What a strange coincidence? It’s another weekend and yet another small craft advisory! Fortunately January is almost over and spring is in the not-too-distant future when the weather will stabilize and the fishing will take off again. In the meantime, quality fish are still being caught, albeit in shorter windows, for those who persevere.
Friday night’s full moon will usher in some of the most extreme tidal ranges of the year. Mid-morning lows will be in the negative one-foot range at the mouth of the St. Marks River. That means the two ramps with safe water will be Shields Marina and the fort ramp in St. Marks for early risers. High tides will top three feet by late afternoons, but another front and rain are forecast for Sunday.
The heavy rains on Thursday may not negatively impact the water clarity until next week as the feeder creeks and marsh slowly drain. A safe bet is to start closer to the river mouth with higher salinity levels before working upstream. The colder temperatures again will mandate slow retrieves. Suspending plugs like the Paul Brown series, MirrOlure Catch 2000s and Rapala Twitchin’ Raps in natural patterns are good choices. Bouncing a jig with just enough weight to reach bottom is another good tactic. Substituting a live shrimp on a jig head instead of soft-plastic is never a bad choice, either. In addition to trout, you might also catch flounder, mangrove snapper and sheepshead.
Redfish are prowling the creeks and flooded shorelines. The fish are nervous in the extreme skinny, but bite better once they feel comfortable with more water. Aqua Dream weedless 1/4-ounce spoons, CAL shad tails in Arkansas Glow or Rainbow Trout on a 1/8-ounce jig are sight-fishing standards. Tan and brown bucktail jigs are another option.
Of course, there’s the full moon/feed at night question to contend with as well. The tremendous tidal swings will move some water and bait, but it may be during the night time hours. You won’t know unless you go, though. Prime solunar times will be very high activity for an hour either side of the daytime crest and a high period the first hour in the mornings after dead low.
Copyright 2020, Capt. Dave Lear. All rights reserved.