Hey fellow anglers, it’s Capt. Adam Morley coming at you with the latest from the fishing scene around here. The redfish have been stealing the show between fronts, hitting on a very slow retrieve with artificial lures or shrimp on the bottom in the chilly waters. The flats have been alive with action, and if you haven’t experienced the thrill of a redfish bite lately, you’re missing out. We’re talking schools of upper slot fish mixing it up with plenty of under slot reds, making for some exciting days on the water.
(St. Augustine Sandman on YouTube with a nice Reddish on a Fishbite Paddle tail)
In the surf, the reports are buzzing with news of black drum and whiting making appearances. The go-to rig seems to be the St. Augustine Sandman Float Rig—trust me, it’s making waves for a reason. If you want to see it in action, head over to his YouTube channel for some valuable insights.
Now, the trout reports have been a bit scattered lately, not a ton to boast about, but hey, they’re out there. Patience and persistence will pay off for those willing to put in the time.
For those of you eager to dive deeper into the local fishing community, consider joining the Flagler Sportfishing Club. We’re a passionate bunch, and we meet on the first Thursday of the month at Club 51 in Palm Coast. It’s more than a club; it’s a family of anglers sharing stories, tips, and a genuine love for the sport.
As we navigate the waters between fronts, may your lines stay tight, your bait lively, and your angling adventures be nothing short of legendary. See you out there!
Tight lines
Chris from Skinny Water Lures mentioned this weeks bite was on fire. With the cold water temperatures we set out looking to focus on the deep holes around oyster bars in the High Bridge area.
   Early morning we focused on the trout bite,  by tying on a Skinny Water Lures suspending twitch bait. We found areas with moving water. Throwing up current allowing the lure to drift back towards us. We focused our retrieve on a twitch twitch pause method. During this winter time your twitch motion should be soft and light. Most strikes happened as this twitch bait was suspended in the water column, allowing that bait to float motionless.
   In the winter time and during colder water temperatures, work these style lures with a twitching motion every few seconds. Really slow down your retrieve in the winter time. Rule of thumb is if you think your retrieve is slow, slow it down even more. We as anglers tend to hurt ourselves in the winter time by retrieving or working our lures too fast.
Midday we changed our tactics and focused on the Redfish. Winter time the redfish became very lethargic and spook very easily. If you throw a larger paddle tail or a lure with a lot of vibration or action you will tend to drive these redfish away. This in mind we decided to down size and throw the 3 inch SWL curly tail grub. We focused areas with deep holes with nearby oyster bars.
   Knowing the deep holes would hold warmer water and the nearby oyster bars would allow these redfish to adventure out to get bait and back in the deep hole. This in mind, we focused bouncing the curly tail grub on a jig-head off the bottom in the deep holes. Doing this Jigging motion the curly tail in the water column and allowing it to fall right back down, gives that corkscrew tail tremendous action with less vibration. Doing this technique allowed us to catch a 27,25, 23 and a 18 inch redfish out of the same hole.
Remember during these colder months slow way down with retrieve and action of the lure and you will bring fish to the boat.
