Seeking refuge from the windy river, we found a mangrove-protected deep water canal that leads into a popular marina nearby. Today we started fishing around 4:30pm. The bite was hot early and mellowed out towards dusk. I believe between with the windy conditions during the day, and cooler temps during the evening, fish have moved back to deeper water. Also, the feeding habits have been later in the morning and earlier in the evening, during warmer water temps.

The fish we found were laid up in the canal at depths of 4-7 feet. The canal we were fishing was 2-3 degrees warmer than deeper parts of the river. Smaller swim baits like the 3inch Gulp Curly Tail in chartreuse was the ticket today. Pitching these baits along the mangroves, pausing for 2-3 seconds after the first “twitch twitch,” was the key to catching the speckled trout. As soon as I motioned for the second round of twitches during my retrieve, I was able to draw a strike what felt like every other cast.

In total, we caught ten fish, lost countless at the side of the boat, and missed one good sized redfish. The red was in the mid 20’s and was laying in the shadows almost directly on the bank of canal. The larger of the speckled trout were right at the bottom of the slot, 15-16 inches. We also reeled in another lone ladyfish. Almost had back to back weeks of “poor man” slams! Looking forward to spending a lot of time on the rivers next week, as it’s spring break for me, thanks to teaching! Have a safe and good week out on the water everyone!