Whitebait Thick in the Hernando Beach Channel

Last time I was out I had a hard time finding bait. Mud minnows have been working great lately. But last week I could not find a single mud minnow. As luck would have it, I run in to another angler coming in from a camping trip on the channel island. Basically I wrote off fishing in the cuts due to the dredging. He reported that the whitebait was all around the channel and the snook are still there.

So I ran out through the channel and picked up about 200 nice whitebait with my little net. (The mud minnow net (it's in rough shape)). I made a couple of stops in the cuts while I waited for the tide to come up a bit. Lost a few baits to the pinfish and headed back to Centipede Bay.

With a 12mph NE wind the channel stays calm.

Most of the inshore waters are protected, but the wind still can cause problems. I typically fish in area that I need to cast towards the north-east so when we have NE winds these area can be changeling. That is why it is import to know areas that that can take advantage of the wind direction.

So we headed to an area on the north side of Centipede Bay, where I like to site fish. This area is very shallow and the redfish tend to spoke easily in shallow water. But with a good north-east wind at my back I can manage to anchor far enough away and still make the cast. It was not long before we caught the first fish.
This little redfish was about 19 inches, a little too small for me... Next summer, I'll come back and invite him to dinner...


The next fish was very interesting. I had a knot in my line and noticed it when I cast out a bait. One thing that really bugs me is to have the line knotted. So I reeled in about half the line to where the knot was. Leaving the bait swimming around about 20 ft from the boat, while I worked on getting the knot out. Now the one thing I learned the hard way, is that fish will strike at the most inopportune times. As I worked the knot out I heard a pop and looked over to the bait and there was this redfish chasing my bait. Just as the knot came out the line pulled tight and the hook set. This one was 22 inches just the right size for dinner...

The key to this trip was knowing how to use the wind to benefit the fishing trip. I could have easily added lead to the line and fished against the wind, but each trip should be planned to take advantage of the weather and tide.

Good Luck
Zippyjr

Tide : 2:38pm - 2.7ft late raising
Water Clarity : Very clear
Moon Phase: 94% off full
Temp: 83 F
Water Temp : 81 F
Wind: 12 mph NE
Bait: Whitebait
Results: 2 Redfish and 1 Ladyfish

Interesting Day Fishing for Redfish

I had the chance to go check out an area that I know holds redfish near the top of the tide. There is nothing really special about this place and it looks like a hundred other places. I went back at low tide (1.3ft L) and there was about 4 inches of water. Which means this place is dry on dead low tide (0 ft L) for years I wondered why the fish always show up here.

High Tide

Low Tide (1.3 ft L)

This is where I usually anchor the boat. The boat drug the bottom, but I got it anchored up in the same place as always.
Just as I thought there where no redfish, typically they hang in the back near the saw grass. At low tide there was a raccoon wondering around where the redfish hang around at high tide. But I also noticed there where big schools of mud minnows swimming around out in the open. And that answered my question about why the redfish always show up here when the tide is near the top. The way it looks is the red fish hang out in the back. When the tide is near the top the mud minnows go deep into the grass and that's why I do not ever see them at high tide. As the tide begins to drop the mud minnows have to leave the safety of the grass and the redfish positions themselves to take advantage of the situation.

Once the tide started moving in so did the redfish and this one wanted to come home for dinner. And it was an outstanding dinner guest.



Good Luck
Zippyjr

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Tide : 1.3 L 1:00pm Rising
Water Clarity : Clear
Moon Phase: 68% Waning Gibbous
Temp: 92 F
Water Temp : 84 F
Wind: W 10 mph
Bait: Mud minnows
Results: 1 - Auto Release, 1 - 24 Redfish