In Like A Lion...

March Madness

Global warming be damned, March weather is as predictable as the tides. If you are an inshore fisherman this most bipolar of months can give you fits. The pattern is always the same: A day or two of cold, drenching rains followed by several days of bluebird skies and driving winds. If we're lucky we'll get one nice, calm day before the cycle starts over again, and all this is compounded by extremely muddy water. A true angler can't pick his days, so finding schooling fish is the key to making the most of March weather.

High Tide

Gimme Shelter

When the wind starts to blow with a vengeance, most folks have a sheltered spot in mind that they automatically run to. While this may make things more comfortable for you, it usually will end up to be a very slow day of fishing. Predators like spottails and seatrout love windy, muddy, choppy water because it gives them an edge. They can sneak up on bait without being seen or heard, and can also escape larger predators that may want to make a meal of them. With low numbers of shrimp in inshore waters, the main baits this time of year for inshore gamefish are mudminnows, mullet, pinfish, and other small baitfish. At high tide, they'll charge into marsh creeks seeking cleaner water and shelter from the wind. Consequently, the best spots are transition points where choppy, turbid water feeds into quiet, secluded areas.

A soft paddletail or grub bait on a heavy jig head worked on the bottom is a good choice. If possible, cast into the wind and upcurrent, working the jig back to the boat with the current. Seatrout and spottails will face upcurrent and upwind to ambush any bait floating by.

Tailing Flats

Spottails will take the opportunity of flood tides and wind-driven water to dig themselves into the grass flats, particularly on days when the afternoon sun warms up the shallow water. The grass also acts as a filter and the water is often much cleaner than out in the creeks. Weedless jerkbaits or saltwater spinnerbaits will scoot through the grass and will fool spooky reds if you are quiet and careful. The wind can actually be an ally in this environment, as it can muffle your approach while the spottails are busy rooting around in the mud bottom.

Low Tide

With no grass or sheltered holes to hide in at low tide, bait will have to move out into the larger rivers and even into the sounds. Baitfish will stay constantly on the move at low tide, so you might have to follow their movement. Muddy water means that spottails and trout have less to worry about from hungry porpoises in the sounds, so shell banks and oyster reefs adjacent to deep water will hold fish. However, as the tide changes, the fish will move back to the feeder creek mouths to greet the rush of bait back into the marshes. The good news about low tide is that mud banks which were underwater at high tide are now wind breaks.