How To Catch An Inshore Slam (Right After A Cold Front)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
Do you remember catching your first snook?
I recently had the opportunity to take out one of our Insider members, Dave Otte, who’s from Pensacola and has never caught a snook before (there aren’t any snook that far up north).
We were on a mission to catch an inshore slam but the odds were stacked against us.
We were in a spot that neither of us had ever been to, it was the middle of January, and a cold front had just passed through, so the water was cold and the fish were lethargic.
Want to see how we did?
Watch the video below.
How To Catch An Inshore Slam In Winter [VIDEO]
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It was so fun to put Dave on his first snook and get the slam.
You can clearly hear how excited he was once he realized that the last fish was a redfish!
Even though we were in a new spot and conditions were pretty bad, we were able to each catch a slam because we knew what the trends were and how fish respond after cold fronts.
Want to catch more inshore slams yourself?
First, I’ll share how we caught each species, then I’ll share the exact lures we were using.
Trout
The first stop we made was around some oyster bars in open water that had good water flow.
Current plus structure is typically a good formula for success and it allowed us to both catch some trout here, as well as a ton of ladyfish.
Snook
We weren’t catching any snook or redfish at our first spot and since we were on a mission to get the slam, we moved on.
We hit residential canals where the water is a little deeper, and therefore warmer.
Our strategy was to throw lures near the deeper dock pilings and pretty soon we each got a snook, including Dave’s first one.
Redfish
As the day went on, the water was heated up by the sun and some fish were coming up from the deeper canals on the shallower flats.
That’s where Dave landed his redfish and secured the slam!
Lures
We mostly used two different types of lures:
- Paddletails
- Gulp shrimp
The paddletails were most effective when we were fishing shallower water and covering a lot of ground.
We were using the Slam Shady paddletail, and you can get a free pack by clicking here.
The Gulp shrimp were most effective when we were fishing the deeper docks and canals.
We were tossing them near the dock pilings, letting them sink, and doing a twitch-twitch-pause retrieve.
Learn how to rig Gulp shrimp here.
Conclusion
What a fun trip!
I’m so glad Dave was able to get his first snook and we each caught a slam.
Awesome job, Dave!
Have any questions about how you can catch inshore slams in the winter, too?
Let me know in the comments below!
And if you know someone who wants to catch more inshore slams during these tough, cold months, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Yea Luke like Dave I have never caught a snook either because here in Jacksonville area this far north we rarely get any except on occasion but they are never that big about as big as the one Dave got and although I never caught one my girlfriend did in the early fall period with me again about the size of Dave’s she got hers at faver dykes state park an area known supposedly for having big snook according to the park ranger that works there she caught hers fishing a grasslines with a gulp pearl swimming mullet with the weedless eye quarter ounce jighead from zman lures the park is about 40 miles south of Jacksonville in Flagler county and have heard the northern most border of fl where good concentrations of snook can be found but I have also heard that because of the global warming more and more people are catching them more north then what they have in distance past thanks for the info and all you do????
Nice trip congrats Dave on your first Snook and a double slam for the boat.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment!
Great video Luke! Glad to see Dave catch his first snook
Thanks Jonathan!
dont worry they dont really cover Jacksonville . ive ben down south its not hard to catch fish in clean water with moving water. come fish this mud pit we call Jacksonville after a cold front. it really will show ur skills. and btw they just give generic answers on how to fish here. common knowledge stuff. so i wouldnt bother buying anything till they come down here and show us how its done.
Sorry to see that you haven’t been feeling the love so far here Stephen. Have you seen the report last winter from St. Augustine yet (just 20 to 30 miles south of Jacksonville)? It was a good example of how similar the fish behavior is up your way vs. down here along the Gulf. I only had 1 day to fish and it unfortunately was during a strong cold front, but the same trends I was reporting from here resulted in some fun action. Here’s a link: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/articles/catching-fish-in-bad-weather/
Luke, what is your strategy when the water gets moving fast in guts off of flats (Jacksonville – St Aug area)? Do you go heavier or do you just move on… it is so darn hard to leave fish but they seem to just turn off when it gets rolling.
Great question Michael! When fishing areas with strong current, I’ll target eddies where main current flow is obstructed. Or I’ll target coves that do not have as much water flow because it can be very difficult to fish high current zones with lures… plus, the fish will most often move to those same areas that have less current flow so that they don’t have to swim against the current as much.
Thanks Luke, I appreciate your thoughtful reply..
BTW I posted recently about the Slam Shady for Pond Bass… it continues to be the go to… 3” and just drag it and they can’t resist it.. I has completely awakened a pond that would never eat a thing but a purple worm on a Texas presentation
Fantastic job as usual.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment Dave!