Palm Coast Fishing Report

Palm Coast fishing has been nothing short of awesome this past week, with some great days on the water for some great clients! From from redfish crushing a topwater plug at sunrise to snook frenzying on small baitfish and glass minnows. Yesterday morning myself and regular client Vince and I left the dock wasting no sunlight, on a very low tide we set out in search of schools of redfish on the flats. We ended up with some nice redfish on artificial lures with a few trout as bycatch. Poling the flats and actively casting and covering water can prove to be very successful this time of year for redfish and snook, with lots of mullet around right now i’ve been having my anglers throwing darker natural colored paddle tails. As far as rigging them a Texas rigged bait has been best with lots of algae around this time of year, and it makes it easier for anglers to pull it from snags when a bad cast is made.

First redfish stoke for this young angler.

Corey with a nice backwater snook.

For anglers that are not comfortable cast making lots of long accurate cast, fishing with cut bait on the flats is a great option. A piece of cut crab or mullet is a perfect snack for a hungry redfish, my favorite way to rig a piece of crab or mullet is a owner 3/0# Mutu light circle hook with a large split shot about 18” up my 20# leader. Just as I would fishing artificial clients, I would pole the skiff quietly to an area that commonly holds fish wether it be an oyster bar or high spot on a high tide, or a trough or deep spot on a low tide. Just about everything in saltwater eats a shrimp, so this a great way to catch multiple species of fish from redfish and snook to seatrout and black drum shrimp are a go to for saltwater angler. There are unlimited ways to rig live shrimp but I use three of the simple ways.

Ways to rig your shrimp.

Free lined. Free lined shrimp are a great way to catch any type of fish, but works great for finicky eater like snook and redfish.

Jig head. A jig head with a tail hooked shrimp is a super simple way to catch fish and is one of my goto’s for redfish in deeper creek holes.

Fish finder. A size one or 1/0 circle hook with 24” of leader and a split shot 12” up from the hook is a great all around choice for shallower holes and troughs.

Andrew from Michigan with his first redfish!

Corey with a redfish that crushed a topwater plug.

For fly anglers looking to target redfish in the shallow waters of Palm Coast and Flagler Beach, 7wt or an 8wt rods are a good start. For windy conditions I prefer a faster salt water rod such as a sage salt r8. For calm conditions or early morning when the fish are typically a little more “spooky” a lighter, slower rod is a great option. A weight forward floating (WFF) line for redfish on the flats is the best way to go. For a 7wt or a 8wt line, leaders will typically start with a 4’ section of 40# monofilament leader which is about about 60% the thickness of an 8wt fly line tip making it about the same stiffness, and therefor causing it to unroll very nicely. From there depending on the desired length of the leader you will taper down 30#,25# and or 20# then to your tippet or bite tippet. For flies, there are many scenarios fly anglers in this area will find themselves in from shallow water to deeper water, for shallow water an angler will want some smaller light weighted or unweighted shrimp patterns. For deeper water, heavier shrimp patterns such as sliders and and kwans can be great. Fortunately on your trip out with Grand Slam Fishing we worry about all this and provide all rods, reels, bait, tackle, and leaders for you so the you have the best chance at success and an enjoyable day on the water.

Palm Coast Fishing

St. Augustine Fishing