Guided Steve from Georgia yesterday and a fellow from the Milton area on Tuesday. Both gents were in search of angling instruction and nice catches of redfish, trout and flounder. Needless to say, the last few days have been very windy. A big west wind shouldn’t be feared but celebrated, especially in rising water conditions. The good thing about a hard west wind is the fact that it will move the water more quickly and I really like where it pushes the mullet and bait. Each day, we focused directly on wind-pounded banks and found more redfish, trout and flounder than I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, many of the speckled trout were in the 3.5-5# range. These fish can still be found on shallow flats and obviously, much less stressed by falling water temperatures. We’re even getting plenty of big trout on topwater baits. In 20-30 mph winds, boat positioning is critical and casting with the wind is an absolute must. Also, very light Ultracast InvisiBraid(6#), a bit bulkier jighead and Gulp! with worm rattles in turbulent water makes all the difference. Both days produced solid Grand Slams and almost a Super with a striper falling near the boat. I’ll take consistent catches of 25-30 speckled trout, 8-10 redfish and 3-4 flounder in difficult conditions any day. Next time it’s windy, try out some wind-blown banks with lots of mullet and bait. I think you’ll like what you find. Most fish released and some were taken for consumption. Thanks, E Holstman
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