One color. Multiple sizes. Which one do fish crush the most?
- By: Greyson Roberts
- on
Springtime fishing is AWESOME! However, it can also confuse a lot of folks. You may have been hitting your classic Winter spots with less and less results. Naturally, you may have tried your Summer spots. You also may have noticed that your Summer spots aren’t as productive either! What’s going on? Are the fish on Spring Break? Are they all the sudden not hitting your lures? Here’s exactly how I fish during this transitional period to maximize success!
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What am I throwing?
For the most part, I am still sticking with my Winter lineup of smaller profile soft plastics. My classic go to is the Slam Shady color 3.5” 2.0 paddle tail. This is an amazing lure to catch all inshore species. This is also a great choice because you can very quickly cover a lot of water to find these fish.
However, this time of year, I am also carrying around the 4” mulligan as well as the 5” bomber. I like to find fish with the 3.5”, see if they hit the bigger 4” profile better, then finally look for the biggest fish in the school with the 5” bomber. This time of year I simply experiment! Bait is still relatively small, however, as the water temp rises, so does their appetite.
Where am I finding fish?
I have great news. The fish are in fact, NOT on Spring Break. They’re just moving around! In my experience with Spring fishing, simply covering water while fan casting all around you is the way to go when it comes to locating these spread out schools and isolated fish. Just keep moving and moving!
Ideally, you should find an area that provides great Winter and Summer fishing within a short distance. I found an area that has amazing fishing year round, with both Winter and Summer spots nearby. The first characteristic of this spot that makes it great in Summer is a main point as well as a large, expansive grass flat that quickly transitions into deeper water. However, attached to this flat is a shallow, dark bottom, wind protected mud hole. Spots with dark, shallow bottoms retain more heat from the sun in the cold months, causing fish to stack by the hundreds.
During this particular fishing trip, I found some fish on the point, some on the flats and some in the mud hole. Not a ton of fish in one spot or the other. However, by covering water and picking an area where the fish are going to be moving back and forth was crucial. They do not have to move very far to find comfort during hot days or early Spring cold fronts.
What did they hit?
The Speckled Trout ate every size paddle tail I threw at them. I did notice more bites on the 3.5” with more actual hookups on the 4”. The 5” is a very large profile this time of year, however, I did snag a nice Speck with it! Smaller jerk shads and the Prawn Jr. have also been amazing Springtime lures for me.
In Conclusion
Springtime fishing doesn’t have to be tricky! Simply find areas that hold both great Summer and Winter spots within a short distance, keep covering water and quickly find schools with a small paddle tail presentation. I hope this helps you stay on the fish during this transition in seasons!
Tight lines and God bless!
-Greyson
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
will be doing this
In my opinion – a 23″ trout is anything but a “keeper fish”. Let the big ones breed to make little ones. Keeper fish…19″ and less!
Very interesting fishing! Thanks for the video.
Every trout you released that didn’t come unbuttoned from the hook, it appeared that you grabbed it with a dry hand. Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota did a release mortality study on trout. They caught and put fish in a large pen. Half of the fish were handled with a dry hand, the other half were simply released. Within a week, a visible handprint showed on the fish that were handled with a dry hand. Bacterial growth attacked those areas and made the death rate skyrocket. Do your fish and the fishery a favor and use a release tool to minimize or avoid handling the fish when releasing your fish, and if you have to handle the fish, do it with a wet hand, NO RAG! Under normal circumstances, trout release mortality is among the highest of all fish, and the range is from 1% to as much as 20%.
An outlandish idea . . . have beginner coaches learn the Fishing School curriculum so they can teach new Insiders proper techniques and fish handling to conserve fishing for future generations.
Cant get the $100k Mercedes steering wheel smelling like fish!
hahaha . . . Image of being extremely frugal with tiny boat creates cognitive dissonance at the ramp pulling in with a $100k Mercedes. 🤦🏻♂️ Newbies will figure it out! 😂
Wish I had your energy, enjoyed the video.
Very instructive I agree movew around until you find fish. For me its always going to be shal shady. I cant remember the last time I did not catch fish using that color. I switch back and forth between the 2.0 and the Mulligan. I use the bomber in the fall. I loved your energy.
Thanks
Awesome job on the video and I think you gave it your best ….. I also agree that slam shady is a great color but I also like the chartreuse lures especially for trout as that is the color to use up here in Jacksonville Florida area in my opinion …. I has seemed to work for me for over forty (40) years …. Once again, well done on the video and you fish finding techniques… !
Thank you.
Why don’t you troll the lures as you move. Caught many Trout this way. Nice report.
I’d like to see you wet your hands before handling the fish, and instruct your viewers on this and any other techniques to reduce fish mortality.