The normal rigging for Soft Jerk Baits is Texas style (see Texas Rigging tip) using a single offset wide-gap worm hook like the Owner 5102 model. Left unmodified, the bait will sink slowly on a slack line, and by working it back with a series of jerks and pauses of your rod tip, you create a very enticing zig-zag action that imitates the movements of a baitfish in trouble. Altering the speed of your retrieve as you work the bait in will also help produce strikes from fish that key on what looks like a fleeing minnow. But knowing how to adjust the speed of your retrieve and the span of your rod tip jerking motions according to the reactions of the fish you’re targeting can be the key to success.

When a fish appears aggressive, working the bait harder and faster can push your quarry over the point of no return, and warrant a hard strike. A fish that appears interested, but remains somewhat inactive, you may have to slow things down to make it easier for it to decide that your offering is just too good to pass up. This may require long pauses between jerks to allow the lure to sink down slowly to imitate the actions of a floundering baitfish. Very often, those less aggressive fish will slowly approach the slow sinking lure, determine that it’s an easy target, and just gulp it in as it passes in front of their face. Just remember to be patient during the fall since this is where most bites will occur. Use a long stiff rod and a reel with a fast retrieve ratio since you'll have a lot of slack to take up ensure a solid hook set.

So what about those times when the fish won't come up and you don't have the time to wait for the bait to sink down? The obvious answer is to add weight to the lure. It’s easy to do. You can just push a small lead weight into the soft plastic. I tend to use one of the weights DOA uses for their Shrimp lures, and often opt for using a glass rattle instead. That way I benefit from the sound production as well as the extra weight of the glass rattle. Just make sure not to use too heavy a weight, as it can kill the enticing action of the lure. As a rule of thumb, adding the weight to the front end will keep the zig-zagging action you want, and pull the lure down head first when you stop the retrieve. If a slower sink ratio is desired, you could opt for putting the weight closer to the middle of the lure body.

Gear Up For Inshore Winter Fishing - Winter weather is settling in, and its arrival is marked by the appearance of gamefish that usually migrate through our area once temperatures finally begin a steady decline. By now redfish are becoming a bit scarce over the shallows, and most snook have moved up rivers or headed offshore to spend the cold months in more temperate areas, leaving seatrout as the most readily available flats species for the moment. Meanwhile, however, swarms of Spanish mackerel and kingfish have invaded our coastal areas, and gag grouper have been methodically working their way closer to shore. Cobia can still be found around rock piles and offshore wrecks, and soon we’ll even have permit orbiting around many of the same sunken structures that now attract the cobia and grouper. Who says the fishing slows down here in the winter?

While shallow water anglers may have to work a little harder to be successful this time of year, they will benefit from a number of clear and calm days, one of the great virtues Southwest Florida has been blessed with. Visibility on the flats is excellent then, and wakes pushed by cruising fish can be detected from long distances when the surface lacks the wind chop that often blankets it during the fall and spring. One drawback, nevertheless, is that fish can also detect the presence of approaching boats much earlier. That, of course, requires anglers to be on the alert for signs of fish the moment they enter a flat. And it also demands from them long accurate casts that aren’t as crucial when weather conditions help to conceal their whereabouts from their quarry a little better. That’s when anglers opt for spoons, jigs and plugs that offer the favorable weight vs bulk ratio needed for those lengthy throws.

While gold spoons, bucktail jigs and certain plugs have been top producers for skinny water anglers for many moons, they do present one major problem when cast long distances, the loud splashes they create while entering the water simply spook fish. Are you scratching your head yet? Do you remember that trip when redfish were tailing all around, and you couldn’t get near them? Armed with a weedless spoon, you tried reaching the fish with long heaves, only to discover that you cleared the immediate vicinity the instant your lure hit the water, right? What’s the alternative, you ask? Well, in my book there’s only 2 options. You could lead the fish a safe distance with your cast, and then retrieve your lure into the strike zone. Or you can anchor or stake-out your boat, and chum the fish to within close casting range, where you can then pitch live baits or lighter lures such as soft plastics or skimmer jigs at them.

If you choose to chum, you can either use a chum tube or a weighted chum bag filled with some diced shrimp, or you can net white bait, and every so often pitch a fistful to one same area, down current from you. Of course, if poling or scooting around quietly with a trolling motor isn’t for you, you can always choose the more relaxed approach of drifting the shallows. You should then resort to fishing the potholes and dragging live shrimp or baitfish suspended under a popping cork behind your boat. Actually, it’s easy to do both if you have rod holders on your boat, and you use a drift sock (a.k.a. sea anchor) to keep your boat drifting broadsided so your lines don’t tangle. Never used a drift sock? Hey you don’t need anything fancy. I usually carry a 5-gallon bucket that meets the requirements perfectly once it’s tied off one of my gunwales with some 15 feet of rope (line for our sailing purists). The purpose of a drift sock is to create drag and slow down the drift of a boat, but it can also compensate for the drag of your motor’s lower unit, and help keep the boat drifting sideways if you deploy it near your bow. A few minutes of extra work? Granted, but it will make your life easier, and leave you more time to enjoy a cup of coffee or a few cold ones while you keep an eye on them popping corks.

Drifting For Hefty Seatrout- “Wait, don’t bring him in yet!” I instructed my partner. “Let me get my fly out there,” I added. The tip of his bent rod telegraphed every head shake of the big trout, and I could see desperation in my friends eyes when I asked him to keep the fish in the water a moment longer, so I knew I’d better hurry. With a single false cast I sent my fly in the direction of his hooked fish, allowing it to land a couple of feet behind it. My offering hesitated for a second on top of the water before being dragged down by its own weight. But the brightly colored fly didn’t get a chance to sink very far. It wasn’t more than a foot down when another hungry trout hit it and tried to swim off with it. And now my rod tip’s movements imitated those of my angling companion.

“Now can I bring mine in?” Asked Jody facetiously. With a smile, I nodded affirmatively, and we both went on to fight and release a pair of big yellowmouth trout. No, we weren’t fishing in some far away freshwater river, we were referring to large spawning spotted seatrout that invade the Everglades National Park during the late winter and early spring months. Their mouths often display a bright golden color that isn’t present in the smaller members of the species. Mind you, some fall short of reaching gator trout status, but these yellowmouths usually exceed 2 ½ pounds in weight, so they are nice and plump, and hit like they weigh twice as much.

Casting our flies in opposite direction as the boat drifted, we locate the trout first. Whenever we connect with more than one fish, I then slip a light anchor over the side, and fan cast the immediate vicinity to take full advantage of any trout concentration in that particular area. Catching a dozen trout in a couple of hours is not uncommon, if you do things right and know where to target the fish. We released 9 fish over 2 pounds before the tide change that afternoon, with our biggest fish pulling my hand scale down to the 4 ¾ pounds mark. Add several smaller trout, a redfish, and few ladyfish and we’re talking “serious action.”

Having that kind of a day in February or March is not uncommon, since that’s when the largest trout of the year make their annual appearance on the gulfside grass flats of the Everglades and Ten Thousand Islands. But not everyone knows where or how to get the most out of their trout fishing time. Though the old “popping cork towed behind the boat” method will catch some fish, you’ll get a lot more strikes by casting ahead of the boat. Remember that towing lures or baits behind you as you drift means fishing water that your boat has drifted over. That, often spooks trout out of their lairs, especially the larger ones.

Trout are pretty light sensitive, therefore, you should start fishing shallow early in the day, and move to deeper flats as the sun gets higher above the horizon. Once the sun is high, concentrate your efforts over grass flats that are 4 to 7 feet deep for best results. Always scan the area for signs of baitfish or surface feeding action. I’ve located many big trout by doing just that. A flat adjacent to a creek mouth or a pass can be superb at the beginning of an outgoing tide. Baitfish, shrimp and other morsels will get pushed out by the current once the falling tide gets going, and the trout know it. Many of those big yellowmouths are likely to take up temporary residence along the edges of said flat to wait in ambush. Potholes are another excellent place to look for those specks. It’s surprising how a point or a small depression can often hold several trout. So take your time, scout the area, and be sure to cover likely spots with well placed casts before you move on to next spot.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using live bait for trout. A lot of them are caught every year with herring, pilchards and shrimp. But lures allow the angler to cover more water at a fast rate of speed, plus the use of artificials also saves you the time you’d normally spend replacing baits eaten by pinfish, puffers, small snapper and other unwanted critters. Early and late in the day, when the surface is calm and you have low light conditions, a surface plug can produce terrific action. I prefer a zig-zag type action like that of a Bagley Jumping Mullet, a Zara Spook or a MirrOlure Top Dog Jr. if I’m fishing shallow. But often switch to a chugger if the mention plugs don’t draw much attention. My favorite chuggers are the MirrOlure 44 series, since you can chug them and also get them to swim under water for a deadly combination.

Most of the time, however, you’ll be better off delivering your offering down to the fish. If you are fishing in 3 feet of water or more, a sinking plug or a jig will often be your best bet. And if the water is a bit off color, you can have great results with a spoon as well. Surely by now most readers have learned that yours truly is a fly fishing fool, so I often attempt to catch trout with flies. I’ve had some excellent success by simply substituting the mentioned lures with flies of similar action. I opt for a deerhair slider like my Konehead when the situation calls for a zig-zag type bait. I’ll use a weighted deceiver or seaducer when I’d use a slow sinking plug, and I switch to a Clouser minnow in situations where I would use a jig. Oh, and I love a foam popper or the chug and dive action of a Dahlberg Diver, they have both produced amazing results for me over the years.

Because trout tend to gather in schools, competition for food often forces them to act quickly and strike with reckless abandon. The buddy system is an excellent way to locate and catch more trout. You and a friend cast on opposite sides as you drift, and when one hooks up, the other picks up and casts behind the hooked fish. Other trout often trail a hooked fish, so casting near one often results in additional hook-ups. The key is to act quickly, as the escorts will often abandon a hooked trout once they realize there’s no other bait is in the area. For years anglers have been cashing in this by using tandem rigs – a surface plug on top and a jig hanging a couple of feet below it. This can result in some tangles, but it can also double your pleasure.

True of most schooling species, trout tend to school up with fish of similar size. If you are after lunker trout, but find yourself fishing an area that’s producing only small ones, you should consider going elsewhere unless you detect signs of larger fish. Live bait chumming can be a great way to get the trout in a feeding mood, and to tell whether or not there are some yellowmouths in the area. But forget about using block chum, that will bring in jacks and ladyfish, or maybe even sharks – which will immediately shut everything down.

Good grass flats can be found along most western shores of the Everglades. The Cape Sable area is excellent, and so is the area just east of Pavillion Key. Highland Beach, however, remains one of my favorites. Closer to home, the flats outside of Cape Romano near Marco are also terrific producers of big trout. Luckily, there’s no shortage of good trout flats in our area, but you’ll find more of those yellowmouths in open water, so keep that in mind when you sit down to plan your next trout outing.

Shallow Water Grouper - Hard to believe we were already dropping anchor just a few minutes after leaving the marina. But here in Southwest Florida, we don’t have to run far to get into some great grouper fishing. I still suspected most people would have considered us crazy if we told them we were gunning for world record gags in 6 feet of water.

But Kevin has for years been pulling big gags out of places most anglers run right past, and thanks to him I’d already experienced the most amazing light tackle grouper action anyone could ever hope for. Hefty gags leaving boils the size of a Volkswagen in the water after snatching a bait, some even exploding on my surface popper. Don’t thing anyone would argue with my definition of great action. Plus I doubt many anglers have seen grouper skyrocket after a bait, so the fact that I’d had that happened several times, right in front of my eyes, made me pretty confident that our lofty goal of setting several gag IGFA marks in shallow water was a pretty reasonable endeavor.

The day, as it always seems to be when Kevin and I go after grouper, was cold and rainy. Though he secretly hoped I’d put off my quest until friendlier weather, Kevin went along with my plan, and soon had me perfectly positioned in front of a small wreck where we hoped to get enough shots to set records in more than one line class. Since gag grouper had just become the latest species eligible for world records, it would have been easy to set new marks with 20-inch fish on heavy lines (the new 22-inch minimum had not yet been gone into effect). But that wouldn’t have been much of challenge, so I decided to start with 16lbs line, and work my way down.

Armed with a plug outfit and a Bagley Monster Shad, I waited for Kevin’s go ahead to make the first cast. He first tossed in a handful of threadfins to check for signs of life. But unlike our previous visits, this time there was no immediate response. This time we saw neither boils nor surface explosions. I still sent out my diving plug flying towards the wreck. Who knows, perhaps the tight wobble or the flash of my lure going near the structure could entice a dormant gag to come out of its lair for breakfast. Besides, it was early, and Kevin had several other stops we could make if our first one did not pan out.

It took several casts to different parts of the wreck to finally get a strike. That first fish, in fact, didn’t even make the minimum length. But shortly after that the flood gates opened. And the real bruisers came out to play. We didn’t win every tug-of-war, but despite loosing several fish to the wreck, we called it a day just after lunch time with 4 gags in the livewell that later became confirmed IGFA records. Two were identical fish of 10lbs 8oz caught on 16 and 20lbs lines, another was 11lbs and was caught on 8lbs line, and the last fish to make it aboard, weighed 7lbs 8oz and earned me the 6lbs line record. Not bad for a half-day trip!

To conform with IGFA rules, we ran to a nearby island to measure the fish and weigh each of them while standing on terrafirma. And right after all the measurements and required photos were taken, all 4 grouper were released. I must admit it was pretty strange to kneel down on a flat to release gag grouper, but it was pretty cool to see them come alive and sprint towards deeper water.

While getting the records did take some preparation and a little luck, your odds of catching big grouper in shallow water are actually pretty good here in the west coast of Florida, if you know where to look. We have an advantage over the east because, for the most part, the bottom of the gulf is pretty flat and sandy, almost devoid of natural infractions and the structure that grouper and many other life forms farther down the food chain need to make a home. That forces them to congregate around the tiniest of rock ledges and any other sunken structure they can find. Consider also, that because the gulf has very few abrupt drops, and its depth doesn’t come close to matching the depth of the water off our eastern shores, many fish are used to making lengthy seasonal pilgrimages to reach more suitable environments.

Inshore the topography is very different. There are channels, mangrove islands, flats, troughs, oyster bars, and numerous man-made structures like bridges, docks, and navigational markers, that offer many of the features required to attract temporary and long term residents, from algae to crustaceans, baitfish, and all the way up to the larger predators like the gags themselves. So come December, when the temperature of the water finally drops to within their comfort range, many gags travel for miles to take up temporary residence well inshore of their usual hang-outs.

Although it certainly isn’t unheard of to find gag grouper inshore along Florida’s east coast, the number of gulfside gags that move to shallow water actually allows Southwest Florida anglers to target the grouper in spots sometimes just a few feet deep. Just this winter I witnessed large gags, some perhaps as large as 12 or 15 pounds, hunkered down in mere potholes covered by little more that 3 feet of water. It is absolutely astonishing to realize that the fish you just spooked as you poled across a flat was a big grouper. But when you fish Southwest Florida in the winter, you start to get used to having gag grouper intercept baits intended for redfish or snook.

Unlike fishing wrecks out in the open gulf, you don’t need big boat equipped with electronics to catch gags in the shallows. In Southwest Florida you’ll sometimes see flats boats come back to the dock with gags of 10 pounds or better that were plucked from small sunken boats or rock ledges well inside of the nearest pass. Quite a few of these small wrecks line the bottom of Charlotte Harbour and Pine Island Sound, in fact. Anglers who can find them can tap into some truly great gag grouper fishing from as early as late November to as late as mid March.

Of course, a GPS and an electronic fish-finder can be a big help, but a method called triangulation allows you to pinpoint the whereabouts of those small inshore wrecks without the aid of electronics. All you need is a compass and 3 landmarks, located a good distance away from each other. Your landmarks can be practically any immovable object, anything that you can count on to be in exactly the same location every time. You can use navigational markers, a lighthouse, tall buildings, or even the tips of mangrove islands nearby.

If the spot you want to fish is shown on a chart of the area, you take a ruler and draw a line from it to each of your 3 chosen land marks. Then, transport those lines to the compass rose on the chart, and write down the degrees for each heading. When you head out to the wreck, just start out from one of your landmarks, following the proper heading with your boat’s compass. Every so often, you’ll need to look back at the other two landmarks, and take compass readings to make sure you’re not straying far off course. The moment you are able to match all three landmarks with the bearings you got from your chart, you’ll know you’re in the area.

But quite a few of the wrecks or mini artificial reefs in question are the product of illegal dumping. Despite the fact that this practice would raise red flags from several state and county agencies, anglers have been sinking small boats, and dumping shopping carts, old tires and discarded electrical appliances to make their own secret reefs for years. Since many won’t be listed on any charts, many people just stumble across them when they least expect them. Marking the spot on a GPS is ideal, but you can always pull out your chart and use the triangulation method to get the bearings that’ll help you find the structure again and again. Either way, I strongly suggest you get compass readings of the 3 landmarks right from the wreck, and with your bow pointing directly to the north. Bearings taken with your boat’s compass often differ slightly from those on a chart. Besides, a magnetic compass may have a couple or more degrees of deviation, something that can change according to your boat’s heading. Mind you, deviation becomes a bigger problem over longer distances, so it shouldn’t be much of a factor if you choose landmarks that are fairly close to spot you want to fish.

Now even when using a GPS, you still need to find the sunken structure when you get to the area. A fish-finder makes it easy, but in shallow water you can usually find a wreck or a sizable rock ledge simply by sight. If you have good light and the water is clear, you’ll often see the dark spot on the bottom. If conditions don’t allow you to see the structure itself, you can look for other visible signs, like baitfish schooling on top, or a disturbance on the surface caused by a current upwelling. In shallow water you can even use your pushpole to feel the bottom around you until you a clunk indicates you’ve hit a hard solid object.

Capt. Kevin Holley, a good friend and one of the most versatile guides I know, has purposely searched out a number of this makeshift reefs using no more that a rumor or one of his grandfather’s old fish tales as reference. But during a tarpon trip a few summers ago, it was his pushpole that found the spot where I boated 4 of my world record gags. And he discovered another top producer when his outboard’s lower unit bumped into the structure. Sometimes it helps to be a little lucky.

Among the many things I’ve learned from Kevin is the value of a carrying a marker buoy to help you mark a spot. Something as simple as an empty milk jug tied to some monofilament, with a heavy sinker at the other end, can save you lots of valuable fishing time. Whether you anchor at a wreck, or you drift or troll around it, marking its exact location will keep you from having to drive around looking at your GPS and your fishfinder over and over. Without the aid of electronics, it could take you even longer. And if you’re anchored, and a wind or current change swings your boat away from the wreck, your buoy can keep you from fishing unproductive water, away from the structure that holds the fish.

Alright, now let’s talk about catching the fish. Obviously you have 3 options, you can drift past a wreck or ledge, you can troll around it, or you could instead opt for anchoring a safe distance away, and cast towards the structure. You can catch fish with any of the mentioned methods, but I believe that anchoring is most effective, because you can easily maintain your position, and cover the perimeter with your casts until you find the fish, or the lack of action dictates a move to another spot.

Threadfins, sardines and pilchards work extremely well for gags, as do pinfish. But large shrimp can be used in a pinch. Keep in mind that when you intend to bait grouper in shallow water, you don’t want a heavy sinker and a long leader. Many times you can just free line the baits, since the fish don’t have far to come up to grab them even if they stay right on the surface. But if there’s a current or the fish refuse to come up, a large split shot and 3 feet 50lbs mono leader is all you need. If you have a good supply of live bait, you should try chumming with them like you would for snook or redfish. The live chum gets the grouper in feeding mode, and usually tells you right away the kind of action you are in for at a particular spot.

A jig tipped with a swimming tail can also be very effective. Just make sure you use one just heavy enough to fish effectively without dropping to the bottom like a rock. You want it to flutter a little on its way down. Something else that works great is tipping a jig with a live bait. Take a pinfish, or a threadfin or even a grunt, and hook it through the lips, cast it towards the wreck, and retrieve it like you would a plug. Of course, when you use this combo, you don’t want to jig it very hard, just crank it in steady and barely fast enough to keep it above the structure. Casting plugs from an anchored boat, I must admit, is my favorite. I’ve caught grouper on several different types, from rattlers to poppers. But a flashy diver will get more strikes day in and day out.

If you decide to troll instead, a pair of large live threadfin herring or pilchards towed slowly some 50 feet behind your boat will do the trick. But you can also use swimming plugs, the same ones you’d use to cast around a shallow wreck. I love the Bagley Monster Shad because it has the right shape, size and action to imitate the baitfish grouper see most in our area, plus the plug is available with lips of 2 different sizes, so I can get down to 6 or 8 feet if necessary, without trolling very fast.

By the way, when you hook a fish near a wreck, the natural reaction of the fish is to run back to the structure. Most people stop and fight the fish from wherever they got the strike. But then the fish can cut you off on the wreck if you don’t stop him right away. So, when you hook a fish, look for your buoy right away, so you know how close you are to the wreck and can figure out your fight plan. If it looks like the fish has the angle on you, crank up the engine, and run around to the other side of the wreck. Two things are accomplished when you do that, you steer clear of immediate danger, and since fish tend to pull directly against your line, you sometimes get a hooked fish to turn when it feels you pulling from the opposite direction. The change of angles often confuses a fish also, and sometimes that can buy you a couple of seconds – valuable time, as the fish hesitates to figure out what’s going on.

A brief note about tackle. Gag grouper are amazingly powerful for their size. They are quite capable of bulling their way to the safety of their lairs if your gear or you fail to apply sufficient pressure to stop him. When you target them in shallow water, they usually don’t have to run very far to end a tug or war, so it’s imperative that you choose tackle that’s light enough to pitch a bait or lure with ease, but also has the power to stop the surge of what I believe is pound for pound the strongest fish you can hook inshore. Those light spinning outfits you use to pitch baits under the mangroves are not going to do much for you here. I strongly suggest rods with thicker and slightly longer handles to give you more leverage, and reels with a fast retrieve ration and strong gears. Trust me, power and leverage are the keys to winning most battles with gag grouper, shallow water or not!

CHASING SNOOK, THE TOUGH LINESIDER! - Those infamous linesiders that were once dismissed as trash fish way back when, have since gained fame of practically epic proportions. Though no census has yet confirmed it with any certainty, I’ll go out on a limb and guess that most inshore anglers in Florida first think of snook when they dream about tangling with a lunker. Although I have a great affinity for one Megalops Atlanticus a.k.a tarpon, I’d be lying if I didn’t own up to also holding snook very dear. Their displays of power over short distances are hard to match by other inshore gamefish, and their uncanny knack for finding sunken structure to severe lines with is a true testament to their amazing instinct of survival. O.K. I’m hooked on snook…there, I said it! But so is everyone who feels even a small member of the linesiders clan tugging at the business end of his line.

Knowing the healthy snook population that thrives in Southwest Florida, this summer’s fishing was more of a guessing game than normal. Those of us who love catching snook for the sport don’t really mind releasing them during their closed season. And since the summer months are when the larger fish tend to congregate in big numbers, it sure is hard to leave the snook alone until September. Nevertheless, the noticeable decrease in the number of big snook this summer is reason to wonder, did the drought and the late arrival of seasonal rains affect the snook’s summer ritual? Or is the angling pressure placed on this gallant gamefish finally showing a negative effect? Well, I can only hope big snook will again come out to play once things settle, and the fall migration of baitfish gets their juices flowing. But I do urge everyone who enjoys battling linesiders to do their best to make snook can continue to thrill us and our kids well into the future.

As I mentioned, a baitfish migration usually sparks some excellent snook action around these parts, and September normally marks the arrival of finger mullet and several other schooling forage fish that snook love to feast on. So I’ll try to offer some advice on finding snook the remainder of the year for those of you going through withdraws after large snook failed to fill your dance cards the last couple of months. Let’s see, since some linesiders are still going through their spawning ritual (some of them spawn well into October), we can ascertain that the many passes found up and down the gulf coast remain prime gathering spots for snook. Other than decent weather, you require only knowledge of the tides and the area you intend to fish to come up with a plan that’ll produce linesiders for you in the passes. Of course, knowledge of an area can be acquire by carefully studying charts, and furthered by using a good LCD fish-finder during the actual fishing. The tides? They can be easily obtained through the internet, or by checking out tide tables in the newspapers or magazines.

While the passes can produce snook on either an incoming or outgoing tide, most fish better during one or the other. What tide produces better results usually depends on which pushes by a better food supply and allows the fish to comfortably rest along a ledge or behind a certain structure without having to constantly fight the current. But water clarity is also a huge concern, as snook tend to be tough to take on artificials when the water lacks at least a bit of murkiness or tint. As a rule of thumb, fishing in the passes is best on an outgoing tide, when slightly stained inshore water is being pushed out to the gulf, and the fish become easier to fool. Outgoing tides after an extended period of heavy showers are especially good, as the snook tend to really feed actively then. An incoming tide can, however, be productive during rough weather periods, as the water gets churned up and the snook lose the usual wariness they exhibit when clean water from the gulf is pushing in.

Other factors, besides the tides, often determine whether or not a pass produces fish. Wind direction and velocity, can be major factors, for instance. As even a spot that is loaded with snook may not be fishable if 20 to 25 knot winds are blasting the area from a quadrant that offers no shelter to the angler. Of course, boat traffic can also have a harmful effect on the fishing. And sometimes a spot that yields great action on calm weeknights will get ice-cold when the fish are constantly accosted by outboards zooming over their heads. While fish that gather around the deeper passes, like Boca Grande, are rarely affected by boat traffic, those that hang around shallower passes often move or just remain inactive, refusing even live baits until things quiet down again. Of course, at night you don’t usually have the boat traffic encountered during daylight hours. God knows we probably had no more that half a dozen boats pass by the night we fished Redfish Pass.

The abundance of food in one area can often over-ride all other factors, and unless conditions are really terrible or the water temperature is way below their comfort range, snook can easily forget about everything else when confronted with the prospect of gorging on one of their favorite foods. In the winter time, for instance, a shrimp run can turn the snook fishing red hot during an outgoing tide, when the crustaceans abandon the grass flats in a mass exodus towards the gulf. And even though the water temperature may have dipped a couple of notches below the 72-degree mark, snook can be pretty active then. In the spring or early fall, a mullet run can produce a similar scenario. And since the schooling baitfish running along the beaches usually enter the passes in droves during an incoming tide; snook fishing in the passes during such periods could considerably improve.

While spring tides often trigger excellent snook action, they can also make some spots difficult to fish. A stiff breeze blowing against a spring outgoing tide, for example, can form some serious waves in many of the passes, making it treacherous for small boats to drift or even anchor to fish. Such spots, however, may be fishable from land if you can safely cast baits or lures to your target zone from a beach, seawall or jetty. North Captiva Island and Cayo Costa, for instance, can be excellent places to beach or anchor your boat on the lee side, and fish the passes on foot. A number of snook have been taken from there by shore-bound anglers casting jigs or drifting live baits with a fish-finder (sliding sinker) rig. A surf rod, 8 to 9 feet in length comes in very handy for that type of fishing, as it extends the distance of your casts, makes it easier to impart action to your jigs, and set the hook when a snook takes your offering on the drop.

Of course, fishing from a boat does have its advantages. For instance, you can target the schools of snook no matter what section of the pass they choose as their lair. Plus you can also target fish that hang around private docks, partially submerged jetties, and other fishy spots located in the vicinity of the passes that you wouldn’t be able to access from land. Anyone who’s seen live-baiters yanking big snook along the wall in front of South Seas Plantation, for instance, knows that even when a spot can be effectively fished from land, a boat still affords you a better angle and increased mobility while fighting a big linesider than those enjoyed by shore anglers confined to a small section of beach, seawall or jetty.

Snook and other predators quickly recognize feeding stations where they can easily pick off some tasty morsels with minimal effort. Since it’s a well known fact that bright lights draw shrimp and baitfish to docks and bridges lighted by powerful lamps, many of the snook that would normally settle in the nearby pass may spend a good part of their time feeding around the lights. Find such places near a pass, and you could be in for some sensational action. If you check out the areas adjacent to passes like North Captiva, Redfish and Boca Grande, for example, you’ll notice several lighted docks nearby. Their bright white lamps near the water are often the centers of amazing food chains that start with shrimp and baitfish, and end with tarpon, snook, seatrout, ladyfish, etc. Concentrate your efforts in such spots if you’d rather not venture onto the passes after dark.

Although snook will sometimes suspend near the surface around docks and bridges, they are primarily bottom fish, and as such, do most of their feeding on or near the bottom. That is particularly evident in the passes, reason why a jig bouncing along the bottom is the perfect weapon to target snook right where they live. Jigs with a round or teardrop shaped head usually perform better in areas where rocky bottom can claim possession of different shape leadheads. Whatever shape head you use, remember that too heavy a jig will eliminate the lure’s attractive flutter, and result in many hang-ups. By contrast, too light a jig will require lots of line to reach the bottom, usually after drifting far from the targeted area. What you want is the lightest jig that can reach bottom within a few seconds of entering the water. A ¾ to 1 ½ ounce jig is usually best for the passes, though a ½ ouncer may work well in areas where structure slows down the current or creates an eddy.

By the way, bucktails and plastic shrimp tail jigs are usually the top producers in the passes. White is truly the only color bucktail to use at night, but when it comes to plastic shrimp tails, top color selections range from a dark motor oil to a light green, pink or coral. Tipping a bucktail with a plastic swimming tail with silver or gold glitter can be a truly deadly combination, as you combine the bulk of the bucktail with the action and sparkle of the soft plastic. I even add sparkle to the jig heads with glitter fingernail paints. And a glow in the dark swimming tail can be superb in the dark of the new moon. Just hold a glow worm up to a light for a few seconds, and check out the iridescence of the plastic as it sails into the dark when you cast. Imagine how tempting it must look to a snook as it bounces by?

Tackle for snook fishing in the passes differs quite a bit from that used when targeting the fish on the flats or the backcountry. You may be fishing in 15, 20 feet or deeper, so you’ll be gearing up for a more vertical kind of bout. And since you’ll be dealing with big fish and strong currents, the outfit that so brilliantly danced a twitch bait on the surface near the mangroves will probably lack the kind of muscle you’ll need for the passes. Stout tackle is in order here, and that begins with the rod, which should ideally be fairly stiff, 6 ½ to 7 ½ feet in length (longer if fishing from shore), and have longer grips than the average casting rod for added leverage. What pound test? Well, that depends on the area and your skill at handling big fish. Using 12lbs gear can be fine for fishing off a beach or seawall with little in the way of obstructions that can part your line at the slightest touch. But 15 to 20lbs gear is probably better suited for most situations, as it offers added power to fight a big fish, while remaining light enough to handle for extended periods without tiring. There is room for heavier tackle, nevertheless, as the development of light graphite rods, thin diameter mono lines and the increasingly popular super braids, now allows the use of 30 and even 50-pound lines that until recently required cumbersome boat tackle not designed for casting.

Anglers using heavier fishing lines or one of the super braids, by the way, seem to experience more problems with snook chaffing through their leaders, thus they often opt for leaders as heavy as 80 or even 100lbs test. When snook feel heavy resistance, they tend to shake their heads more in an attempt to rid themselves of the hook, hence the need for heavier leaders. I stick to fishing 15 to 20lbs mono, therefore I find 50 to 60lbs leaders sufficient, and far less visible. Speaking of leaders, the material you choose can make a big difference. Forget about using anything other than clear leader lines, for starters. Fluorocarbon, which is even less visible than clear mono, can be a big help when the water is really clear. And when it comes to length, I advice you to make your leaders only as long as you can cast efficiently. Tying on a 6ft leader to prevent abrasion won’t help you at all if you can’t deliver your offering to the target area. I usually stick to 30 inches or so with a 7ft rod, and increase the length a little if I fish a longer rod. If you opt for fishing one of the super braids instead of mono, however, you could be forced to fish 5 or 6ft leaders to hide the conspicuous line from the fish. If that’s the case, you’ll need a rod with an oversize tiptop to allow easy passage of the leader knot during casting.

There you have them, all the basics to target snook in the passes. Hey, I heard the weather is going to be nice the next few days, where will you be fishing this weekend?

GUIDE TO TARPON FISHING SUCCESS - The sun's fiery circumference was spreading over the horizon as I eased into position. It had been a few weeks short of a year since I'd watched the glistening backs of tarpon break the surface as fish took turns gulping air. I was immersed in the memory, when I spotted the first school of the new season coming toward me. The fish milled leisurely, rolling without a care, and I could hear them blow in the still morning air as they moved across the shallows.

I watched them close in slowly, and once the fish came within range, I dropped a purple-and-black streamer 10 feet ahead of the school. Though it didn't take more than a few seconds, I fought to steady my shaking knees as the fly sank out of sight and the fish closed in on the spot it landed. Knowing full well that it doesn’t take tarpon long to close a short gap, I set my offering in motion before losing my window of opportunity. My slow, short strips caught the eye of a lead fish, and a second later my stripping was interrupted by a light tap, followed by heavy resistance, signals that a big tarpon had just closed its jaws after inhaling my fly. I struck hard, and my first silver king of the new season went airborne.

That scenario took place in Miami’s Biscayne Bay just as the southbound migration got underway last year, but similar scenes also repeat year after year in the Keys and other parts of the state. But wait, before you grab your fly rods, yell “Road Trip!” and head south in search of those fabled tarpon flats , you should know that there is excellent tarpon fishing right here in Southwest Florida. We are more than a couple of hundred miles from the keys, and yet anglers in our area have for years been catching ‘poons to their hearts content. And every year, more and more local anglers discover that they don’t have to travel far to get into some excellent fly and light tackle fishing for tarpon. As is the case with Islamorada and Key West, Boca Grande Pass and Homosassa are also legendary tarpon hotspots. But why compete with 200 hundred jiggers or dozens of bait-soaking mega yachts targeting one same spot when the fishing can be just as rewarding, and certainly less stressful somewhere else? Especially when that somewhere else is close to your own backyard.

Most tarpon encounters around the state will differ a bit from those in the shallows of South Miami and the Florida Keys, but fly and light tackle anglers willing to do a little exploring and adjust tactics can easily tap into some terrific silverking action. From Tampa on down to the Ten Thousand Islands, some of the best light tackle and fly-rodding for tarpon takes place along the beaches and deep, outside grass flats. Unlike the more famous passes, it is still quite possible to find more tarpon than fishing boats along the beaches off Manasota, Cayo Costa, Sanibel, Bonita, Estero Island, Naples and Marco. A few areas like Bean Point off the west tip of Anna Maria Island, and Charlotte Harbor's Johnson Shoals, can even offer anglers clear shallow-water environments reminiscent of the Keys, where conditions lend themselves to the stalking of tarpon by either staking out or poling. But, there also are many other nearby areas, like Matlacha and Pine Island Sound, and Keewaydin, Kive and Cape Romano islands, where schools of tarpon are found cruising over deep grass flats, and a number of laid-up fish hide in pot holes, protected coves, mangrove shoreline troughs, depressions surrounding oyster bars and even the mouths of creeks and residential canals.

With the possible exception of the deep passes, stealth is paramount for catching tarpon practically everywhere, that’s why poling is so often associated with it. But along the gulf coast, poling is far more limited than it is in the Keys and other areas where the tarpon migrate over extensive shallows. Here, the average depth of the water the fish travel through is greater, thus Southwest Florida anglers often opt for idling their boats slowly along the shore in 8 to 20 feet of water, looking for signs of fish. When they spot a school, they switch from their outboards to the quiet power of electric trolling motors to position their boats in the path of the tarpon, and let the fish come to them. Precisely because the tarpon schools tend to travel in deeper water here than in other parts of the state, calm water is a big help for anglers trying to locate tell tale signs of tarpon. Thus early mornings, when breezes are gentler and boat traffic is light, often produce the best action.

From the Ten Thousand Islands down to Cape Sable, the tarpon fishing varies a bit. Some schools of silver kings will still run the beaches, but others will travel across grass flats and even temporarily move in and out of rivers and bays. There, as in the Keys, tides have a stronger influence on the path chosen by fish, and it's critical to understand the effects of tidal movements if you are to score on tarpon. As a rule of thumb, high falling water will send fish up rivers and creeks, or push them to travel right along the inshore edge of gulf-side grass flats, where baitfish and crustaceans washed out by the tide will be most abundant. On the other hand, a low incoming tide will often congregate fish outside the mouth of the same rivers and creeks, or drive them out to the deeper edges of the flats. Opportunities for fly and light tackle anglers in that region are diverse, and while places like Round, Indian, Rabbit and Pavilion keys, Highland Beach, the Broad and Harney Rivers, and Ponce de Leon Bay, will all host their share of silver kings, the area is far too large and complex to pinpoint exactly where the fish will be during any given tide.

Very fond of running along seams and borders, tarpon love to follow shoreline edges, particularly those where the bottom drops slightly, or where a sand bar separates two grass flats. Because many places have well defined edges at several depths, tide changes will often determine which one the fish chooses to trace as moves on down the coast. Remember, high water will keep the fish closer in and low water will push them farther off the shallows to depths where they feel more comfortable. So, If you pay attention to the topography (detailed charts are a huge help) and the tides, you’ll find it easier to understand the behavior of traveling tarpon, and come up with a solid plan to intercept them.

Despite the diversity of terrain where tarpon are found throughout the state, one bait seems almost universal: crabs. Not surprisingly, most successful tarpon fly patterns resemble crustaceans, if only remotely. Keep in mind, however, that when tarpon are actively feeding on baitfish or worms, the flies and lures of choice are those which imitate a specific natural food. Ordinarily tarpon are opportunistic feeders, but during worm hatches or baitfish runs they may turn selective, and you won't hang too many fish if you can offer them what they want.

When it comes to colors, there are some proven rules of thumb that can help you select the best fly patterns for different conditions. And with so many lure options available in today’s market, you can easily stick to those same color schemes when using plugs or soft plastics. For low-light conditions, choose dark patterns such as black, purple and red, either combined with each other or with a bit of chartreuse, orange or yellow for contrast. The Purple People Eater, Bloody Mary, Black Death and the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Nightmare are some of the more popular examples that fit the description. When the water is murky or muddy, flies with bright colors like orange, yellow, hot pink or chartreuse, like the Original Apte, Chartreuse Caboose, Golden Rita and the Tangerine Dream, are more visible and tend to pay off best. But when the water is clear and visibility is good, it's time to go with natural colors that won’t seem so intrusive to the fish, such as browns and tans, perhaps with a bit of blue, orange or yellow for accent. The infamous Cockroach heads a long line-up of popular natural tarpon patterns that also include the Orange Grizzly, Apte Too, Tarpon Bunny and Lenny's Tarpon Shrimp, among others.

As I mentioned, spin and plug casters can also target tarpon on the flats with a number of offerings tailor made for their gear. Aside from a number of excellent hard body plugs, there’s a wide array of soft plastic baits that are perfect for enticing traveling silver kings. Plastic shrimp and crab imitations are obvious choices, but realistic minnow type tails fished with a matching jig head, and even a slender Sluggo, Bass Assassin or a simple plastic worm, Texas rigged on a triple strength hook, can be amazingly effective. You’ll be surprise how often a tarpon will eat artificials designed for bass fishing. In fact, a small bullet weight in front of a soft plastic comes in very handy in deep water situations such as the passes and off the beaches, where the fish may break the surface but immediately go back down eight or 10 feet to rejoin the school. Meanwhile, the best choice for the fly angler for the mentioned situation, is a heavily weighted fly such as a Whistler.

When it comes to tackle, a 12-weight fly rod with matching reel is the standard, though anglers chasing the giants of Homosassa or fishing in deep water sometimes opt for the extra backbone of a 13-weight rod. I also like a 12-weight, but tend to go down to an 11-weight outfit in really calm condition and water shallower than 7 or 8 feet. If spin or plug is more up your alley, just remember you’ll need a rod with a tip light enough to cast light lures a fair distance, and enough power in the mid and butt sections to whip a 100-pound fish. A 6 ½ to 7-foot length is usually just right, and I strongly suggest a two-handed grip to aid during both the casting and fighting parts of the task. Your reel must have strong gears and a smooth drag, as well as a large handle that can comfortably be cranked at a high rate of speed. By the way, be sure the reel handle is on the right if you are right handed, and on the left if you are a south paw. You’ll need to take up line in a hurry when a tarpon runs right at you, and you’ll only be able to do that with the hand you favor.

As for line test, that depends on the situation and your proficiency with light tackle. Just one word of advice, keep the survival chances of the fish in mind when you choose your tackle. A super long battle will often tire a fish way too much. Not only can it be tough to revive a tarpon after an extended fight, but you also give the big bulls and hammerhead sharks a better than average chance to make a meal out of the fish you release. I recommend 15 to 20lbs tackle for anyone other than the experienced light tackle buff who knows hot to put maximum pressure on lighter gear.

Gulf coast fly-rodders often rely on a full fast-sinking fly lines to deliver flies to the fish along the beaches and in the passes. With sinking lines, leaders should be fairly short--five to seven feet depending on the sink rate of the line and fly. This keeps the fly from riding higher than the line, which creates a pronounced belly in the line. However, in places like Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound, Cape Romano, and the outside flats of the Ten Thousand Islands, fly anglers often carry 2 fly outfits, one with a floating line and another with an intermediate slime line (monocore) or sink tip line just in case the fish are running a bit farther offshore or are cruising the channels. In either case, they normally use longer leaders. Most start with a standard 9-footer but, under clear and still conditions, leaders as long as 12 or 13 feet could be necessary for softer presentations and to keep the fish from seeing the fly line. Yes, long leaders are tougher to cast--but a soft nylon butt section making up at least 50 percent of the total leader, transfers energy from the line smoothly and turns over amazingly well.

Wind is a constant on the flats, and one way to combat it is by using monocore fly lines. They are smaller in diameter and cut the wind well. Because they are clear, they also permit you to shorten the leader a bit, as they are fairly invisible in the water. Until recently, all monocores were intermediate sink lines, so they were used over deeper flats and in instances when floating grass interfered with floating lines. Because you lose the fast pick-ups possible only with floating lines, I fashion a clear, sink-tip line by splicing the front 15 feet of a 12-weight monocore to an 11-weight floating tarpon taper (minus the front 15 feet) to give me the best of both worlds.
However, recently on the market is the Monic line, a floating version of monocore, that offers the stealth of a monocore with the attributes of a floater.

Considering that most tarpon anglers are fairly well equipped, the difference between success and uneventful outings usually comes from the caster’s ability to deliver the bait, set the hook, and fight the fish properly. With tarpon, quick casts are an absolute must. Spin or plug casting gear don’t pose much of a problem, but fly tackle can, so weight-forward fly lines with their weight spread along a short 30- to 38-foot head are used to allow fast deliveries with minimal false casting. And overloading the rod slightly with a line one weight heavier than it calls for can help launch quick casts with fewer false casts. Next in the pecking order is accuracy. If there ever was a time when your presentations must be on target, this is it. Tarpon hardly ever stray out of their path to take a lure or fly, so the offering must be in front of the fish when the tarpon meets up with it. The fly or lure also needs to be at the right depth, either level with the fish or slightly above him, since tarpon are physically better equipped--and more willing--to rise to a bait than they are to dive for one. Given enough time to react, you can strip the fly or reel a lure into position without disturbing the fish, should you overshoot your cast.

Take into account the speed at which the fish are traveling to figure out how far you need to lead them, and consider the direction and speed of the current and the wind before you cast. Not only will these things affect the direction of your shot, they'll also affect your drift and the speed of your retrieve. You'll have to reel or strip pretty fast to impart any action on a lure or fly if you are drifting toward it, but you may need to do very little if you are being pushed away from the artificial. If the fish are rolling in a pass or channel, the way they flip their tails will tell you whether they are staying near the surface or going down immediately after they gulp air. If they kick their tails high, be sure to use either a heavier lure, or a sinking line, a weighted fly, or both to get down to the fish. But remember that the worst thing you can do is strip a fly or crank a lure toward the fish. Tarpon are not used to being attacked by small critters and will clear the area in a hurry when that happens. You are better off waiting for the fish to swim past your offering, and taking another shot.

When it comes to setting the hook, don't let your eyes fool you into striking early. Too many fish are lost because the lure or fly is pulled out of their mouths. Tarpon often turn after the take, so capitalize on that and set the hook when the fish turns. There’s not much science to driving the hook home on a tarpon with heavy spin or plug tackle. Just remember to strike sideways and repeat the operation 3 or 4 times. If you are using fly gear, first pick up the slack in the line, and continue stripping until you come tight. Then sweep the rod back sideways with the tip parallel to the water. If you strike upward, you'll yank the lure or fly out of the water if you miss the hook-set, and there will be no second chances. Believe it or not, tarpon will sometimes take a lure or fly two or three times before the hook sticks or the fish spooks.

Once you set the hook, forget about everything and concentrate on clearing the fly line. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy the fight once the fish is on the reel. Should you get a knot in the fly line at that critical moment, point the rod at the fish and turn the guides upward. That allows the line to slide down the blank and the knot often goes through without catching on the snake guides. You've probably heard the expression, "bow to the king." It's a common one used by guides to remind their anglers to stab their rods at the fish when it jumps. This creates slack and prevents the fish falling on a tight line, which snaps the leader.

Once you’ve gathered yourself after the take and the ensuing hook set, it’s time to start pressuring the fish. Under no circumstances late a hooked tarpon catch up to its school mates. Not only does that increase the potential for cut-off’s from numerous sets of gill plates and fins around your line, but the fish tends to relax among its buddies, and will do expend far less to try and free itself. So do whatever you deem necessary to make your fish work hard for every yard of ocean it swims. In case you didn’t know it, you put maximum pressure on a fish when you are less than 100 yards away. So use your motor to close the gap if a tarpon peels too much line off your reel, and go back to fighting the fish from a dead boat as soon as you gain back the desired length of line. Oh, and when a fish starts to get tired, it usually begins to circle the boat, coming up for gulps of air every so often. Keep him from gulping that precious air and you'll win the battle much faster. Dip the rod in the water and pull down to keep the fish from breaking the surface. That move is known as the "down and dirty" and it's very effective in the late stages of the fight when the fish is close.

Once the fish looks like it’s ready to lip, crank in all but the few feet of line you’ll need to maneuver the fish at boatside. This may require you to crank in part of your leader, but only a short leash will allow you to turn the fish and keep it next to the boat long enough for your guide or fishing buddy to secure the fish with a lip gaff or grab a hold of the fish’s lower jaw to remove the hook. Loosen the drag a bit then, and apply additional drag by palming your reel with your hand. A lot of fish are lost at the culminating stage of a long battle, so be ready for a surge and a short run when it feels the boat up close. Tarpon’s sense of preservation is amazing, and no matter how tired they may seem, they often muster one last half-hearted effort to save their life when you least expect it.

O.K. there you have them, the basics for tarpon fishing success. Too many things to remember? Maybe, but they all come together with a little practice. And besides, any effort you put forth will be repaid several times fold when suddenly tarpon are no longer an incidental lucky catch for you. There are few experiences in fly or light tackle fishing that match catching big tarpon in shallow water. So get ready, the word is out, “the tarpon are coming!”