. We kept moving, searching everywhere as long as we could until the tide was too high. Eventually we found cleaner water. It was far from the main channels but still moving. Funny how it was in a couple backcountry bays I normally avoid or use just to transit to another spot. Cast under the mangroves into the shade and boom, snook and redfish. The picture of my friend Mike and his barely over-slot red is proof.
Even when the wind blows for days, you can find clean water somewhere. Optics help. I found it better to use a pair of sunglasses with a grey lens instead of my copper ones that basically make all the water in bright sun look dirty. It was helpful to take them off periodically and look at the water unassisted. Remember, keep moving, and be persistent. Also, be a courteous boater and come to idle speed when passing someone fishing on their trolling motor. No one thinks it’s cool to blast by and let your wake stir up the mud at the mangrove island you’re fishing. But keep moving. You’ll find them. See you out there.