Discovering New Hot Spots
by: Capt. John Dixon
It was another perfect day on the water, out of the St. Marks river entrance in the panhandle of Florida. We had been about half a mile offshore fishing for speckle trout, which are numerus in this area with the water ranging from 5-6 feet deep and an average water temperature of 85 degrees at this time of year. After a morning of catching sea trout, sea bass, a small grouper and pin fish the size of our grubs. It was time to explore some new spots. On this occasion I wanted to look at a location that was out from a lagoon and in an area I had not seen anyone fishing during the low tides. Here there is a mixture of sand and grass. It is about 6 inches shallower than the water inshore of it. A few hundred yards from this area, during a flooding (incoming) tide I have occasionally found large schools of Reds near the shore line.
I made the 10 minute run to the area where I wanted to start drifting and take a look.Wind conditions were breezy, 9-11 mph. I climbed up on my platform, with rod in hand, and started a fairly slow drift through the 12-18" deep water. Just looking for anything that might give an indication of fish. I was looking in the sand spots for a trout running, maybe a flounder laying on the bottom. I looked across the wind blown surface for ripples or maybe a red fish or two tailing, maybe even some baitfish fleeing a predetor, no sign of any fish. Thought I would stay a few more minutes and check the area thoroughly enough to satisfy myself that this was not a new hot spot.
As we drifted along, we noticed a surge on the surface approximately 15 feet from the side of the boat, thought maybe it was a ray, no, it was a nice redfish, it spooked and disappeared. A few moments later I spotted another Redfish laying half hidden in the grass. I attempted to present a top water lure to the fish without spooking it. The lure landed about 15 feet on the other side of the fish, as the lure passed in front of the Redfish he darted from the grass toward the lure, producing a huge splash, the line went tight, and I set the hook. As line was peeling off the reel , a V pinpointed the exact location of the fish. It seemed like he was leaving the country. WHAT A RUSH!
This was the setup for the next 2 hours, catching several big reds 28-32". This is a example of why I check new locations. All these fish where in an area 100 yards deep by 75 yards wide, a spot small enough to miss in the blink of an eye.
During a low tide this spot has produced more big Redfish, more consistantly than any other I have found so far in the St. Marks area. I see people pass by this location and no one fishing this area at low tides.
The area previously mentioned seems to be a HOT SPOT during low tides only. It is a spot I have confidence taking my customers to during a low tide. Checking the locations at both low and high tides to see when fish may be present is one of my common practices. Since I have discovered this new spot, I have fished it during a high tide without the same results.
If within 10 minutes I haven't put at least two legal fish in the boat (or have released) I move on to the next spot. I am looking for the aggressive fish. Unless sight fishing for bigger species, such as Redfish, Cobia (Ling), Tarpon or Shark then I drift/pole longer over a wider range of area. I have had days where we would try over 12 locations and drift acres of flats to locate the most active fish.
We all have our favorite spots. Familiarizing yourself with the structure of the bottom, from using charts for general information, to the accurate bottom machines or by drifting through the shallow flats and fishing these locations thoroughly, keeping a fishing log of weather conditions, baits used, depth of the water and bottom conditions...like sand, grass, rocks and stumps.Will greatly increase your ability to consistantly put fish in the boat. This works for both fresh and saltwater fishing. During the late fall and winter season, as the fish move to different structures and deeper waters, 10-20 feet, I apply the same technique to locate fish.
I have found it's worth the time to spend a couple of hours per trip exploring new locations. And in doing so, I continue to expand the list on my GPS with the words HOT SPOT!
Thank you for your interest guest number: