TACTICS LIP GRIPPER
Where’d the water go? PHOTOS: DAVID A. BROWN
LOW TIDE TANGO F
lats kayakers who time the tides will find a fall-winter bounty of hungry game fish geographically isolated and prime for the pick-
ing. It would be something akin to shooting fish in a barrel if the barrel weren’t so difficult to reach. The cooler months see the year’s lowest tides and when the power-
ful flow of a new or full moon cycle combines with a strong north wind, these forces can drive most of the water off the shallow flats. This leaves loads of redfish, speckled trout, snook, sheepshead and other fish trapped in deeper holes and troughs between the shoreline and outer sand bars. Impossible to access by motorboat and typically too far for waders to reach without arriving exhausted, these backwater oases are ideal for kayakers who can often paddle across mud puddles to reach the deep spots where trapped fish readily grab practically any bait thrown their way. Essential to success in this scenario are the schools of mullet that
gather during the cool season. The vegetarian mullet ignore the shrimp, crabs and baitfish that flush from the sea grass as a rumbling school passes overhead. Predators such as redfish, trout and snook fol- low the mullet and pick off the easy meals. Strategy point: Find the mullet and you’ll find more game fish. In this scene, the fish are easily spooked at close range. A long rod
such as a 7- to 7 ½-foot medium-action spinning outfit spooled with 20-pound braided line allows for maximum casting distance. Top it off with 18 inches of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader. Once you’ve found the mullet and are swinging a long-distance stick, it’s all over but the catching. All the old flats standards are effective.
28 …KAYAK ANGLER SUMMER/FALL 2011
DANCE YOUR WAY TO SEASONAL KAYAK-EXCLUSIVE FISHING HOLES Free-lining or floating live shrimp or pinfish certainly produces,
but artificial baits enable you to cover the water more effectively to locate pods of cooperative fish. Jigs are your most versatile option; changing size, shape or color is simply a matter of switching plastic bodies. Jigs of 1/8- to 3/16-ounce are optimal for most low tide ap- plications and productive bodies range from paddle tails to slender soft jerkbaits. A weedless gold spoon is one of the top search baits. Its aerody-
namic form cuts through even a blustery winter wind. Topwater baits are another effective option for finding fish. Big trout are known for their violent surface strikes and snook will also crush a topwater plug. Find one taker and you’ll usually find plenty more that will aggres- sively compete for the perceived food source. Redfish too will take their shots at a surface lure walking across
their secluded low tide retreat. The copper brutes miss more often than they connect. No worries, even an aggressive boil paints a bull’s eye on the water. Follow these short strikes with a jig or a plastic shrimp and the subsurface presentation usually scores the connection. Combining topwater appeal with subsurface presentation, the jig-
and-cork rig attracts fish by simulating the sound of topside feed- ing. Suspend a jig or plastic shrimp 12 to 18 inches below a popping or clacking cork and jerk the rig to create a chugging commotion. When fish come to investigate, the bait dancing below that cork is an easy sell.
DAVID A. BROWN is a freelance writer specializing in sport fishing. He splits his time between journalism and his marketing firm Tightline Communications.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56