Winter’s approach brings success

Brody, (the amazing fish-finding and stock-trading dog), loves fishing in late September. He says it is like the streaming series, “Game of Thrones.” Falling water temperatures and shorter days inform the fishes that winter is coming.

 

This triggers them to feed aggressively. While this is true, I am going to cut back on Brody’s television time.

 

On Sunday, Elliott, my son, Brody, and I enjoyed a great morning of fishing. The weather was cool and rainy. This had me rummaging through the console of the skiff for a light jacket. No luck.

 

The ride to our first fishing location was wet and cold. I thought to myself, Brody is right. Winter feels like it really is coming.

 

Our plan was to target trout on the falling tide then switch to redfish at low tide. A strong wind from the northeast forced us to fish docks on the leeward bank. 

 

As I deployed the trolling motor, I looked at Brody, hoping for a sign that fish were here. He gave no such indication but for the first time in months Brody looked comfortable in the skiff. The weather was just right for Brody. Not too hot and not too cold.

 

While Brody and I considered the weather, Elliott cast a Z-Man Finesse TRD to the dock pilings. A trout ate the lure almost immediately.

 

I cast to another dock piling and hooked up as well. That is pretty much how the rest of the morning went. We literally caught a fish on almost every cast. When the bite slowed down on one dock, a quick move to another put us back in the action.

 

When the tide got low and the current slowed down, the trout bite did as well. We switched our focus to redfish and moved to a series of oyster bars in about a foot of water. Elliott and I both needed a redfish to complete our inshore slams.

 

We cast our lures to the base of the oyster bar and we both caught a redfish. With our inshore slams complete, we called it a day.

 

On the ride back to the dock, I thought to myself: “Winter is coming.”