Now that the winter bite is on, it’s time put on waders and catch some fish. The water’s up, and the fish are moving in the shallows. Wading is a great shallow-water technique. Even if the wind’s blowing 15 mph, you can stay in the prime spots without getting blown around.
The last two days wading, I caught an inshore slam (trout, redfish, and snook) each day, and today I had a quadruple slam (4 redfish, 4 snooks, and 4 trout) as well as a dozen more trout, a flounder, jacks, and ladyfish. The reason I’m out-fishing the boaters is because when I find fish I can just stay there, I never spook the fish by running a trolling motor or banging the side of the boat.
I usually fish 1/8-ounce DOA jig with a 4-inch plastic paddletail. My favorite colors are clear sparkle, white, electric chicken, and yellow sparkle. They are action lures and search baits. You can cover a lot of water quickly. I also bring one topwater and usually a jigging spoon. Those are my top winter lures.
When the water cools into the 70s, the snook goes to shallow water since the sun warms the shoreline first. Look for reds and snook around the mangroves and under piers. The trout also move shallow and stay around the first shelf inside the sandbar so they can cruise up and down looking for schools of bait. There are lots of jack busting bait near the top. When you see them you can catch them one after another until the bait moves.
The key to success when you’re wading is knowing the tide and finding the bait. If the fish are biting shallow on the bank, you don’t want to fish at low tide. A deep bite on the river side of the sandbar will work at low tide. My favorite winter tide is the first part of the outgoing tide. As always, look for bait. Look for birds. When you see them you know where the bait is.
Fishing The Wind
There are two main ways to fish the wind, with the wind or against the wind. If you fish with the wind, your line and lure will move faster—against the wind, your line and lure will move slower. You have to figure out what the fish want, but it’s easier to catch redfish, trout, and flounder by fishing slower. The usual northeast winter wind blows the bait to the west side of the lagoon, so Walton and Midway are two ideal areas for the winter bite.