Winter Time Flats Tactics

Winter sunrise over a Lemon Bay flat

Winter patterns are starting to play out here in southwest Florida. With each passing front comes cooler temperatures, gusting winds, and negative low tides. The bite this time of year can be difficult one day, and completely insane the next. The fish tend to feed heavily leading up to a front, but shut down almost immediately when the front arrives and the barometer drops past their comfort zone. After the front passes, it can take a day or two for the fishing to pick back up.
That said, when I can find a calm day between fronts I like to fish the incoming side of the low tides. Redfish and trout stage on the deeper edges of flats and feed as the water comes in. With the low and typically clear water this time of year, there are plenty of sight fishing opportunities. Even on a cloudy or choppy day one can easily spot potholes and other productive spots to place a cast.
Hungry redfish and trout will happily take a slow moving DOA shrimp as well as a variety of other soft plastics. I like to use DOA CAL series jerk shads rigged on a weedless and weightless wide gap hook. This delicate presentation is easy to cast without spooking fish, and can be fished at a variety of speeds to entice a strike. Suspending plugs, such as the Mirr-O-Lure MirrOdine can be deadly when the fish are keyed in on the small whitebait that is prevalent this time of year. The MirrOdine is available in 3 different sizes to help with matching the hatch as well.

Typical assortment of winter lures

Early on in the day a walk-the-dog style topwater bait can elicit some incredible strikes. However, I have found fishing smaller and slower to match the available forage tends to lead to greater overall success. I prefer to use a topwater bait mainly to locate active fish, and then fish that area thouroughly with soft plastics. That's not a steadfast rule though, if the fish stay active on surface plugs I will gladly keep casting them!
Occasionally you will find a snook or two as a bonus. By now though, a good majority of our local snook population has started to trek up the rivers, creeks, and canals in search of warmer water. If you do encounter any on a winter time flat, they will take the same lures as redfish and trout, especially a slow moving DOA shrimp.
Don't let the cooler temperatures and pesky winds fool you, some of the best fishing happens in the winter time. Pack a jacket, some hot coffee and a good attitude and you’re bound to have a great day on the water! Uintil next time...