Low Tides & Winter Reds

David with a nice red at the Low

      Now in the beginning of winter, we start changing up the way we fly fish and spin fish for reds. Cold weather, windy days, clear water, and schooled up fish is what our winter fishing is made up of, and a great time of year for some serious sight casting! As a local there is nothing better than a slick calm day, blue sky, 50 degree air temp, and seeing a school of over 200 redfish fight over your fly! The other good part about this time of year is that I'm not running a lot of charters, which leaves a lot of time to find new fish, and have fun with friends. Getting some time to be on the bow casting instead of on the tower poling is always a plus too.


Mike with his 1st Low Tide Red!

    The excitement of watching a redfish eat your fly in mere inches of water is something that I think every fly fisherman should experience. Whenever I see guest on my boat hook up with there 1st fish of the day I always gets the same feeling, a feeling of excitement. Because its not everyday you get to sight cast to redfish, and that excitement is why I love guiding, and love seeing people catch there first redfish at low tide.

    Poling the boat in 8-12 inches of water, looking for signs of the fish moving around is how we target redfish at low tide. During the winter months the water clears up tremendously which makes it much easier to see the fish from far distance, and can make for more hookups out of a big school. A long cast is necessary this time of year do to the clear water, so be ready to throw a constant 50-80ft if you want to have a very productive day. The fly of choice this time of year is the Everglades, or any kind of minnow pattern because there will not be much bait left in the water.



Mark with a fat daddy red at the low

     I have a lot of good friends that love to fish, but not many know how to fly fish, or pole a boat. So more often in the winter when it comes to my days off from guiding I'm always out scouting and having fun, and usually like to spend those days with my good friend and writer Bryan Bowers. He's the kind of guy who dreams about being on the water, knows how to throw a fly rod, and can guide as if it was his job. Whenever I'm on the water with Bryan we not only have a great time, but always seem to catch some nice fish while were at it!
   One reason Bryan and I get along so well on the boat is because we understand each others style of fishing, and seem to put those two styles together to make a great partners in crime when chasing reds. Whether its poling the boat, seeing the fish, making the cast, or knowing the exact moment to strip set, we both understand each other, which is why we are so productive whenever we fish together. Bryan has done articles for Eastern Fly fishing Magazine, and is a monthly column writer for SC Sportsman, and you can tell by reading his articles how much this guy loves fly fishing.



29.5 inch "Donkey" Bryan put me on at the low

     Ive recently really got into filming, and video editing, which has really got me addicted to always having the video camera available to get footage on the boat. Seeing something in a video is always much better than a photo and with fly fishing it really helps you understand how things work, and what to expect when your out on the water. Adding some great music, a couple slow motion views, makes a day on the water seem like a movie in the theatres. During the next 3 months of winter fishing I will be getting a lot of footage together since I will be on the water mostly with friends, so keep an eye out for a new low tide video at the end of February.
   We started doing some video stuff last year including "Reds on the Rise", which was a tailing red film, "Wake" which was our low tide film, and "Cast and Blast" which was a video I did a few months ago about our reds and rails trip. So after a year of learning about filming and editing I feel that this year will bring some really awesome videos, including a cobia video! Check out our current videos and keep an eye out for our new video on our website, or facebook page at http://www.baystreetoutfitters.com/.