Taking Advantage of Active Flats
Find the right flat and choose the right lure and retrieve, virtually any angler can enjoy easy spring fishing.
By Danno Wise
April is definitely a spring month, as evidenced by the often howling winds that persist throughout the month. However, it is also the beginning of a consistently warm period of the year.
By the first month of the second quarter of the year, temperatures have been on an upward trajectory long enough to encourage fish to be spending much more time on the shallow flats. Additionally, the warmer water temperatures mean both bait and predator fish such as speckled trout, redfish, flounder and snook will be more active in the shallows during April. But, because most of the prey items are newly hatched, April flats fishing is an odd blend of power and finesse fishing techniques.
As the weather continues to warm and the hatchlings continue to mature, they will eventually begin finding their way out of the backwaters and into the open bay. Once they enter the main bay, the young shrimp, crab and fish will rarely strike out straight for open water. Instead, they typically feel their way along shorelines or through grass covered flats. So, anglers should concentrate their angling efforts in areas that baitfish will be most likely to use for protection, such as shorelines, grass beds and grass flats. The predator fish will certainly be in these areas, seeking an opportunity to ambush their prey.
Not only do anglers need to locate areas holding bait, but once they do they need to attempt to imitate the bait items as closely as possible. During mid-to-late spring this typically means downsizing lure choices. Topwater plugs like the Heddon Super Spooki Jr are mainstays. On calmer days, even more subtle offerings such as the Heddon Zara Puppy or MirrOlure MirrOmullet (16MR) can be more effective, as they land softly and offer plenty of “dog-walking” action. Suspending plugs like MirrOlure MirrOdine and MirrOminnow, sinking plugs such as the MirrOlure 38MR and 4M, and jerkbaits like the Bomber 14A are other hard baits that produce well under calm, clear water conditions.
