ROCKPORT

Reported by CAPT. JARED McCULLOCH

Sleeping in for Fish?

 

BY NOW WE HAVE HAD a couple of cool fronts we’ll allow to pass as a cold front or two. The water has lost a heavy amount of boat traffic. Your favorite little slice of shoreline may not be touched unless it’s by your wading boots. It’s the only time of year it begins to feel like the old days. Where you may only see one or two boats the whole time. It’s only a matter of days until the winter low water comes in and then it gets fun in the back lakes. Walking in one foot of water, clear water, reds tailing, mulling around. Don’t worry about being the first there. The duck hunters will have been there since dark. Let them have their morning. Allow the sun to rise, enjoy a sit down breakfast. I like to downsize my lures for a soft bite. D.O.A. 3” soft plastics with a short shaft 1/8 oz or less jig head. Don’t discount a small topwater in here as well. If they’re in the mood for a topwater then you can enjoy a mid-day of no grass to pull off your hook. 

If you’re looking to spend your early winter in the boat, I don’t blame you. When you have had enough of the cold weather it’s a lot easier to fire up and head in if you never left the boat. As always, the tide is your friend. The lower the tide the better. Big ledges off the flats with a little looking can find schools of reds and black drum. Pick up some heavy jig heads to put your shrimp on. No need to throw your shoulder out. 

If you’re looking for trout my suggestion is the same for wading and from the boat. Find your favorite reef and work it hard. Coves, the edges, the windblown sides. Shrimp and popping cork become your best friend again. Slow your retrieves on a lure. 10w-40, super model, southern shad are good colors to mimic the darker color along the reefs. They also work good on water approaching chocolate from the heavy north winds. 

So, sleep in, grab your favorite breakfast tacos, let the sun get up and warm up the shallow waters a few degrees. We have made it another year into winter fishing. Don’t forget to check for leaks in your waders before you have to spend all day in them!