One of the questions I’m often asked by anglers I meet is, “How do I consistently find fish for my charter clients.” Well, I have to be perfectly honest with them, I have learned to look for the signs that Mother Nature presents to us every day. These “signs” are roadmaps to where the fish are feeding or are going to potentially be feeding at some point throughout the day.
One of the most visible signs that I look for are birds that eat fish. Specific bird species like Gulls, Terns, Pelicans, Herons, and Egret eat the same types of baitfish or crustaceans that redfish, trout, jack, snook and other predatory fish species eat. When I see one of these types of birds it’s like seeing a glowing neon sign telling me to stop and look for fish feeding in that area.
I can usually determine the types of fish that my clients are most likely to catch, by looking at the types of birds that I see in an area. As a general rule, gulls, terns, and pelicans feed over glass minnow or finger mullet schools. When these types of birds are actively feeding and diving at the waters surface, fish feeding activity is often apparent just beneath them. Speckled trout, ladyfish, jack and pompano are the usual suspects that my clients will catch when fishing near these types of birds. Heron and Egret on the other hand usually tell me that redfish are close by. Anytime I get on the water, I actively search for these types of birds. Once I find them, I try to determine if they are feeding on minnows or crustaceans and rig my customers’ poles accordingly.
Birds are also great at “flushing out” fish that are resting in shallow water. If a bird of any type flies over the head of a snook, trout or redfish, these fish will spook and give away their location with a visible wake. As I push pole my boat down the flats, I’m constantly looking for these types of movements so that I can instruct my clients to cast to these potential targets in the water.
Luck has little to do with your success rate when fishing in the flats, so anglers should take every advantage that they can when it comes to the sport of light tackle fishing. Paying attention to our feathered friends while you’re out on the water can definitely make you a more successful angler.
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