Greetings from Tru Luvin Fishing and Hagan Coastal Outfitters. This blog provides you with a front row seat to what Domenic and Ron are seeing on the water in Northeast Florida from our kayaks, as we chase inshore saltwater species, primarily using artificial lures. From time to time, we will include bonus reports from tournaments and fishing trips around the region as we travel. We want to keep you informed of what is biting, what lures are working for us and what gear has been helping us get on the fish.
Overall Fishing Report
Fishing in August was as hot as the weather for the Tru Luvin team. In fact, the fishing was uncharacteristically consistent and good for the dog days of summer. We typically see the bite slowing down inshore in the heat of August, but Domenic and Ron found consistent action during the hottest month of the year.
The guys had to dodge both morning and afternoon storms, but they were rewarded for their efforts. The frequent rains of the month likely aided in keeping marsh water temperatures a touch lower than normal, which may have helped strengthen the bite.
There is plenty to cover from the guys’ August fishing adventures. Domenic and Ron fished from their Hobie kayaks and Domenic made several trips out in the Beavertail skiff. Success was found in both deeper water within the Intercoastal Waterway to the shallowest of skinny creeks and marshes. Impressive fish were caught on every trip, and this included really nice upper and over slot Redfish. Let’s dive into all of it.
Tactics That Are Working
Domenic threw the cast net for Mullet to match the hatch of the bait in the water on a couple of South ICW trips in the Beavertail. He found slams on both of his trips along with upper and over slot Redfish. This included a thirty-inch brute that put up an incredible fight. Domenic also managed to pick up several Trout, Flounder and even a Sheepshead. He also had a great time fishing topwater lures through a school of hungry Jack Crevalle, hooking up on almost every cast.
Domenic and Ron also made a couple of low tide kayak trips to the back of some of their favorite North Jacksonville creeks. The top water bite disappointed a bit on these trips with only a few fish caught up top. However, the low tide action was on fire. The guys were able to sight fish big Redfish in super shallow water. The Reds were belly crawling through the mud, slurping up the small shrimp that have hatched in our marshes. These Redfish were so focused on feeding that they had their backs completely out of the water and could be stealthily stalked.
This type of fishing is actually more like hunting. The guys would find feeding fish along the shoreline and try to get ahead of them. They then casted their lures ten to twenty feet ahead of the fish to keep from spooking them in the skinny water. As the Red got to within a couple feet of the lure being presented, all it took was a couple of twitches and then Redfish pounced on them.
The top producing lures on these trips were the smaller ZMan Prawn Stars in the 2.5 and 3.0 inch sizes. These smaller sizes better matched the shrimp hatch in the marshes than the standard and larger versions. The top producing lure was the ZMan Baby Goat. This lure does a great job imitating the small shrimp, crustaceans and crabs in our marshes right now. Both lures are available at Hagan Coastal Outfitters.
It was not just the lower tide cycle that produced quality fish this month. Ron got out for a solo trip in the Hobie Lynx kayak for a high tide trip in the creeks. He found success working the higher tide grass lines and structure with the ZMan Baby goat and the ZMan Prawn Starz. The fish were following the baitfish and shrimp into the marsh grass on the incoming high tide and then staging just outside the grass on the falling tide to feed on the bait that was washing out. Ron stuck multiple upper slot Reds by understanding how the fish were moving with the tide.
Lessons Learned
Domenic and Ron enjoyed a couple of outstanding low tide, skinny water trips during August. They were fishing in water so shallow that they had to pull their pedal drives and rudders up to paddle to the fish in inches of water.
The Redfish were cruising the shallow banks, with their backs out of the water, feasting on shrimp. Sight fishing for Reds in these conditions is challenging, but it is a lot of fun and can be very rewarding. The key is to be as silent as possible with your movements and your casts. Heavy baits not only disturb the water when they land, but they spook feeding Redfish. Heavy baits will also get buried in the marsh mud when they land in a few inches of water. The best way to combat these issues is to use a small and lightweight bait presentation such as the ZMan Baby Goat. It lands softly in the water and has a flat body that will stay on top of the muddy bottom rather than burrowing into it when you cast.
The key is to pin that lure to a lightweight 1/16th oz jig-head to deaden the impact of the cast on the water and keep that plastic on top of the mud as you work it. This combination was deadly at low tide all month and produced quality slot and overslot Redfish consistently.