How To Catch An Inshore Slam In New Waters (Cape Coral Edition)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips
Fishing new waters used to used to not appeal to me very much because I thought that I’d have to spend multiple days with very low odds of catching any fish while learning the area.
But once I finally focused on learning fish behavior patterns (vs. learning spots), I soon realized that it’s surprisingly easy to catch nice fish even while exploring new area.
To prove this point, I challenged myself to go to an area that I’ve never fished before without any outside help (other than Smart Fishing Spots of course).
And I documented the key focus points I used to catch quality redfish (up to 31 inches), snook (up to 27 inches), seatrout, and my new PB sheepshead without bothering with any live bait.
Here’s the video showing the full report with some fun fish catching action:
FEATURED GEAR
Mangrove Setup
- Rod: Slot Machine 7’6″ Medium
- Reel: Otis 2500
- Line: 10lb Daiwa J-Braid 8 Grand
- Leader: 15 Ib Ande Mono
- Bite Tippet: 30 Ib Ande Mono
- Lure: Prawn USA Jr.
- Jighead: 3/0 Hoss Weedless Football Jig 1/4oz
Open Water Setup
- Rod: Slot Machine 7’6″ Medium
- Reel: Otis 2500
- Line: 10lb Daiwa J-Braid 8 Grand
- Leader: 12 Ib Ande Mono
- Bite Tippet: 20 Ib Ande Mono
- Lure: Flea Flicker
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Don’t waste time in dead zones… give spots 5–10 minutes and move
- Always have multiple spots ready before you start fishing
- Prioritize areas with water flow, structure, and visible bait
- Once you find a trend, keep repeating it
- Casting accuracy keeps your lure in the strike zone longer
FINAL THOUGHTS
Most anglers think new water takes days… or even years… to figure out.
But when you focus on the right signs…
And move quickly between spots…
You can dial it in way faster than expected.
And once that pattern shows itself…
Everything changes.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
The 2 core benefits we promise to Insider Club members is to be able to find and catch fish easier than ever before while saving money on fishing equipment.
So I am including links to the quickest ways to achieve each:
1) Finding Fish System
2) Insider Club’s Group Discounts
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).
Thanks ,fishing hot spots I spend to much time.I pick 5-6 spots spend to much time and only use 3 or 4.Looking forward to more movement
Thank you for coming down to our area. Number of great fishing spots which I’m glad you found some. Hope you come back sometime. Let us know.
Thank you for the video Luke, I fish that area sometimes and I will apply your knowledge next time I go. Tight lines!
Enjoyed the video, I made the switch from #15 power pro to 10lb J braid and I’m definitely getting more bites, thanx for all you guys do!
Thanks Jeff! Glad to see that you’re enjoying the switch down to 10 lb line.
Great video. Wish you were in Texas.
Thanks Terry! Please know that these exact same tactics and lures work in TX too… even better in most cases given how much fishing pressure FL waters have compared to TX.
Great info and footage, looking forward to a review on your new boat set up, trying to figure out a boat for both freshwater bass in Michigan and Florida bass and saltwater intercoastal, thanks !
Thanks David!
Great video, Luke and good info. I’m curious as well. Why use a football jig in that shallow of water.
Thanks Stan! Normally, I would use the 3/0 1/8th oz Helix hook to skip up under mangroves. But it was windy this day, so I had to use the extra weight to be able to quickly get the Prawn down to the bottom… with the extra weight, I could at least have a few bounces near the trees before getting blown away.
Glad you enjoyed “my” home waters! You seem to use plugs a lot more now. Interesting- they certainly cast further and are puffer proof. I remember years ago you mostly used jerk shads then paddle tails.
I get bored using the same lure over and over again. Curious why the switch ? Ty
I now default to plugs whenever fishing conditions that I believe the fish will be active since they cast farther and attract more attention with the rattles (both of which compound to outperform soft plastics when the fish are feeding). And an added bonus is that they help to weed out the smaller fish that I prefer not to catch when the bite is on since the plugs with single inline hooks do a good job on only catching the fish that can fit the lure in their mouths.
The con with plugs is that they are easy to get skunked with when the fish are not actively feeding, so I am always quick to go back to soft plastics when the plugs aren’t getting results.
Thanks makes a lot of sense!
Wow great video Luke and a big sheepshead on the prawn! A fish i have still yet to catch but after seeing your video yesterday about using the wake mullet for night fishing im going very early tommorrow Friday morning and try it i think like I said in my comment yesterday im going to use the silver and black at night then if mullet are seem switch to the mullet hd we will just have to see i have also broken my stubbornness finally and have switched to 10lb braid versus 20 that I used to fish and your absolutely correct in that casting distance is much further then with 20lb anyways Luke great video and info and thanks as always for what you do😉👍
I’m glad to see that you are enjoying the switch from 20 to 10 lb braid. I hope you have a time with the wake mullet.
Awesome video , is there a specific reason for using the hoss jig head to skip under the mangroves instead of using the hoss helix hook ?
Great question! I prefer using the Helix hook for skipping the prawn usa lures under mangroves, but I needed more weight to be able to control my retrieve while holding bottom given how strong the wind was. The fish seemed to prefer the wind-blown shorelines, so I had to go with more weight to make sure I could keep the lure on the bottom near the trees for as long as possible (I didn’t have time to let the lure settle).
If it was a calm spot, I definitely would have switched to the Helix since it skips better.