January through March 2022 Inshore Update

It's been around two months since my last fishing report here on the blog.  The fishing definitely hasn't been slow...quite the opposite.  I've been fortunate to have spent more days on the water this winter than in the past few years...business is growing and that's a good thing.  That, plus focusing on Mauser Fly Fishing, catching Covid, travelling for work, and spending time with family, has kept me busy.  So, since we are past due for an update, let's do one!

We've spent a bunch of days so far this year in the pursuit of Redfish.  We had a fantastic winter, with countless opportunities to sight-fish Reds in inches of crystal-clear water.  Good numbers of fish too.  We've seen lots of groups of 50-100 fish, but we've had schools of over 500 happily swimming in front of us recently.  Although Reds have been the primary target, there have been a lot of Speckled Trout mixed in, and massive groups of juvenile Black Drum at times.

We did a bit of sight-fishing with spinning rods this winter, but the great majority has been on fly.  And why not...when the water is gin clear and the fish are stacked up, there's no better time to offer them a fly.  We've thrown several fly patterns at them this winter, but I'd wager that we caught more fish on a black Clouser than all of the other flies combined.  Thanks Bob.

We had a very mild winter this year, and that resulted in happy fish.  Pressure from other recreational anglers is the thing that usually turns fish off or makes them extra wary.  I worked hard to stay on some unmolested groups of fish, which paid off with some great days of sight-fishing.

Since these fish are in such big schools, and there's a chance that someone else could find our fish, we try to catch every single one before moving on.  Just kidding, don't do that.  I try my best to read a school of fish, and when they start acting nervous, then we leave them be.  Harass them too much and you'll never see them again.

This game will never get old...

Watching them swim off is just as good as catching them!

I've been blessed so far this year with some great days on the water with some great human beings and some great fish.  As I type this, today is officially the first day of spring, so changes are coming.  I'm already seeing more Mullet, Flounder and Stingrays in the marsh.  And pollen, plenty of pollen in the water...cough, sneeze, cough.  In the coming weeks the Redfish will change gears, and some great nearshore species will start to arrive.  Always something to look forward too!

​Hope you enjoy the images and give me a shout if you'd like to experience some of this in person.  J

LETS GO FISHING