# Flats fishing Memorial Day weekend



## rwh (Dec 10, 2012)

Went out and fished some grass flats a couple times this weekend. Dink stripers galore, they were basically everywhere. There were lots of houndfish Saturday but none on Monday (guess they take holidays off). I managed a few 20" reds on both trips and my nephew caught his first speckled trout, one 20" and one 16". I predict a good year for reds in the 20" class. Saw some live horseshoe crabs, a first for me.


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## goinfishing (Sep 10, 2013)

Great haul! Congrats.


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## Benji (Nov 19, 2014)

I think it's going to be a stellar year on the puppy drum this year also limited out 3 times this year so far in back river. Best day caught 12 in about 3 hours give or take.


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## rwh (Dec 10, 2012)

Benji said:


> I think it's going to be a stellar year on the puppy drum this year also limited out 3 times this year so far in back river. Best day caught 12 in about 3 hours give or take.


Nice!


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## wannabeangler (Feb 7, 2009)

Which flats?


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## Got Fish? (Dec 31, 2014)

I just found some nice looking grass flats on my last venture on my kayak. Not to hijack your thread, but do you have any advice on how to fish them? I paddled around it for about an hour throwing a gulp swimming mullet with no luck. I'm assuming there are fish in it, because I saw mullet and such jumping constantly. Congrats on the pups and trout!


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## rwh (Dec 10, 2012)

Wannabeangler, Mobjack Bay area, but I think you can get good results on any of the flats from the mouth of Back River to Winter Harbor Haven in Mathews county.

Got Fish?, I personally don't use the Gulps when fishing marshes & grass flats. I like to use 1/4 oz Redfish Magic spinners or walk-the-dog type topwater lures (Spook Jr, Skitterwalk and Badonk-A-Donk). I feel they get more action because they trigger more fish to hit it with a reactionary strike more so than the Gulps. I like to find grassy areas that butt up to steep marsh banks and cast the spinner right up to the bank and retrieve it back slowly, just fast enough to keep the blade moving. If there is current moving along the banks, I focus on points and pockets that the current moves in and around (ambush points). If I'm not getting action against the banks, I'll position the kayak along the bank and cast out to the edge of the grass and work it back. Usually there is a little distance between the bank and where the thicker grass starts. I think that is the sweet spot. There is where I switch between the spinner and topwater. If you can find a depression or any other change in depth than the surrounding area, even if it's just a 6" to a foot deeper, that is another area to focus on. While I'm fishing, I try to pay attention to the water around me at all times looking and listening for swirls, splashes, tails or bait jumping. If you see a lot of bait jumping, they ain't just jumping for joy, focus on those areas.

When I can, I like to have a 2nd line out from a rod in a rod holder with some type of bait about 2 ft under a float. You can't go wrong with peeler crab, but if you can catch something from the area you are fishing, live minnows, shrimp, mullet or fiddler crabs, that's what they are in there eating, so offer some to them as well. The places I fish, I try to make at least one trip a year at dead lo tide to get the lay of the land. I have caught some nice fish during those times as well. Stripers and reds will trap bait against the banks at low tide where they can pick them off easily. A good pair of polarized sunglasses is extremely helpful as well. Sometimes those stealthy reds can swim right under your kayak without making so much as a ripple in the water. If you can see them first and get a bait in front of them, they usually can't resist.


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## wannabeangler (Feb 7, 2009)

rwh- try the flats at the end of Guinea, lower mobjack. Used to be a good area. Thanks for the reply!


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## Got Fish? (Dec 31, 2014)

rwh, thanks. I'll try out some more moving baits and reaction baits. I had bait jumping all around me, so I assume gulp and paddle tails just weren't what they wanted. Unfortunately, it's all I had along with a few mirrolures, but I didn't want to bother with all the snags from mirrolures on the grass. I should be heading down again in about 2 weeks to try again.


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## Papa-T (Sep 5, 2011)

Congrats


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