Saltwater fishing gurus

[Headhunter]

I am a very prideful person and hate asking for help in regards to fishing. But nonetheless I am here asking for help. So I love to fish from marker 37 south to compuerta pass just north of Baffin Bay. I usually do okay drift fishing with the occasional 1-2 man limit of trout. While I can catch trout, I can not catch red fish. Wouldn’t be a big deal but my kiddos love to catch them. So the look of disappointment is really starting to bother me. In the saltwater thread you all make look so easy. What I usually do is drift from six foot of water into about 3.5 foot and move back out and start over. Am I not drifting shallow enough. Should I instead focus on hitting every sand or mud pocket along the shore. I am determined the next time out to get on some. Guys, any help would be appreciated, not looking for spots but more of what are you all looking for and how do you all do it. If I have to I will hit every pocket from emmords hole all the way to Baffin. Thanks for any tips you all would be willing to share.

[glen]

Find any drain running out from a back lake. Power pole down. Outgoing tide. Cut mullet and peeled shrimp until you know what they want. I just fish on a Carolina rig. It’s either that or get out of boat and stand knee deep and cast into the shoreline with plastic or top waters. You are too deep in my opinion and fishing open water trout.

[DUKFVR]

Usually catch my reds in knee deep or less waters. Shorelines, drains ,back lakes etc. Wading or kayaking.

[rvd]

Find any drain running out from a back lake. Power pole down. Outgoing tide. Cut mullet and peeled shrimp until you know what they want. I just fish on a Carolina rig. It’s either that or get out of boat and stand knee deep and cast into the shoreline with plastic or top waters. You are too deep in my opinion and fishing open water trout.

What Glen said, sounds like your too deep.

[stickman]

I only fish that deep in the dead heat of summer or if the laguna is over run with boat traffic which is often. Find a windward shoreline with some bait on it, drift up to it and throw some menhaden or cut mullet up near the bank. That will catch them early. Otherwise, walk the bank with paddletails throwing out deep and bringing the bait up to the bank.

[Headhunter]

Awesome, thanks guys. Yeah I figured I was to deep. Dang it. Ready to hit the water.

[Mexico]

Redfish do hang in deep water, I've caught thousands in 4 foot plus water but that was accidental as I was chasing trout. Pre-Bull redfish spend 80 percent of their lives in skinny water ( I'd say 2 foot or less ) basically being the bull of the woods so to speak.

They will basically kill and eat anything that swims or crawls in front of them... but unfortunately you have to get skinny to experience this.

Like said above, I chase them in back lakes, skinny flats and open drains. Some of this type of fishing is very hard to do out of a boat ( water is too skinny ) It's mostly accomplished by wade/ kyak fishing where you can have the opportunity to sneak into their living room so to speak.

If I had to try and target reds with kids out of a boat I'd specifically target drains with cracked crab. The crab helps you not catch a hard head every cast, and the drains ( cuts or back lakes that drain into the main bay ) are basically a high way for fish, of all types.

[glen]

Outgoing whether tide or wind on the bay side of the drain. That is the best but if you get a incoming it will still work - Slack tide go into the skinny water and soak in a shoreline or pinch

[kck]

If you know the area and are there then go hit up the meadows right now, caught some good ones there a couple weeks ago looking for big trout. Caught some on tops but you would easily throw some fresh dead in the potholes there and catch them too. Some big trout in Alazan right now as well

[speck1]

What kind of boat do you have? The flat across from marker 37 always has redfish. Made a lot of money in there over the years. Caught a bunch in there yesterday. Jump over the spoil and start drifting. It’s all 2ft or less between the ICW and sulphur road south down to the Pita channel. If you cant draft that depth the flats south of the Pita channel are deeper. Fish it the same way. Start on the back side of the ICW spoil and drift. South of the Pita channel you will drift from shallow to deep on a SE wind. We caught them on copper spoons yesterday.

[stickman]

What kind of boat do you have? The flat across from marker 37 always has redfish. Made a lot of money in there over the years. Caught a bunch in there yesterday. Jump over the spoil and start drifting. It’s all 2ft or less between the ICW and sulphur road south down to the Pita channel. If you cant draft that depth the flats south of the Pita channel are deeper. Fish it the same way. Start on the back side of the ICW spoil and drift. South of the Pita channel you will drift from shallow to deep on a SE wind. We caught them on copper spoons yesterday.

Almost posted this but that flat has enough boats in it already, lol. In all honesty, there is no reason to run less than 10 min from the boat ramp to catch redfish out of the boat.

[captainsling]

What kind of boat do you have? The flat across from marker 37 always has redfish. Made a lot of money in there over the years. Caught a bunch in there yesterday. Jump over the spoil and start drifting. It’s all 2ft or less between the ICW and sulphur road south down to the Pita channel. If you cant draft that depth the flats south of the Pita channel are deeper. Fish it the same way. Start on the back side of the ICW spoil and drift. South of the Pita channel you will drift from shallow to deep on a SE wind. We caught them on copper spoons yesterday.

This is good advise. Also don’t be afraid to go across the causeway to the Boat Hole and fish the crash channels. There is also good drainage coming off of Dead Man’s and Kate’s holes into the ICW. There are a lot of red fish in that area. You can also cruise to Shamrock. Loaded with reds usually year round. Aransas is my go to reddish spot. They are literally everywhere.

[Headhunter]

You all are the best. Soaking it in. I don’t know why I’ve always headed south when all i had to do is stay near the ICW. I have seafox 220 viper. Can draft in 11 inches. I should be able to get into all those spots. Perfect.

[SneakyPhil]

I've always had luck throwing a weedless gold spoon around potholes. I do all of my fishing in waist to calf deep water.

[SandBar]

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