St Marks Lighthouse Advice

[gayakangler]

Hey everyone. New to the forum and I'm looking for some advice. I'm from South GA and just recently got into kayak fishing. I've been coming down and fishing the flats around the lighthouse. Been having decent luck with smaller trout but I'm looking for pointers on where to go to find larger trout and redfish. Using several techniques but gulp shrimp and jerk shads on jig heads seem to be working for me.

I use my fish finder to stay in 3 to 5 feet and that seems to be where I find the most fish. Last trip down a week ago I moved back up into the grass marsh and found some legal trout but still no redfish.

Any advice is appreciated!

[Salty Gator]

Get rid of the depth finder and get shallower for reds. Good luck

[gayakangler]

I'm planning to go back Monday. I'll fish the shallower water near shore and up in the grass and see if I can find the reds. Thanks for the tip!

[Salty Gator]

Bottom machines make a click. You won't need it where the reds are.

[DEMON]

Look for happy mullet. There's usually a red or two around where you find mullet jumping.

[silverking]

Some good advice already. An Aqua Dream spoon or topwater lure like a Super Spook worked over flooded oyster bars in the mouth of the river or in the drop-offs will produce. Just be careful of boat traffic and wakes. Big Cove can also be productive and is within paddling range of the lighthouse.

[gayakangler]

Big Cove is definitely a spot I want to check out. I have a Hobie so going a few miles is no trouble

[Ted in Tallahassee]

I am new to Redfish catching but not to the St. Marks fishing scene. I posted a few times in the past year or two asking "how to catch a Redfish?" and got good advice, and now I am pretty confident of being able to "limit out" on Redfish nearly every trip, LOL.

Generally, creep quietly up to a grassline on a high and still-incoming tide, and cast as far as you can as close as you can to the grassline. I've had good success using a 1/4 oz. Bass Assasin red jighead with a Nuclear Chicken 3" Gulp shrimp on it that's also got a live shrimp (or half of a big shrimp I just busted in half) or a strip of fresh ladyfish or pinfish stuck on the hook. Don't skip this add-on and use just the Gulp; it matters, if you want to catch slot Reds. Slow retrieve, bouncing off the bottom. Pinfish will wreak havoc and claim many shrimp, but that's part of the price. A strip of fish will last a bit longer. Others say a gold spoon and topwater plugs work too. I've just not used either very much, compared to the jig setup.

Doing this around oyster bars instead of the grassline works good too. Try to fish the side of the bar where the current is coming at you, having just washed over the bar. Seems like Reds, and big trout, hang around those spots.

In all the many times I've fished and caught trout (and about everything else) on the flats with a Gulp-tipped jig and a Cajun Thunder popper, I've never caught a Red with that setup. But just a little while ago someone posted that he got into Reds and caught some with that same rig, so it's possible.

I'm thinking of going out tomorrow afternoon, maybe we'll see each other. What color is your kayak? My 15' jonboat has a "face" painted on the sides of the bow, and a series of vertical black & white stripes on the sides near the stern.

[gayakangler]

Thanks. That's good advice. Last time I was there I used gulp shrimp that were white with chartreuse tail and jerk shads in nuclear chicken. I'll try the tipping trick and see how that works

I have a Dune Hobie Oasis. My wife is usually with me but if I go tomorrow I will be solo

[kikstand454]

I'm a little late to the party, but I'll offer an alternative to the already awesome advice given above.


I can not remember the last time I went out to catch a red, and didn't catch one. And I have not used "live" bait in many years. The kayak is a red killing machine. Use it. Follow creeks. Hang out in oysterbars. Fish flood tides in the grass. Everywhere people with boats won't/can't go. A super spook, a gold spoon, and a jighead with a swimbait style plastic on it will catch almost any red in our area. Gulp works great, but you have to deal with bycatch. I've caught maybe 5 catfish this year, and they've all been on topwater! Lol. No need to mess with them, or feed pinfish either. If you are convinced that smell matters, buy some procure scent and use it on your artificals. It's great.
Another small observation..... No matter the time of day or year, or tide, if you are catching fish on a cork.....you can catch bigger ones on a topwater.

There's lots of reds around the lighthouse for sure.....but there are better redfish areas. Look into shell point/spring Creek, any access into oyster bay/piney island ( bottoms Rd, purify Bay Rd, skipper Bay, rock landing, levy Bay), and alligator harbor ( sun and Sand ramp, leanords landing on 98).

Good luck my friend....I hope I can get out in my yak soon and meet ya out there!

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

[gayakangler]

Thanks for the tips. I've been wanting to check out Shell Point and Piney Island. I'll make that my next trip!

[Swampcreek]

I think of redfishing like bass fishing. Get out casting distance to the shore, fish the points and creek entrances. Work around the oyster bars and drop off spots. If you see birds bombing the water, go to them and fish. We usually get there for the riding tide, find a spot and troll around, or anchor if they are biting good. Usually just troll the shore line and around grassy oyster beds and you can find some.