Ask most North Florida anglers, and they’ll tell you spring is their favorite time to look for seatrout and redfish on shallow grassflats.
The reasons are many. The water is still crystal clear following a typical dry winter. Floating seagrass that plagues lure presentations in late summer and autumn is a problem still months away. Baitfish that winter offshore are returning to estuaries, drawing predators out of their deep, dark creek and bayou haunts. Migrating flounder and pompano add the possibility of a tasty bonus.
However, depending on location, this spring is somewhat out of the ordinary. An abnormally warm winter provided little incentive for bigger reds and trout to seek deep, warm water. I enjoyed phenomenal success on big fish all winter in a foot or two of water that was virtually devoid of anglers. Even after a pair of brief cold fronts, including a nasty late freeze in March, hungry fish wasted little time in returning to the shallows. Trout and reds amazingly hung around in fresh water after heavy winter rains flushed all the salt off some flats for a solid month.
However, fishing is not all grins and giggles. A really nasty front, accompanied by gale-force winds, swept the Gulf coast and entire Southeast in early April, creating challenging conditions for a few days. Inshore water temps dropped from the mid 70’s into the 60’s. Depending on location, the effects are still being felt. The storm wreaked even more havoc on north Florida, Alabama and Georgia, and that water is still draining south.
Incoming water near Gulf passes is generally clear, but grassflats adjacent to creek mouths and larger rivers are affected by tannic and muddy water. Visibility on an inland flat yesterday (April 19) was limited to no more than two feet. Sight-fishing was pretty much shot, but I released nine reds between 25 and 28 inches, plus one larger fish, and half a dozen trout to 24 inches in less than three hours. All but one fish came on blind casts. The good news is that dirty water makes fish less wary; several of the reds ate literally right under the kayak in two feet of water as I lifted my lure out of the water.
The reds and trout were right where they were all winter, and in greater numbers as they take advantage of schools of forage species such as pinfish and pilchards joining the mullet that wintered inshore.
Anglers should adjust their lure selection to the water conditions. When the water gets ugly, make it easier for fish to find the lure.
I typically fish light or natural colors when the water is clear. When the water is muddy, darker colors create a more easily detected silhouette, just as in night fishing. Lures with contrasting colors also stand out; I might still throw a natural-color soft-plastic bait, but I switch to a version with a chartreuse tail.
Besides color considerations, keep in mind that the lateral lines of fish allow them to sense pressure waves created by movement in the water, so lures with vibration effectively draw fish to them. Sound is also a factor. Noise travels four to five times faster underwater, so hard, rattling lures (or adding a rattle to a soft-plastic) can get results. Of course, a noisy topwater plug splashed across the shallows combines all these attributes. In each scenario, I probably slow my presentations somewhat to allow additional time for the fish to locate the lure.
West from Panama City, kayak anglers have one other option—bull redfish around the big bridges. Although they’ve been present most of the winter, they’re now more numerous and active.
This is really two fisheries. During the day, the big reds generally stay deep, calling for the use of heavy jigs, crankbaits and rattlebaits that sink quickly in 20 to over 40 feet of water. Especially when tidal currents are running hard, the reds may stay tight to the pilings, so don’t go into this gunfight with a knife. Tackle needs to be adequate to bully 20- to 30-pound fish away from the line-slicing structure.
After the sun goes down, the attitude of the fish changes. They emerge from the depths, stalking the silhouettes of crabs, shrimp and baitfish drifting near the surface on the tide. If the bridge is well-lit, sight-fishing the big bronze fish cruising shadow lines, or just throwing at the surface explosions, beats the heck out of blind-casting in terms of excitement. Surface and shallow-running lures work best.
There’s nothing complicated about this fishing, with a few caveats. First, make sure your kayak is well-lit, and wear a reliable headlamp for rigging or signaling boats if necessary. Before heading out, keep in mind that you may find yourself hooked up to a big, strong fish in deep water, fast current and somewhat rough conditions if the wind is blowing. Without a pedal-drive kayak, you’ll be at the mercy of all these forces once you put your paddle down to fight a fish.
Finally, you won’t be catching any slot-size fish legal for harvest, so leave the cooler home. If using plugs, remove the trebles. One big, single J-hook or even a stinger (assist) hook makes releases way easier, quicker and safer in the dark for both the kayaker and the fish.
