What a start to a great year of fishing. The season started off with a bang, thanks to a very mild winter.
Spring fishing always begins with the push of white baitfish, also known as greenbacks. As thousands of them make their way into the bay from offshore, the bigger fish are not far behind. This typically happens in early March, but this year the bait never really left area waters, resulting in my having one of the best winters in my eight years of guiding anglers.
As of late, I've noticed a big push of redfish starting to show on the flats. Catching them calls for stealth, because the water is gin-clear, and tides have been typically lower in the day. Mixed with a bit of planning, the use of light tackle for longer casts will make for a good trip. Greenbacks are the preferred bait, and lots of chumming will help draw the schools to you instead of your having to chase the fish. I've had the best luck using a free-lined rig matched with a 1/0 Daiichi Bleeding Bait hook. I've also dropped my leader size down to 20-pound Ohero Fluorocarbon.
Lately I've been fishing mangrove lines and oyster bars and planned my trips around the highest tide of the day. If you're going to fish on a day when the high tide is not that high or the winds are blowing out of the north, then move off to the deeper potholes and troughs on the outer flats.
If you don't have the option to get greenbacks for bait, you can always go by local bait shops and pick up a few dozen pinfish or shrimp.
Do a little planning by looking at the tides for the month, and then fish on days with higher tides.
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