# Free trip(s) to help out a frustrated flats fisherman



## cskiff14 (Feb 6, 2014)

So last summer, I did not have the luck fishing the flats that I expected. I am offering a free trip(s) with for anyone willing to go, to offer up a few tips about fishing the flats in the Choctowahatchee. Not looking to poach your favorite spots, more looking for tips on my usual locations. Welcome to PM me. I pretty much am stuck to doing weekend trips only. 

Thanks!!


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## navkingfisher (May 14, 2009)

use 20lb braid filled up spools and 12lb flourocarbon leaders with knots only no hardware, drift or pole and make very long casts. If you can see them they can see you. They are very skittish in skinny water. Best at "before morning nautical twilight" is a very sweet 45 minutes. dont use an anchor unless you are getting out of the boat, and then use your tactical anchor with no chain. know the points and holes near the flats and follow the tidal flow. backside of the major point they are waiting for you. river, creek, bayou, mouths now, water is 69-71 degrees; they'll be moving out on flats any day.


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

Limit-out would be a good member posts to follow. He posts detailed information on just about every trip he and his team fishes . Very enjoyable posts. You can learn a lot just by reading his inshore posts. 

.


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## cskiff14 (Feb 6, 2014)

Thanks for the replys. I have been following the posts of the usual suspects on here, and I have certainly picked up a great deal of beta and tricks that I would not have learned other wise, but the skunk or few number trips remain. Many of the set-ups that I tie are from what I have learned here. 

I am planning on installing a trolling motor soon, and I hope that will improve my trips, but we will see...

I am not new to fishing. I have been fishing freshwater all my life, but bay flats fishing is proving to be a whole different deal.


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## boomyak (Mar 21, 2014)

Chapman5011 said:


> Limit-out would be a good member posts to follow. He posts detailed information on just about every trip he and his team fishes . Very enjoyable posts. You can learn a lot just by reading his inshore posts.
> 
> .


I tried mimicking the waters, conditions and presentations all winter hitting up a dozen various spots around choctawhatchee and never found a single speck. Being still somewhat new to all this I'm starting to think they all go east of 331 bridge in winter or something.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

The best speck fishing in that bay is far to the east. Best flounder is over by Basin Bayou. You should use your trolling motor sparingly and try to set yourself up to drift, as much as possible. Trout are spooky and don't even like the wave slap on the side of a boat. Remember, any sound you hear is amplified by a factor that is above 10 in the water.


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## karma (Oct 26, 2007)

dont get to discouraged.. finding trout in the winter is a tough task no matter what location you are fishing.. gotta remember that in the winter trout and similar species go deeper.. they go where the bait goes.. if the waters you are fishing seem to calm/dead then it could be a great indicator to keep moving.. winter fishing for trout will be even more challenging when using artificial
.. you need to slow the retrieve down a lot.. look for deep holes, end of docks by the motor of boat, channel wash outs.. etc.. biggest thing is staying stealth.. slow thins down.. minimal hardware to no hardware.. think like a fish.. no bait or life.. keep looking


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

The OP was talking about last summer. For me, last summer was the worst I've done hunting specs in C-Bay. The usual areas (mainly the north side of the bay and Shalimar) produced a few and that was it. I suspect the productive areas were on the south side of the bay and in the ICW. BTW, I used to regularly run over 25"+ fish in these areas, never saw them till it was too late.

Didn't see the big mullet schools or large bait either. Maybe they were elsewhere????? Hope so.

New year, different conditions, we'll see.


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## karma (Oct 26, 2007)

not to sure why I got winter trout fishing in my head! lol summer trout fishing is best at sunrise and before sunset.. then you have night fishing around lights..


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## rr41mag (Sep 28, 2014)

I always fished the birds back in Mississippi and louisiana


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## the_mackeral (Apr 8, 2015)

if I can remember correctly I fished that way a while back with a good friend of mine that put me on some monster specks early last spring. if you go under the bridge that is beside bass pro shops in destin there is a marina behind there and in front f the marina is a ton of little drop offs and holes where you can free line live menhaden and hammer up some beasts if they are around. the water drops from about 3 to 5ft in certain areas lots of grass in there ...we always free lined while drifting with the incoming tide or outgoing early mornings. hope this helps some


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