Want to try somewhere different. When I put in at Sportsmen Road, anywhere particular I should head to? Any suggestions?

You can paddle straight to the marsh off to the west which will be good for Reds, Flounder, and Trout. Or you can paddle straight out and drift/wade Confederate Reef. We are approaching the best time of the year for that area. December through March is one of the best times for that area. The colder the better. I will be spending a lot of time in that are once winter gets here. Should start getting better with each front.

AQUA PIMP

Aqua Pimp, thank you so much. I have a 13 ft Yak, orange, 2-man. My 12-year-old and I fish together a lot. Hope to see you out there.

One other question: What and where is Confederate Reef?

I prefer shrimp. Any suggestions for Sportsmen road? I also throw plastics (Gulp) and topwaters.

Once you launch at Sportsmans, paddle to the north and you will run in th Confederate Reef. Probably one of the biggest reefs in all of West Bay. On a low tide day a lot of it will be exposed. After a hard norther A lot of it will be exposed.

Winter time fishing soft plastic generally work best. If looking for a Big Trout go Corky or topwater. There is a deeper channel that runs parrallel to the Sportsman Road shoreline. On colder days the fish will be holding up in the channel and the channel edges. This is where I like working soft plastics. Windy days I like 1/8 ounce lead heads and on calm days I like 1/16 ounce. Now in the winter time the water will be extremely clear. Look for patches of dirty water. This is where the fish will be. Find a dirty patch of water or "mud streak" as they are normally called that is holding Mullet and this is where you will catch'em. In the Mud Streaks I mainly throw darker colored baits like Redshad, Morning Glory, and Plum/char. Another good one is limetreuse.

Hope this helps.

AQUA PIMP

Here are a few pics I found from fishing Confederate Reef in front of Sportsman....

Pic 1 shows Confederate Reef on a typical winter low tide.

Pic 2 Look above the guys left shoulder thats holding the fish. You can see the mud streak in the picture. That streak or patch of muddy water is what we are keying in on.

Pic 3 A solid day of working "mud streaks" around Confederate.

why mud streaks?

West Bay gets really clear in the winter time. You can have anywhere from 2 to 5' of gin clear water. I personally hate fishing clear water. Trout use these mud streaks as ambush points and on Sunny days the muddy streaks can warm up a little faster to. Maybe 2 to 3 degrees difference.

AQUA PIMP

Wow, thanks for the info Aqua Pimp!

Wow, thanks for the info Aqua Pimp!