December mornings may be cool, however, great month for backcountry red fishing. Best to get out on a mid day outgoing tide. As fish get pulled from the high tide grass, they will take residence in areas where you can reach they by boat. Often on the edges of Oyster bars, Creek depressions, holes, etc. They can be very shallow. That’s where a shallow skiff comes in handy resulting in more accessible areas to fish for them. Many times a legal redfish can sustain in 6-10 inches of water. Don’t think for a second that a 30 inch redfish cannot do the same. They will lay in these areas that I call “staging areas”
and wait to ride the incoming tide back to other desired areas. Also very important, know your tides. When you look at the the tides, there is usually a small number next to it. It may be 0.1-9 or -0.1-9. If the number doesn’t have a negative next to it, that means it’s going to be that many inches above mean low water. Example: .06,
Means it will be 6 inches higher than normal. If it has -0.6, it will be six inches lower than normal. If you are in a skiff that floats in 6 inches of water, this can make a big difference in where you are able to fish, and more importantly where the fish can “stage“ at. Balance this with the wind. If it blows anything from the east, , it keeps the water in the marsh, and if it blows from the west, it helps to push water out of the marsh. That is why when we have big north east winds, many anglers head to the flooded grass to fish for tailors in the spartina grass. Over all, it’s best to locate several staging areas like I explained.
For lure anglers, best lures I have found is a weedless soft plastic in a dark color, or a black bucktail in 1/8-1/4 oz. often times this imitates a fiddler crab, one of the top baits of the winter time redfish. Work the baits with low hops across the bottom. If you are site fishing lead the fish 4 ft when fish approach’s bump the lure very subtle. Bait fisherman, use a 1/4 oz jig and shrimp combo. Often times you can pick up a black drum, or sheephead. If I am only fishing for reds, I like using mud minnows however, they usually don’t work as well for the drum & sheephead. Good luck, see you on the water! 🐟
and wait to ride the incoming tide back to other desired areas. Also very important, know your tides. When you look at the the tides, there is usually a small number next to it. It may be 0.1-9 or -0.1-9. If the number doesn’t have a negative next to it, that means it’s going to be that many inches above mean low water. Example: .06,
Means it will be 6 inches higher than normal. If it has -0.6, it will be six inches lower than normal. If you are in a skiff that floats in 6 inches of water, this can make a big difference in where you are able to fish, and more importantly where the fish can “stage“ at. Balance this with the wind. If it blows anything from the east, , it keeps the water in the marsh, and if it blows from the west, it helps to push water out of the marsh. That is why when we have big north east winds, many anglers head to the flooded grass to fish for tailors in the spartina grass. Over all, it’s best to locate several staging areas like I explained.
For lure anglers, best lures I have found is a weedless soft plastic in a dark color, or a black bucktail in 1/8-1/4 oz. often times this imitates a fiddler crab, one of the top baits of the winter time redfish. Work the baits with low hops across the bottom. If you are site fishing lead the fish 4 ft when fish approach’s bump the lure very subtle. Bait fisherman, use a 1/4 oz jig and shrimp combo. Often times you can pick up a black drum, or sheephead. If I am only fishing for reds, I like using mud minnows however, they usually don’t work as well for the drum & sheephead. Good luck, see you on the water! 🐟
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