ST. AUGUSTINE
It’s sight-fishing time! It’s sight-fishing time! It’s sight-fishing time! Can you tell, I’m a little excited? The next few months give anglers in Northeast Florida the best chance to get out there and sight-fish a redfish in the shallows. As air temps drop,the water will clear up. The colder it gets,the clearer the water will be (The colder water will kill off the algae that makes our waters so murky much of the year). This also marks the time of year when our inshore fish really get schooled up, both on the flats and in the creeks. Clear water, schooled up redfish, and not many boats on the water, does it get any better?
Slot-sized redfish will be schooled up this time of year. Locating the larger schools of fish can be tough,but if you know what to look for, it may be easier than you think. I like to scout for schools of fish on the lower tide stage,as it gets them more bunched up. Look for the areas on a flat that will hold just enough water for the fish at dead low tide. You can bet that if a large flat just about dries up at low tide,all the fish that live there will be in the spots holding just enough water for them to swim in. Those shallow areas will warm up on sunny days, creating an ideal place for the redfish to hang out and warm up a bit. If the flat goes completely dry, check the edges or troughs.When you find the fish there,wait for the tide to come back in, and follow the fish back up onto the flat to see where they like to go. You can be a real flats-fishing “ninja” once you pattern wintertime schooled-up reds.
My go-to lure for wintertime sight fishing is the Saltwater Assassin Lil Boss paddle tail. I like to pair it up with either a 1/8oz Saltwater Assassin jighead or weedless hook,depending on bottom conditions. It’s important to stay lightweight, if at all possible, because sometimes with clearer water, comes spookier fish. Using a light setup will allow you to make less splash when the lure enters the water,thus allowing you to cast closer to the fish without spooking him. If you are casting to a school of fish,lead them by as much as you can. If your bait or lure lands too close to just one fish, you may spook the whole school.
A couple other species we’ll be targeting this time of year will be trout, black drum, and sheepshead. If you find a nice warm spot up on the flats this time of year, you may just run into some really big laid-up trout. The smaller schooling trout will be thick in the deeper creek holes. The drum and sheepshead can be found in the same creek holes, especially on the lower tide stages. If you’re targeting the trout,use a rig that allows you to fish in the middle of the water column. If you’re looking to get the drum and sheepies,go to the bottom with fiddler crabs or shrimp.
Stay safe out there and have a Happy New Year!!!