How To Catch Trout & Redfish In The Winter (Between Cold Fronts)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
When the weather warms up a bit between cold fronts, the fish’s behavior changes.
Instead of hiding in the deep cuts for warmth, they invade the sun-warmed shallows to feed.
And this is a great opportunity for some fun fishing.
In the video below, I’ll show you how I caught lots of trout and a nice red using one lure and a simple approach.
And since the water is shallow and clear, the fish are extra spooky, so you’ll also learn the two things you need to do to approach them without scaring them off.
Check it out below!
How To Catch Fish After A Cold Front [VIDEO]
Click here to get these Alabama Leprechaun lures
Click here to join the Insider Club
Here’s the gear I was using:
- Rod: Bull Bay Salt Strong Custom
- Reel: 2500 Daiwa Fuego
- Line: 10 lb. Sufix 832
- Leader: 20 lb. Ande Mono
- Lure: Alabama Leprechaun
- Hook: 3/0 1/8 oz. Owner TwistLock
- Sunglasses: Smith Guide’s Choice Green Mirrored Glass
The Best Lure For Shallow Water Winter Fishing
When these trout and reds come back onto the warm flats, they’re looking for easy meals like small baitfish or shrimp.
And the perfect lure to mimic both an injured baitfish or a fleeing shrimp is a jerk shad.
I like to use the Alabama Leprechaun rigged on an Owner TwistLock weighted hook.
Retrieve it slowly with a double twitch, then let it settle back down to the bottom.
These fish are cold and lethargic, but if a jerk shad is right in front of their face, they can’t say no.
And one last tip about retrieving your lure here…
Learn the difference between a tap and a thump.
A small tap means that a pinfish or pufferfish has tried unsuccessfully to eat your lure.
But a bigger thump means a trout or redfish has it in their mouth.
There will be lots of taps, but wait for the thump to set the hook because you don’t want to rip your lure out of the strike zone.
Where To Catch Trout & Redfish Between Cold Fronts
When you’re on the flats looking for these fish, you want to look for sandy potholes.
These will look like lighter patches among the darker seagrass.
The trout and redfish will be in and around them, waiting to ambush unsuspecting prey at the break between grass and sand.
So use a good pair of sunglasses to find these holes, then approach them slowly and quietly by drifting or with your trolling motor).
Stay as far away as you can, and make long casts past them, then slowly retrieve your lure through them.
A good rod and light braid will help you cast as far as possible.
As far as how deep to fish, I found fish both on the deeper edges of the flat, as well as the shallow areas closer to shore.
There were lots of smaller fish on the edges, and fewer big fish in the shallower parts.
Conclusion
If you want to catch trout and redfish in the winter between cold fronts, hit the shallow flats near deeper water.
They’ll be up there hunting for injured baitfish and shrimp, so using a jerk shad rigged on a weighted hook is a great way to catch them.
Look for the fish in sandy potholes, and make long casts to not spook them.
Have any questions about catching fish between fronts?
Let me know down in the comments.
And if you know someone who wants to catch more fish this winter, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
P.S. Want access to our best fishing spots and tips, plus discounts to our online tackle store? Click here to join us in the Insider Club!
Related articles:
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish ever trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Will do
I’m new to salt strong and new to North Carolina waters and will be winter fishing with my boat around More head city and Beaufort and will be able to run across to the Neuse river. I’m trying to target trout and hopefully Redfish. But due to my ignorance of the area I need all the info i can get about that are. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
George Wolfe.
Make sure to go through the Fishing School modules. The intermediate level finding fish lesson shows tips on how to use the Smart Spots software to identify good spots: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/membercurriculum/
WET YOUR HANDS BEFORE TOUCHING THE TROUT!!! Better yet, use hook removal tools so you don’t have to touch the fish you are releasing.
Makes sure to check out this podcast video where a marine biologist shares his findings after testing the survival rate of seatrout after various catch and release scenarios (the seatrout section starts at the 12 minute mark): https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/articles/catch-and-release-science/
Great video Luke! I really enjoy fishing for trout and the advice about letting them catch their breath in the net before releasing is a great tip.
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment Bruce!
Awesome video Luke!
Luke, thanks for the tip, ready to get out on the water if this weather will turn around a bit, too cold, rainy and snowy here in VA. right now but first chance I’m on it!
Thanks for making time to post the nice comment David! I hope your weather clears up soon.
Yea but like always here in northeast Florida Sandy potholes are pretty much non exsistant dark muddy bottoms with tons of oysters yes but clear Sandy bottoms with flowing seagrass a definate no so that plan is a no go!!!!
The same general idea of casting over ambush spots can still be used up your way. Instead of potholes, the points and outer edges of oyster bars can be a good tactic for catching some solid fish.
Another great video Luke. I’ve been fishing out of the Naples/Bonita Springs area, and I haven’t encountered waters like this (clear, grass flats). At least, I don’t think I have. I’ve tried using Google and Bing maps, but haven’t really been able to distinguish anything well enough to identify a true “grass flat”. Can you (or anyone else reading) point me to some locations in or near Estero Bay, Naples Bay, Big Hickory, etc.?
Thanks George! Be sure to check to Master Reports Map so that you can see our Insider Reports and Spot Dissections (yellow and blue pins) on a regional basis. Here’s a link: https://community.saltstrong.com/RegionalMap.php
Thanks Luke. I’m watching Tony’s video from Estero Bay here: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/fishing-tip/finding-grass-flats/. Very helpful. My problem is that I’m a new boater and chicken to go too far out of the channel and get stuck. I use Freedom Boat Club and don’t have a trolling motor, power pole, or super low draft. I should probably buy a kayak. More exercise AND get into shallower water!
Here’s a trip from a Freedom Boat Club boat without a trolling motor so you can see some tactics to use in that situation: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/articles/inshore-slam-without-trolling-motor/
Thanks so much Luke. No more excuses for me. I’ll go when I can go, and do what I can do.
Practice makes perfect!
Does water temp matter? I am in panhandle and I believe it’s a lot colder up here. We have some nice flats with pot holes but don’t know if the colder weather here makes a difference
Water temp does matter, but it’s more about the trending temp than an absolute temp. For example, a fish in 60 degree water feels much better if it was just previously in 58 degree water compared to if it was just 60 degree water… if you get a few days of sunshine, the fish will shift up into the shallows just as shown in this video.
I fish the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As of Saturday the surface temps are approx. 50 degrees. We are finding no fish less than 8-10 ft. deep and they are very sleepy.
What was your water temp?
I have no idea… I stopped checking years ago because the absolute temp always seemed to lead me astray… I now only focus on trending theoretical temp relative to prior day or to the general surrounding areas, and that seems to work much better. Details in the “Best Water Temp” lesson in the Finding Spots Mastery course: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/spotsmastery/spots-mastery/water-temperature/