# Fishing tip # 221 fishing with the wind—east wind



## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*This tip was written for the west coast of Florida where the coast line runs North to South . In NW Florida the coast runs East to West. Substitute North for East up there.*

I am absolutely certain of one thing when it comes to fishing. If there isn't any water, chances are, there aren't any fish either. On our coast, a strong east wind empties the flats, strands boats and bunches up the fish where there is water.
Next time you head down one of our west coast rivers, look at all of the tiny "Gator" ditches. A lot of them lead into small lakes and flats that cannot be seen from the river. Fish use these run-outs for access and egress to these back country lakes and flats. On normal low tides, some of these areas have enough water to keep fish happy but, when the strong east winds blow, they must leave, find a deep pot hole, or die.
These ditches suddenly become red hot when the fish absolutely have to leave. First to leave are the larger fish because they require more water to swim. As soon as they enter deep water, a lot of the predators turn around and face the mouth of the ditch and wait for the lowering water to bring a meal to them.
Take a close look at the mouth of these run-outs. Which ones are deepest? If you have a poling platform, get up on it and see what you can see. How much water is actually in there? The more the merrier. The larger the body of water, potentially, the greater the number of fish will be in there.
Generally speaking, the deeper the mouth of the run-out, the later fish will have to leave. I honestly think that fish somehow realize this. The water depth at the mouth of the run-out is a great clue. As the water drops, fish the shallower run-outs until they go dry or the fishing slows then go to a deeper one or run further down stream to stay in step with the tide.
Sometimes I can fish 3 or more run outs on a tide and catch fish in each of them. It sometime seems like Mud Minnows (Killifish) and finger Mullet wait until the last instant and all run out in a couple of minutes. Fishing is red hot then. Before this, fishing is just OK.
If you know the depth of several ditches in a fairly small area, you can time the order to fish them in order of depth and have several short periods of red hot fishing.
Fish will feed as the depth decreases but absolutely get frantic when the big rush of bait starts. This is the best possible time to catch a few Flounder. Flounder move right up on the edge and often will take a top water plug.
I prefer weedless "Jerk baits" in this situation. I can fish them slower than I can fish a jig and, the single hook makes using them safer for the fish than using treble hook lures. A weedless or inverted tied fly is a sure bet. 
If you live in the Panhandle, substitute NORTH WIND for EAST WIND and you have just about the same situations described here. If you live on Florida's East coast, I am sure that this same scenario works with a west wind.


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

Thanks for the tips captain


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

Great tip. Thanks cap.


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## lsucole (May 7, 2009)

We do something similar here in the La. marsh with our boats. Works best with two boats working together --- on a falling tide or falling water go to the back of dead end canals or smaller ponds connected to canals and slowly idle from the back toward where the dead end/pond connects to a main canal. This can help push both baitfish and especially redfish out into the canal intersections. On a rising tide we do the opposite -- start at the intersection, two boats in parallel about 10' from the shoreline and herd the fish toward the dead end. Stop about 150 yards before the dead end and start fishing , then turn around and fish the middle of the canal on the way out.


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## captken (Feb 24, 2008)

*Hey lsucole*

*This is pure genius.* Herd 'em up. I've done the same thing with my yak in gator ditches down here without even realizing what I was doing. I never considered doing it on purpose.

This ought to be an interesting new technique for me. Reds are really hard to see from a yak, especially in brown water and patchy bottom. I have several spots in mind already.

Thank you for this great new addition for my fishing arsenal.


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