Capt. Tommy Thompson's Saltwater Angler's Guides

…and it’s time to get out your shallow-running and slow-sinking hard baits for both seatrout and redfish.

As the flats come back to life at the beginning of spring, the redfish and seatrout venture away from their wintertime hidey-holes and head away from shore.   That usually happens in early March in our part of Florida, giving boaters less willing to take chances on our rocky shoreline a better chance of catching a limit of fish for dinner.  While many anglers prefer to fish live baits for springtime fish, the majority of trophy trout (known as “gators” to locals) and redfish are taken with artificial baits that mimic the look and action of small mullet or sardines.

Good choices of hard baits include the  Live Target Scaled Sardine, the Rapala X-Rap or Flat Rap, the MirrOlure 7M, the Yo-Zuri 3D Minnow and the Heddon Swim ‘n Image.  These plugs naturally sink slowly and are designed to run just under the surface of the water when retrieved.   Your ability to make long casts is important, as is your stealth.  Springtime trout and reds can be spooky, so no “hootin’ and hollerinl” is allowed when fishing.  Just make long casts and make a big smile when you hook up to big fish!

Most of the above named lures are available at specialty tackle shops like Captain’s Cove Outfitters (Inglis),  Mangrove Creek Outfitters (Chiefland), Gary’s Tackle Box (Gainesville), Alachua Farm and Lumber (Alachua), The Sea Hag Marina (Steinhatchee) and Big Bend Outfitters(Perry).

Back in the “olden days” when Paul Brown was still making his Corky Lures in his Houston home, he’d send me some samples of new lures to try.  One I remember (and still have one left!) was a short, peanut-shaped version of the two-hook Corky Mullet with a feather on the trailing hook.  This was an incredibly successful lure, once catching 40 gator trout in one drift over a Steinhatchee creek mouth.  Paul never produced that lure, but under the direction of Eric Bachnik, MirrOlure has recently introduced the new Soft-Dine line of lures.  These short, two hook plugs don’t have a trailer, but do have a rattle and are available in a myriad of colors and color configurations.  AND they catch fish better than their hard-bodied cousins, the MirrOdine, as their texture and softness encourage predators to hang on long enough to get hooked.  You’ll want to give them a try soon.

MirrOlure's Soft-Dines are available in several colors and color combinations.

Soft-Dines are available from any MirrOlure dealer or directly from the company.  I’ve seen them at the Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee, as well as at Gary’s Tackle Box in Gainesville.

Cold weather means sluggish redfish and slow-moving ‘gator’ trout.  And catching them means counting on Paul Brown Lures.  Those lures, known to many of us as ‘Corkys’ or ‘Corky Mullet’ have been the mainstay of serious Gulf anglers for years.  They are responsible for several Texas and Louisiana records.  The only problem was getting them.  The lures were originally made by Paul Brown in his small shop in Houston and were always so much in demand that it was nearly impossible to buy more than a few at any time.  In 2009, Paul sold the molds and the ‘secret formula’ for the Corkys to MirrOlure, who now manufacture and distribute them.  While there have been several knock-offs from Kalin (Dorky Mullet) and Tsunami, no one else but Paul (and now MirrOlure) could get the sink rate correct.

Paul Brown Lures come in several configurations.  I like the Devil, but other prefer the Original (which was designed around the original Heddon Spook, Jr.) or the Fat Boy.  The Originals and Fat Boys (both with 2 hooks–the Devil has only one) come in floating and suspending versions.  The lures are made in a variety of colors.  My preference for the clear shallow water at Steinhatchee is either the #01 (pearl chartreuse back) or the #95  (dayglow).  If the water gets dirty, or you’re fishing in deep river channels this winter, you might want to try a darker color like the new #16 (tequila sunrise).

Paul Brown Lures are becoming more and more available, but usually at smaller specialty tackle stores and marinas.  Gary’s Tackle Box in Gainesville has a good stock, as does the Sea Hag Marina in Steinhatchee.  I’ve also had reports that Economy Tackle in Sarasota is stocking them.  Or you can order them directly from MirrOlure.

One word of warning:  these are soft-bodied plugs and they are relatively expensive.  Losing one (or half of a Devil) to a bluefish or pufferfish can be tragic, so carry a few spares.  You’ll be glad you did at the end of day.

It’s seems that just when the weather and water temperatures bring the gag grouper close to shore along the Big Bend that the season ends.  This year, it’s November 15.  And, of course, the gags are hungry.  So, if you have a chance to get out, do it soon.  I fished on the 9th with Capt. Dan Clymer out of Crystal River and we limited out after just a few hours of trolling big 113 and 111 MirrOlures in water that wasn’t over 25-feet deep.

Capt. Dan Clymer with a late season gag grouper caught just offshore of Crystal River

My weekly online Florida Sportsman Big Bend Fishing4Cast column has just been posted on the FS Web site. If you’re looking for older forecasts, I’m afraid that FS doesn’t post archives, but my 2008 Fishing4Casts are archived on my editorial Web site .