The clients I had on the boat today have been my most faithful repeat clients over the past couple of years. They have chartered me 4-6 times per year each year for the past 3 years. And for whatever reason, each and every time they come, the conditions are just wrong for catching redfish. We’ve caught trout, spanish mackerel, cobia, sharks, snook, mangrove snapper, grouper and more during their previous trips. But for the most part redfish have alluded us (some of these anglers have caught a few reds with me but they’ve never caught reds as a group together).
So, after a great weekend of fishing for redfish, I proudly proclaimed today that we were going redfish fishing, “come hell or high water”. They liked the idea and I was supremely confident in having a great day of catching redfish. Problem is, after we caught bait and headed for the first redfish spot, we didn’t have hell or high water. I didn’t mind not being met by hell but we really needed the high water. The tide prediction for the day forecasted having plenty of water for the spots I intended to hit today but the north wind we had over night must have pushed the water out. So after almost getting stuck in the not so high water at spot number one, I decided that because neither hell nor high water were in sight, we were going to have to switch gears and go after other game.
The water wasn’t as high as I expected for the day and the tide was dumping out so it wasn’t going to get any higher anytime soon. So, with a new game plan in mind, we headed to a shallow flat that had two deep troughs cutting through it. I ran to the southernmost trough and began fishing. After a few lizardfish bites and a ladyfish bite, I spotted a buddy of mine run into the northern trough. A few minutes later he gave me a ring and asked how I was doing. I jokingly told him he was missing a stellar lizardfish bite . He said to jump the flat and get in the trough he was in because the trout bite was on fire over there. I fired up the outboard and skipped across some 18″ deep water to get to the 300 yard long, 50 yard wide 6′ deep trough to my north. My buddy was right, the trout wore us out. We caught about 40 trout and limited out on trout from the 16″-24″ range.
Now, we could have fished for redfish “come hell or high water” but sometimes you need to be able to asses the situation and be ready to make adjustments. The conditions just weren’t right for redfish but they were perfect for seatrout. So, instead of beating our head against a wall, we opted for bent rods and smiling faces.
Whether you’re fishing offshore for grouper, in a lake for bass or a stream for rainbows… spend the first part of your trip taking account of the conditions and then match the current conditions to your past successes (and failures). Then, if you’re not just hellbent on one thing or another, make adjustments and you too might just have a stellar day. Even if the results differ from the plans you originally had set out.
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