How to locate fish in the bays?

I grew up fishing the Port A area with my uncle, and he always took us to wade fish the flats near Mud Island. Fast forward 20 years and I am now fishing these areas alone, and can never locate any fish! What do y'all look for when choosing a spot to wade or drift? I typically fish artificials in shallow water and know to fish guts and sand pockets, but also see people fishing deeper areas further out than the flats. Is it just experience or is there any signs that I can look for to locate fish?

This time of year, I don't stop unless there's activity, I want to see rafts of mullet, shrimp skipping around, PELICANS, something has to give it away.

And by all means don't get into the habit of thinking because it's hot, fish go deep, biggest lie on the coast. Cold blooded fish don't know hot from cold, all they do is eat and try to not be eaten. The only thing that can eat a 25" trout is out in deep water, I've caught way more in knee deep than in chest deep.

OP welcome to the forum!

There's a lot of hunting involved in fishing. I agree with Pat you look for all those signs especially in the shallow water. If you're looking for trout it's basically fish an area where you think they should be since trout can be in 4-7 even 8 feet of water sometimes especially when the salinity is off like it has been lately. I've fished a reef I thought would be holding trout before and struck out then went back a few hours later to that same reef and found them there. It's a hunting process that takes some effort. Don't give up easily.

If you're striking out lately don't feel bad. I know several guys that have caught more fish than I've ever seen down there that have been having a hard time locating fish. It'll get better soon.

Find structure, find bait (having current helps) and you'll usually find fish.

Trout support.com. Just bought some of the videos and they are well worth the money. Lots of testimonials and IMO worth every penny.

Thanks all! As far as bait, I've always tried to at least see mullet jumping but have never seen any birds working an area or seen a slick from a school of working fish. Is this something that you can find every day of you are looking for it, or a more of a rare "jackpot" scenario?

+1 on Troutsupport. Instantly made me a better angler. Call Tobin.

As for finding fish, I personally don't rely on "spots" to produce. They could be hot one day and deserted the next. Fish conditions. Look for active bait. Scan the water for the presence of gamefish (good polarized glasses really help). Fish a moving tide. Incoming or outgoing doesn't really matter, but the fish move off the flats into deeper water on an outgoing tide, and move on to them and get into really skinny water on an incoming tide. Not really any such thing as too shallow for a redfish. And if you're struggling to catch fish, use the most basic, proven methods. Spoons always catch fish. Same with popping corks and live shrimp. Topwaters are a great way to locate fish, even if they miss the plug. If you get a strike, at least you know a few fish are there and are willing to feed. Potholes are fish catchers. If you find water that resembles a honeycomb, inspect the area.

Finally, one of my favorite methods of fishing is to drift a flat chunking and winding a soft plastic as far and as fast as I can. Fan cast on the drift with the wind. You'll cover a ton of water. You're bound to put a lure right in a fish's face and you get reaction bites this way. If you get several bites in a row, maybe slow down and fish the area more thoroughly. I prefer to do this with a Norton Bull Minnow, but you can really use this tactic anywhere. Cover water until you find fish.

I carry binos on the boat and use to scan for activity

Great advice! Was killing them a few weeks ago with a Gotcha plug, now it's soft baits! Just don't give up. Like mentioned before, spoons and shrimp on a popping cork hardly let down. One hour it's gold spoons next it's silver. Was bouncing a plum and chart down south swim tail and hooked on to a 20+ flounder that shook me off at the jetties. Real heartbreaker! like to keep at least 2 to 3 rods with different setups and a cooler with live shrimp at all times. Above all, have fun hunting!

Yep darker colors seem to be working a little better right now.

For popping corks I've found these are pretty solid. You can adjust the depth you're fishing without having to re-tie and they have really loud rattles in them. Down side is they are plastic so keep that in mind before you cast towards rock or reef structure.

https://www.hhlure.com/products/h-h-cajun-float?_pos=4&_sid=0ff3c5fda&_ss=r

One thing I see often is freshwater bass guys getting twisted up on lure color. Don’t fall in that trap.
I throw Norton sand eel in clearer water and hogie super minnow in stained. Tequila or Baffin magic with the eel. Pumpkin or red/white with minnow. Gold spoon and whatever top water I touch first.

My neighbor only used plum norton bull minnow. Period. And he stacks em up.

Where is way more important than what.

+1 There are times when a darker color might catch more than a lighter color or vise versa but for the most part color is not that important.

Croakers on the deep reefs this time of year. You’ll definitely catch some fish, but may have to work through the small fish to get a limit.

I would use Live Shimp in the areas that Pat Goff recommended above. You'll catch a lot of different kinds of fish, and then once in a while get into some trout, reds, and drum.

Key is to spend time on the water and enjoy fishing, even if you don't catch alot everytime. Then document and learn from your experiences; you'll get much more enjoyment over time.
good luck,
Tim

Neumie put me on to the Alameda rattling corks. They look like the H&H shown previously. They come in green with either a red or white top. Depending on the sun's direction and angle, sometimes one is more visible than the other. I use both. The rattles give you a good vibration in the water, and the adjustability lets you quickly change depth of your lure or bait. The weight lets even me chunk it a long way. IslandJim