Saltwater Sportsman

Coastal Creek Know-how

INTERCEPT GAME FISH ALONG TIDEWATER STREAMS

- By Bob Mcnally

ACOLD WIND HOWLING FROM THE OPEN GULF OF MEXICO MADE FOR A ROUGH RIDE AND DISRUPTED THE BAIT SCHOOLS THAT REDFISH USUALLY KEY IN ON IN BARATARIA BAY, LOUISIANA, IN THE SPRING.

Ken Chaumont ran his 19-foot bay skiff up a dark tidal creek, looking for calm water, and the moment he switched from combustion to electric power, I saw the boils of feeding fish just ahead. “Reds!” said Chaumont as several fins and tails broke the surface.

Chaumont quickly got us within casting range with the trolling motor, and we fired our lures toward some reds feeding — with their backs out of the water — along the marshy waterway. Both his soft-plastic jerkbait and my spinnerbai­t immediatel­y got hit, and we set the hooks on a matching pair of 5-pounders.

It required minor boat reposition­ing to get us back in business, and the action continued for a couple of hours, during which we caught several dozen reds up to 8 pounds that, taking advantage of the higher water caused by the strong push of persistent gales, were gorging on crabs along the banks of the sheltered tidal creek.

That redfish bonanza on an otherwise tough angling day illustrate­s a great lesson: Game fish go where food is. That holds true for trout, tarpon, stripers, snook, flounder and every sport fish. And creeks are often where that predator-meets-easy-prey scenario plays out.

STRUCTURE CLUES

In tidal streams, fish find vulnerable food in flooded brush, amid mangrove

roots and shoreline debris, and around submerged logs, dock pilings, bridge abutments, dilapidate­d boats and barges. Such structures are sure to have marine organisms growing on them, which are the basis of the food chain that includes the forage that game fish hunt. A strong tide or wind-driven current forces baitfish, crabs and shrimp into spots where they become easy pickings for predators.

That structure also provides cover for predators. In a creek, a hole slightly deeper than its surroundin­gs is a great place to find snook, reds, striped bass and even tarpon waiting for baitfish or crustacean­s swept by the moving water.

At times, presenting lures and baits to fish in the tangles of flooded brush seems impossible. Working the outer edges often pays off; however, anchoring up-current and presenting natural baits above the spot or along the edges using a popping cork or slip float is usually best. Chumming with cut or live bait is another option. Not only does that turn on the fish, but it also draws them away from cover where the odds of landing them greatly increase.

BOTTLENECK­S

Almost anywhere water funnels into a tight or constricte­d spot of a creek, you’re bound to find predators. Most tidewater streams are irregularl­y shaped, with wide spots and pockets or bayous flowing into them. Bait funnel into such areas, and game fish are sure to be around.

Narrow places are often created by sand spits, shell bars and grass beds in an otherwise wide creek. Find a place with lanes winding through the grass beds, and you’ve found a likely feeding station. Those grassy funnels are choice locations for snook and seatrout in salt creeks off Florida’s Indian and Banana rivers. Meanwhile, shell bars or sand spits in a tidal creek are made to order

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