The Bay is starting to jump into action! We are finally seeing good salinity levels moving North. The Southern parts of the bay and the Mississippi sound are starting to clear up. We have had high tides during the middle of the day so that is helping to offset the extreme heat. Redfish are moving on to the flats as the tide rises and they are chasing small crustaceans and bait fish. Speckled trout are moving to deeper structure in the bay and off the beaches around the full moon to spawn. As a special treat the Triple Tail are here so keep you eyes peeled for anything floating that can hold fish!
Redfish:
Your go-to flies for redfish are kwan flies and EP Minnows in tan and orange. I am really liking using redfish toads that are weighted with dumbbell eye and get into the fish's line of sight fast, and an added tip is to use zonker strips for those toads to help give it extra action.
Short story is that the fish are there and ready to eat! For general comfort I suggest going early in the morning before the temps get up.
Speckled Trout:
Day Time: Your best shot for day time fishing is on the reefs with an intermediate or sinking line. These fish are keyed in on glass minnows and small shrimp. The tip here is to down size, and if you have an unweighted fly that seems to help, over clouser type flies. I like to set up up current so that my flies have time to get down to the structure before I work it in.
Night Time: These guys are heavy on the lights right now! be sure to wait a full hour after sundown before you start fishing, and small white unweighted streamers are your go-to.
Go-to flies are EP Minnows and Bead Chain Seaducers in white and tan, white and olive and of course chartreuse and white.
Misc. Species:
Spanish Mackerel are on the rigs in the South of the bay and are extremely keyed in on the glass minnows. They are happy to eat and make great table fair.
Triple Tail are now in the bay so anytime you find anything floating, check it! Small flies that sink super slow are the order of the day and the smaller the fly the better, those guys are beady eyed as all get out!
We have an upcoming tropical system that will be laying over us until the end of the weekend so things may be a new ball game next week...
