KodiakZach
06-21-2006, 05:48 PM
Hey guys, I am going to be publishing an article in a local publication and I need your feedback. Here is the rough draft so far:
How to find fish in the Halifax River:
Fishing without a boat in our area can be quite challenging if you rely on casting your bait out, sitting there and waiting. However, with some knowledge of what to look for you can consistently catch quality fish out of the IntraCoastal Waterway. First and foremost, to catch fish you have to be able to find fish. Since finding fish is key, I am going to explain how to locate the fish in our own Halifax River. Methods to finding fish in our area are completely different than finding fish in a place like Mosquito Lagoon that is not tidally influenced. It is also completely different than finding fish offshore in the ocean. Most of the fishing in the Halifax River is greatly dependent on tides so we will look at this in more detail:
On an Incoming tide in the river, you can usually find fish cruising areas with mangroves and grass flats that are filling up with water as the tide comes in. Fish like Redfish commonly cruise the edges of mangroves on an incoming tide and inhale mud minnows, pinfish, pigfish, fiddler crabs, and the like as the water encroaches on the mangroves that were exposed during low tide. A good bet in this scenario is to wade fish and walk along casting your bait up around the edges of the mangroves. Live bait like shrimp work best here, followed by artificial baits like Gulp! shrimp and DOA shrimp. If hard baits are more your style, then Rapala X-raps, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, and Bomber lures all work well. With hard baits you will get fewer bites, but the fish you catch will typically be bigger in size. Expect Trout, Redfish, Snook, Jack Crevalle, and Ladyfish to hit these types of baits.
While incoming tide can be good, an Outgoing tide is really prime time for fish to feed in the river around bridges and docks where most land bound fishermen go. This is because the strong outflow of current literally sucks the baitfish and crustaceans out towards the ocean. Smaller baits such as 1-2 inch pinfish, pigfish, menhaden, and shrimp are prime baits for outgoing tide as they are frequently the types of lighter baits which get sucked out in strong current. For fishing an outgoing tide, you should seek out the following 5 things to help you find fish:
In order of importance
1.) Strong current
2.) Bait in the water (i.e. menhaden, shrimp, & mullet in water)
3.) Structure (i.e. bridge, dock, pier, etc...)
4.) Channel(s)
5.) Shadows and lights (if fishing at night)
Now let's look at these 5 items and discuss why:
1.) Strong current: In the river, current is imperative to finding fish on a consistent basis since most quality fish like Flounder, Snook, Trout, etc… will stage and feed in an area where they have to exert the least amount of energy to get their food. Instead of chasing their prey all over, most fish prefer to have the food come to them while they're hiding behind a piling (like a Snook), or blending in sitting on the bottom (like a Flounder). Fish prefer to stage in an area of current so they can ambush their prey and pick it off as it swims (or gets dragged) by.
2.) Bait in the water: This one is pretty self explanatory. If you see a lot of bait in the water like large schools of Menhaden or Greenies, chances are there are Trout, Flounder, Ladyfish or maybe even Snook around feeding on them. Look for bait schools in the water and you will find good places to catch fish. Conversely, if you blind cast out into the middle of the river your bait probably won't get bit unless a stray catfish or stingray happens upon it. If you see bait on the edge of channel, you have a lot better odds at getting your bait eaten if you cast around the bait.
3.) Structure: Structure goes hand-in-hand with current. Think of it this way: If you are a shrimp that is getting sucked out of the river by the current, you will probably just float along with the current. However, if you see a big ol' Snook sitting down there waiting to inhale you, you will likely swim back upstream or off to the side to avoid him. On the other hand, if you don't see anything waiting to eat you then you will probably keep floating under the bridge or dock until a sneaky Snook flies out from behind a piling and inhales you. For fish to take advantage of current bringing them food, they use structure to ambush that food.
4.) Channels: Channels are important when fishing places like the Halifax River which in most parts is a fairly wide and shallow body of water. How best are you going to locate fish on such a wide body of water? In a channel. What a channel does is it narrows down for us fishermen where the fish are going to be traveling or maybe even sitting. Not only do fish use channels to go places like humans use highways, but oftentimes they will sit in a channel and eat bait that is traveling through the channel. A lot of fish like deeper water to hide in from boats, people, and large predators like sharks. Since the Halifax River is fairly shallow throughout, channels are the best bet for deeper water. Like structure, channels also go hand-in-hand with current in the sense that fish use the current sucking bait through a channel to grab an easy meal. Black drum can frequently be caught in channels of deep water near sea walls, around bridge fenders or pilings.
5.) Shadows and Lights: For those fishermen who are lucky enough that their wife’s let them fish at night, shadows and lights are used by feeding fish in much the same way as structure. On a nightly basis up and down the river, big fish will sit quietly in the shadow lines of a bridge or dock that has a light on it. When they see their prey getting sucked out by the current through the light on the water and into the shadow line… and GULP! That baitfish is gone. Coincidentally, my favorite time to fish the river is on an outgoing tide at night. Expect Snook, Trout, Ladyfish, and Flounder to be sitting around structure feeding in the shadows of a dock light.
So if you are one of those people who go to a fishing dock, put a dead shrimp on your hook, blind cast out as far off the dock as possible to the middle of the river, catch a catfish (and are happy with that), then this article probably wasn't written for you. However, if you want to catch some good fish and don't mind putting some thought into it, there are plenty of quality fish like Snook, Flounder, Trout, and Redfish to be caught fishing from shore in the Halifax River.
"Kodiak" Zach Thompson =)
How to find fish in the Halifax River:
Fishing without a boat in our area can be quite challenging if you rely on casting your bait out, sitting there and waiting. However, with some knowledge of what to look for you can consistently catch quality fish out of the IntraCoastal Waterway. First and foremost, to catch fish you have to be able to find fish. Since finding fish is key, I am going to explain how to locate the fish in our own Halifax River. Methods to finding fish in our area are completely different than finding fish in a place like Mosquito Lagoon that is not tidally influenced. It is also completely different than finding fish offshore in the ocean. Most of the fishing in the Halifax River is greatly dependent on tides so we will look at this in more detail:
On an Incoming tide in the river, you can usually find fish cruising areas with mangroves and grass flats that are filling up with water as the tide comes in. Fish like Redfish commonly cruise the edges of mangroves on an incoming tide and inhale mud minnows, pinfish, pigfish, fiddler crabs, and the like as the water encroaches on the mangroves that were exposed during low tide. A good bet in this scenario is to wade fish and walk along casting your bait up around the edges of the mangroves. Live bait like shrimp work best here, followed by artificial baits like Gulp! shrimp and DOA shrimp. If hard baits are more your style, then Rapala X-raps, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows, and Bomber lures all work well. With hard baits you will get fewer bites, but the fish you catch will typically be bigger in size. Expect Trout, Redfish, Snook, Jack Crevalle, and Ladyfish to hit these types of baits.
While incoming tide can be good, an Outgoing tide is really prime time for fish to feed in the river around bridges and docks where most land bound fishermen go. This is because the strong outflow of current literally sucks the baitfish and crustaceans out towards the ocean. Smaller baits such as 1-2 inch pinfish, pigfish, menhaden, and shrimp are prime baits for outgoing tide as they are frequently the types of lighter baits which get sucked out in strong current. For fishing an outgoing tide, you should seek out the following 5 things to help you find fish:
In order of importance
1.) Strong current
2.) Bait in the water (i.e. menhaden, shrimp, & mullet in water)
3.) Structure (i.e. bridge, dock, pier, etc...)
4.) Channel(s)
5.) Shadows and lights (if fishing at night)
Now let's look at these 5 items and discuss why:
1.) Strong current: In the river, current is imperative to finding fish on a consistent basis since most quality fish like Flounder, Snook, Trout, etc… will stage and feed in an area where they have to exert the least amount of energy to get their food. Instead of chasing their prey all over, most fish prefer to have the food come to them while they're hiding behind a piling (like a Snook), or blending in sitting on the bottom (like a Flounder). Fish prefer to stage in an area of current so they can ambush their prey and pick it off as it swims (or gets dragged) by.
2.) Bait in the water: This one is pretty self explanatory. If you see a lot of bait in the water like large schools of Menhaden or Greenies, chances are there are Trout, Flounder, Ladyfish or maybe even Snook around feeding on them. Look for bait schools in the water and you will find good places to catch fish. Conversely, if you blind cast out into the middle of the river your bait probably won't get bit unless a stray catfish or stingray happens upon it. If you see bait on the edge of channel, you have a lot better odds at getting your bait eaten if you cast around the bait.
3.) Structure: Structure goes hand-in-hand with current. Think of it this way: If you are a shrimp that is getting sucked out of the river by the current, you will probably just float along with the current. However, if you see a big ol' Snook sitting down there waiting to inhale you, you will likely swim back upstream or off to the side to avoid him. On the other hand, if you don't see anything waiting to eat you then you will probably keep floating under the bridge or dock until a sneaky Snook flies out from behind a piling and inhales you. For fish to take advantage of current bringing them food, they use structure to ambush that food.
4.) Channels: Channels are important when fishing places like the Halifax River which in most parts is a fairly wide and shallow body of water. How best are you going to locate fish on such a wide body of water? In a channel. What a channel does is it narrows down for us fishermen where the fish are going to be traveling or maybe even sitting. Not only do fish use channels to go places like humans use highways, but oftentimes they will sit in a channel and eat bait that is traveling through the channel. A lot of fish like deeper water to hide in from boats, people, and large predators like sharks. Since the Halifax River is fairly shallow throughout, channels are the best bet for deeper water. Like structure, channels also go hand-in-hand with current in the sense that fish use the current sucking bait through a channel to grab an easy meal. Black drum can frequently be caught in channels of deep water near sea walls, around bridge fenders or pilings.
5.) Shadows and Lights: For those fishermen who are lucky enough that their wife’s let them fish at night, shadows and lights are used by feeding fish in much the same way as structure. On a nightly basis up and down the river, big fish will sit quietly in the shadow lines of a bridge or dock that has a light on it. When they see their prey getting sucked out by the current through the light on the water and into the shadow line… and GULP! That baitfish is gone. Coincidentally, my favorite time to fish the river is on an outgoing tide at night. Expect Snook, Trout, Ladyfish, and Flounder to be sitting around structure feeding in the shadows of a dock light.
So if you are one of those people who go to a fishing dock, put a dead shrimp on your hook, blind cast out as far off the dock as possible to the middle of the river, catch a catfish (and are happy with that), then this article probably wasn't written for you. However, if you want to catch some good fish and don't mind putting some thought into it, there are plenty of quality fish like Snook, Flounder, Trout, and Redfish to be caught fishing from shore in the Halifax River.
"Kodiak" Zach Thompson =)