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• bbailey_33 Posts: 88 Greenhorn

  January 2016 #2

  I find arties work better when the live bait they are eating thins out... water is cooling off qik now, so that should be soon.
  Plus the fish over hear get a lot of pressure, they've seen it all 100 times.

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• beachside321 Posts: 371 Deckhand

  January 2016 #3

  I went the same day in ML. Ran into a ton of tailing fish but they were tough to get to eat, air temp was 38 when I got there so they were lethargic. So lethargic in fact that I was able to poke one with my rod as I drifted up on him. I was using a 4" zman shrimp rigged weedless with 1/8 of weight. They wanted nothing to do with it, so I cut an inch off the head end and they started to eat. Ended up catching 6 from 24-30", one of my better days sight fishing in the kayak (last trip in the yak for a while since my dad and I just got a boat!) With the water temp like this a crustacean imitation usually works best.

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• mcsnook Posts: 175 Deckhand

  January 2016 #4

  I gave in and went to cut bait about a year ago. They rarely turn that down.

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• gatorhook Posts: 664 Officer

  January 2016 #5

  Artificials are fun if you have a lot of time to waste, and also enjoy casting and retrieving! There's nothing like the real thing, and you can soak them and sit back and enjoy the calm time in between.

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• beachside321 Posts: 371 Deckhand

  January 2016 #6

  For some it's more about the thrill of hunting them down and getting them to eat than the actual fight. I would rather sight fish 1 red on artificial than catch 20 just soaking baits.

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• gatorhook Posts: 664 Officer

  January 2016 #7

  I agree it's an awesome pursuit, but I always prepare with the real thing. Live baits are almost always available, alot of places to catch. It's more work, but always pays off. Artificial is only on board for backup. And you still have to hunt them and get them to eat.

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• Rippin_lips Posts: 35 Deckhand

  January 2016 #8

  They will eat artificial lures, you just have to get their interest. If they don't pay any attention to one or two lures this doesn't mean they wont inhale another. Different colors, different sizes, and different retrieves will get bit on different days by different fish. Sometimes they want a big flashy bait, other days they want a smaller natural colored bait. It is worth the time to get good at using lures you can work larger areas and make many more presentations.

  20160124_174850-1.jpg 86.9K

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• trousertroutman Posts: 1,363 Officer

  January 2016 #9

  beachside321 wrote: »

  They wanted nothing to do with it, so I cut an inch off the head end and they started to eat.

  great tip, sometimes helps to downsize everything

  Make the forum great again.....consolidate general fishing with for sale or business but keep reports separate!

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• SpaceCoast Slayer Posts: 3,527 Captain

  January 2016 #10

  White is the best overall color I have found for the nmz.. Whether it's dirty or clean or sunny or cloudy they always hit white it seems like.. My advice would just be to charge for the creek and not paddle in a straight line.. kind of meander side to side and kind of zig zag so you are covering different depths and fish any fish you find on the way up there.. When I fish there I don't stop paddling for anything unless there is hard evidence of some fish around..
  
  I also find it easier to wade and fly cast than in is to do in the yak.. the fly line gets hung up on your rod holders and anything else possible.. it's a pain.. jumping out is usually the best bet..

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• ReelFreeforall Posts: 23 Greenhorn

  January 2016 #11

  Rippin_lips wrote: »

  They will eat artificial lures, you just have to get their interest. If they don't pay any attention to one or two lures this doesn't mean they wont inhale another. Different colors, different sizes, and different retrieves will get bit on different days by different fish. Sometimes they want a big flashy bait, other days they want a smaller natural colored bait. It is worth the time to get good at using lures you can work larger areas and make many more presentations.

  
  
  :Agree What works one day may not work for more than a day or two or you may get lucky and the same lure will produce fish for a month! If I don't get bit in the first 20 tosses (at most) I will not only move but make a change to my lure whether it is color, weight or from a sinking lure to topwater or vise versa... you always have work at the beginning to find the pattern then once you do hit 'em hard!! Color and height in the water column seem to be the two biggest factors in my opinion.

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