The cooling water temperatures are bringing redfish schooling to the flats in large numbers. Over the last few weeks the water temps have been hovering just below 60, and the water is starting to clear up. The light winds and warm days last week helped make for some successful fishing trips while targeting schools of reds in shallow water.
As we pulled off the throttle I spotted a small wake a few hundred yards up the bank, so I took my position up on the poling platform and began a stealthy approach. Using a slow, steady approach, about 10 minutes later my customers were in casting distance of 80 redfish in 14 inches of water. The first cast was thrown and no sooner than the lure hitting the water, the magic sound of drag pealing off the spinning reel was music to my ears. Shortly after an 8 minute fight we had a 9 pound (30”) beautiful redfish in the boat posing for a quick picture and a tag before a healthy release.
The school had gotten all flustered watching one of the comrades battle the 8lb test. The water was filled with small clouds of mud, while three confused reds that had followed their hooked buddy to the boat were mulling only feet from the boat. I knew that when things settled back down the reds would go back to their comfort zone where we first hooked up.
For the next ten minutes we just let the water settle, I climbed back on the platform and saw the reds mulling back in their original position. They were presented with numerous artificial baits with only a few turns of the head. I baited up a mud minnow on a float, and pitched it a few yards upwind of the school, and in the rod holder it went. After a few more artificial were presented we saw the float disappear. The fight was on again, this fish was not as big as the first but hit the scales at 6 pounds. It was time to go on to the next school of redfish up the water way. Over the next 2 hours we poled the shallow flats of the ICW fishing 4 different schools of redfish. The schools averaged around 50-80 fish per school, and we mana