Outdoors

Captain's Corner

Warmer than normal temperatures have kept major low tides to a minimum.

By ROB GORTA
Published January 7, 2007

Tip from the pros: Warmer than normal temperatures have kept major low tides to a minimum. When the wind is out of the southeast, it blows water into the bay. This will keep water on the flats and allow fish to travel anywhere on the flats. When the wind is out of the northeast, it has the opposite effect, blowing water out of the bay with fish congregating on edges of sandbars or in deeper potholes. With higher water than normal on low tides, I have changed where I usually fish. I start by looking for grass patches on the inside of sandbars, which hold the main food source, crabs and shrimp. Redfish have an anterior mouth (bottom side of the head). This will cause them to stick their tail out of the water, giving up their position.

Tactics: Fishing over grass can be difficult. Instead of a quarter-ounce jig head, I use a Texas-rigged soft plastic bait. Bass Assassins, Zoom and Berkley Big Gulp jerk shads allow a worm hook to be used for a weedless presentation. The hook is buried in a pocket, keeping it from hanging up in the grass.

Great catch: Rodney Lucas joined me on a tide not as low as I would have liked. So we waded until we spotted a tailing redfish. Then I started to see a few more spread out over the area. This was the first time Lucas had seen a tailing redfish. He spotted three tails. He made the first cast and ended up sight-casting his first tailing redfish. The fish was 30 inches.

Rob Gorta charters out of St. Petersburg. Call (727) 647-7606 or visit captainrobgorta.com

[Last modified January 7, 2007, 01:39:08]