Help with redfish and trout

Hello I'm new to forum and intercostal fishing as well. I have started fishing intercostal around sapalo sound and shellman bluff area.
I have been out 6 or 7 times now and have tried different methods and I'm not doing as well as I should. The main species im after is reds and trout. I started using popping cork and live shrimp but this method is not really my cup of tea. I've also spent a good bit of time with artificials (gulp it shrimp on jig head,artifical plastic same color as mud minnows on jig head,doa shrim). When I use artificals I'm doing it the same way I would bass fish a river on points were current turns, on ledges I've found from map,mouths of creeks were water is moving pretry good. I have a map that shows hot spots and I'm working my way through the spots. I have a few questins I would like to ask and would really appreciate any help

Is artificials okay? (Should I use poping cork with live bait. I would rather use artificials but if it means more fish using live bait that is the way I will go)

Wich tide is best? (I've been trying at different stages. water depth is not that big of issue my boat drafts 8" and can run trolling motor as long as I have 14" of water)

I've heard a lot about sight fishing reds. Is this the method I should be doing? The way I have been doing it previously is blind casting as if I was fishing for a largemouth should I drive around in boat until I see tailing fish or bait pods and fish those?

Is this a bad time of year for these species? Water temp is high now. Do these species became larthargic with high temps?

I usually fish a DOA shrimp under a popping cork last half the outgoing and until the water get in the grass on the incoming. Did well on the trout, reds and flounder fishing gold doa's 18 inches below the popping cork the past several days. Sight fishing for tailing Reds is as good as it gets to me. Flood tide is the time. I prefer fly fishing but you can sling a gold spoon or gulp shrimp rigged weedless (bite the tail off and put the hook in where the tail was just like rigging a weedless plastic worm). Put it in the direction the fish is going and slowly walk the dog with it. Looks like this evening's tide might be pretty good for a tailing fish. Sight fishing big schools at low tide around Sapalo can be amazing. Most consistent in winter. Summer and Fall is when you want to sight fish the grass on the flood. Trout and Reds can be caught all year, just have to adjust to their habits for that time and tide.

I catch 3x as many of both on artificials as I do bait. Gulp mullet or Saltwater Assassins on a 1/4 oz jighead is what I've done best on. I usually do better on trout around just before and after and during low tide. Reds, I usually catch more just as the high tide turns and starts going out. I don't fish saltwater all that much, though, so I would take my advice with a grain of salt.

Cool man welcome!!

Sounds like your on the right track. You're looking in the right spots....I like to look for structure in area's similar to where you're already looking.....especially oyster rakes!

Bass fishin skills can help you a bunch!
8 inch draft is awesome!! Still always respect our strong tides....It can leave you stuck in the mud for hours!!



I target sea trout...it's like my favorite animal in the world. I wish I could have one as a pet but I'd probably deep fry it.
My trout methods catch me bonus red drums and flounder too, but people who can target reds and flounder catch more than me.

I love artificials. Gulp shrimp in new penny and natural to be exact. I also like gulp swimmin mullets in root beer, pumkinseed and smoke.
I find for me that artificials can help find fish. I can cover the whole water column and all points of a fishy lookin spot.
I love live bait under a poppin cork, if the fish are there its a blast!!. For me...If I have to find fish with live bait...I find I just kill a lot of bait.

I love outgoing tide! It works for me! But people who prefer the incoming tide can slam a lot of fish!!

This is an ok time for these species but for me personally the fall is the best. Seems like fish are congregated more...and hungry!

Good luck and have fun!

Stick with the artificials. Finding live shrimp sometimes can be maddening (and expensive). And ou don't have to worry about the little bait-stealers sucking all the legs off your shrimp with DOAs, especially in the warmer months.

My best piece of advice that has served me well, is to go out on the very low tides riding around marking all of the areas like points that will cover oyster beds when the tide comes in.

Thanks for all the advise. I'm going out again tomorrow I will update on how I do

Remember, the best part of fishing is being out there. Don't misjudge success only by good results. Keep a log book of each trip. Temp, weather, locations, tide stage, depths, structured, water movement, water clarity etc and as you continue to experience time on the water, you get to understand patterns, techniques and how important the timing is to specific locations. I recently started fishing artificials and have spent the last few trips catching a ton of flounder, trouts and reds, all at different tide stages, locations and water clarity. It becomes predictable after a while. Some days you can guess that a successful trip is going to be a few bites and fewer catches while other days you can just about count on sore shoulders and wrists from all the fights. Some days a live mullet or shrimp is essential (like when there is a ton of bait fish swimming) while other days, live bait is a costly waste of time and effort. But enjoy each day on the water and stay in the game for the long haul. You'll get it and it will be much better than anyone giving it to you. There are enough threads on here to get you started so that you don't have to go in completely green.

Up the creek at low tide

As a freshwater fisherman for most of my life, including bass, I love to fish the grass. On a lake it's structure because it is something different. When we started hauling the little boat down to the Golden Isles, I loved getting back in the grass searching for reds. That can be fun, but there is an overwhelming abundance it out there, and the reds are scattered all through it searching for crabs and the like.

But as the tide started moving out I would get out of there. Well, so do the reds. If they are tailing in a foot of water and the tide drops 6-7 feet, where do they go? They bunch up in the creeks waiting for it to come back in...but they don't stop feeding. If you want a concentration of reds to fish, try getting way back in the creeks at low tide.