First, a little background. The three Saturdays before the 19th were all great fishing days. On two of the three Saturdays, we went to my buddy’s “secret” spot (the same place as we went to on the 19th) and caught between 50 and 70 fish each trip consisting of reds, trout, black drum, and a couple of flounder. The Saturday between those two days, the wife and I slayed the reds at our “our” spot on the ICW, catching around 25 fish total. Well, yesterday, we back to my buddy’s spot and caught only one fish in four hours and four people fishing. Live shrimp on every trip using corks and on soaking the bottom.
There was a stiff NE wind blowing yesterday, but we were out of it for the most part and there was a low pressure system off the coast. Also, three hours into the falling tide the water had dropped only about a foot! Did anyone else notice this and could the conditions mentioned above really have impacted the fishing that much? If so, I will make sure to never fish in these conditions again. It was a beautiful day on the water, but we took two of our oldest grandchildren and I had wanted them to experience catching fish pretty much non-stop. (My reports of previous trips to that spot are now met with friendly skepticism). I know it is called fishing, but for a productive spot to go from non-stop to not all is very frustrating.
BTW, between the three good trips mentioned above, only nine fish went in the cooler; four reds, four trout, and one flounder.
Your thoughts, knowledge, and if you fished yesterday, what you experienced.
I went to attempt surf fishing in the am and it was awful between current and wind and quickly left, later went out in a boat went to a spot I usually do great this time of year and the tide was as you describe. Caught a lot of little bait snatchers and had a lot of bait stole, little to no activity of bait or predator fish to be seen or heard. The tide was the same way and we where in the folly for spot reference but only had fresh shrimp might could of had a little better luck if we had some mullets but feel like the good fish where effected by the conditions.
Dear Red…Wind, Tide, Barometric Pressure, Water Temp.,Moon Phase, and bait are all influential on the feeding patterns of coastal fish. Fish move from deep to shallow, from shallow to deep, from sunlight to shade, and location based on tidal flow and strength. You need to develop a pattern of different fishing spots, and be prepared to move if you don’t get results within 30 minutes. Sitting in the boat for 4 hours at one spot isn’t all bad if you’ve got a picnic packed, and cold beverages to slake your thirst while listening to your favorite music on the sound system. It’s just that it’s a lazy way to fish, and you may not get the results you want. “You shouda been here yesterday” is a common refrain from fishing pro’s. Go figure.
Thanks, Bossdog1. We would not had stayed there that long had we knew how it would turn out. In this particular spot, the water has to be moving for the fish to bite. We kept waiting for this to happen, but the tide was very strange. We actually did move to other spots nearby which produce and the same was going on. We went back to the first spot and tried a little more. Again no catching, just fishing. Like I said, we had the grandchildren and I really wanted them to experience this spot. I am lucky enough that my buddy shared it with me and it really produces when the conditions are right. He called me on Saturday night and from his journal, most success there is in the morning to noon time slot. My reason for posting was to see if anyone else had the same happen to them on Saturday.
The wife and I would never sit in one spot so long and we have about twenty places further South where we fish. We headed North this time and the afternoon flew by. We didn’t have the time or inclination to go South after what we saw going on.
My buddy will be back in there this week and it will be fish on, no doubt. I had three super trips in a row before yesterday, so I will not complain. I just have never seen the conditions you mentioned hit in such a way as to shut the fish down completely.
Dear Red…Wind, Tide, Barometric Pressure, Water Temp.,Moon Phase, and bait are all influential on the feeding patterns of coastal fish. Fish move from deep to shallow, from shallow to deep, from sunlight to shade, and location based on tidal flow and strength. You need to develop a pattern of different fishing spots, and be prepared to move if you don’t get results within 30 minutes. Sitting in the boat for 4 hours at one spot isn’t all bad if you’ve got a picnic packed, and cold beverages to slake your thirst while listening to your favorite music on the sound system. It’s just that it’s a lazy way to fish, and you may not get the results you want. “You shouda been here yesterday” is a common refrain from fishing pro’s.
Thanks for the reply,40inchreds. Glad to hear it wasn’t just us. We are all blaming the SIL as a jinx at this time!
quote:Originally posted by 40inchreds
I went to attempt surf fishing in the am and it was awful between current and wind and quickly left, later went out in a boat went to a spot I usually do great this time of year and the tide was as you describe. Caught a lot of little bait snatchers and had a lot of bait stole, little to no activity of bait or predator fish to be seen or heard. The tide was the same way and we where in the folly for spot reference but only had fresh shrimp might could of had a little better luck if we had some mullets but feel like the good fish where effected by the conditions.
Roger that, Optiker. We took that in account when planning the trip, but Saturday was like nothing we had ever seen or experienced before. Three hours into the outgoing tide and the water may have dropped a foot. Lesson learned and NO more fishing trips on a NE wind day. (The wife and I know better, but we were working around other people’s schedules). It is not worth it when you work so hard to go fishing. We will get the kids back in there on a better day and I hope to post a far better report.
It makes me feel like a chump to say this, but I am happy others did not catch fish Saturday. I have been off the water for a long time due to lots of medical issues in my and my wife’s families. I have been promising to show a buddy some drops near his normal fishing area that I fished a lot years ago. I knew the weather was marginal, I prefer falling tide in the fall and we had incoming, my phone’s fishing app had “one fish”, and the big storm off the coast… Everything said stay home, but I was determined to get on the water!
Our trip was disappointing (and embarasing for me). I had a 1 1/2 hour drive, and the tide had turned back in by the time we got started. We could catch only tiny shrimp, so I had to get in the truck and go buy bait.
We missed the low tide redfish hole I had planned to target first, but we fished several drops that used to be “money” and just got nibbles from trashfish on live shrimp and gulp. We tried under corks, rattlecorks in the edge, jigs deep with various, etc. Nothing worked. I attributed it to my long time away from the water. Maybe it was not me. At least I feel better with that as a possibility!
It was not you, Spec. It was the weather as I have spoken with others about this past weekend and they reported the same thing, unusual tide and nothing but pinfish and other bait stealers. I hope you are able to get out more in fall as I know the bite will be good on select days.
quote:Originally posted by spec
It makes me feel like a chump to say this, but I am happy others did not catch fish Saturday. I have been off the water for a long time due to lots of medical issues in my and my wife’s families. I have been promising to show a buddy some drops near his normal fishing area that I fished a lot years ago. I knew the weather was marginal, I prefer falling tide in the fall and we had incoming, my phone’s fishing app had “one fish”, and the big storm off the coast… Everything said stay home, but I was determined to get on the water!
Our trip was disappointing (and embarasing for me). I had a 1 1/2 hour drive, and the tide had turned back in by the time we got started. We could catch only tiny shrimp, so I had to get in the truck and go buy bait.
We missed the low tide redfish hole I had planned to target first, but we fished several drops that used to be “money” and just got nibbles from trashfish on live shrimp and gulp. We tried under corks, rattlecorks in the edge, jigs deep with various, etc. Nothing worked. I attributed it to my long time away from the water. Maybe it was not me. At least I feel better with that as a possibility!
I used to get on the water a lot more, but now it is very difficult to get away from Hampton. But, everyone in my family knows that October is my “vacation time”. I try to fish/night shrimp at least a couple of times per week in October and usually do well then. That is when the fish are in their “feeding frenzy”, getting fat for the winter as they sense the water temps dropping.
After a few trips, the patterns start to emerge. I’ll get this “skunk” off me soon. Thanks for all the support and information on here.