How To Chum Up Fish On The Flats (Even On Super Windy Days)
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
You’ve been planning this fishing trip for weeks…
But when it finally gets here the wind is blowing like crazy!
What do you do?
Stay at home or the hotel and watch tv?
Or try to stick it out and see what you catch?
We were in this exact situation down in the Keys recently and thankfully, Capt. Mark “Hollywood” Johnson had a plan.
Instead of trying to do some technical fishing for bonefish, snook, or redfish (where we probably would’ve been more frustrated than successful), we anchored up, tossed out a chum block, turned on some tunes, and caught a ton of fish!
We ended up having a great time on a day where there were no other boats out on the water and in this live fishing trip video, you’ll get a sneak peek of exactly how we did it.
You can watch the video version of this podcast below (which I recommend since there’s a ton of fish-catching footage), listen to the audio version by clicking the play button underneath it, or listen to it on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify.
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How To Chum Up Fish On The Flats [VIDEO]
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How To Chum Up Fish On The Flats [PODCAST]
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Related Podcasts:
- HOW TO FIND 90% OF ALL FEEDING FISH IN YOUR AREA (90/10 FISHING RULE)
- LIVE BAIT VS. SLAM SHADY: FLATS FISHING CASE STUDY
Where To Anchor Up For Tight Lines
Will anchoring up at just any random spot let you get a ton of tight lines?
Probably not.
Do you need to be at a special spot with a secret wreck?
Definitely not!
What you’re looking for in a spot is structure and depth change.
In this case, we were at the edge of where a flat meets a channel.
Other types of structure to look for could include docks, seawalls, barrier islands, oyster bars, or tree-lined shorelines.
Nearly every waterway has some sort of channel going through it, so find the edge, anchor up, toss out your chum, and wait for the fish to come to you.
Best Bait For Lots Of Tight Lines
If you have kids or new anglers on board (or even you yourself!) who just want tight lines and don’t care what they catch, it’s tough to beat a shrimp (live or frozen).
Just rig them up on bait-saver hooks with a split shot to get them down to the bottom, drop them in the chum slick, and hold on tight.
Other options for bigger fish would be chunks of cut ladyfish or mullet, like we used on this trip.
And if you’re in an area with bigger predators around, like snook, redfish, or even mackerel, then you can use a Slam Shady like we used on this trip.
What Gear To Use
If you’re fishing shrimp in a chum slick like we were here, you don’t need any special gear other than your typical inshore redfish and trout gear.
Here’s what Luke was using:
We were also using this Chum Dinger chum box instead of a chum bag because it’s more durable and easier to clean.
Conclusion
Just because it’s windy doesn’t mean you need to stay home!
We had a blast on the water within sight of downtown Islamorada catching tons of snapper, grunts, sharks, blue runners, and even a huge ray!
If you made it to the end of the video and were wondering what happened to the ray — Luke didn’t get spooled and actually managed to get it to the boat!
We had a quick boatside release and let him continue stuffing himself with shrimp.
Have any questions about chumming up fish on windy days like this?
Let us know down in the comments!
If you’re in the Florida Keys and want to book a trip with Capt. Hollywood and his crew, you can find them at FloridaKeysFunFishing.com.
And if you know someone who wants to get tons of tight lines even when the weather is not cooperating, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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What kind of chum were you using?