How To Find Fish In A New Area (No Matter Where You Are)
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
I hadn’t been back to Port Isabel, Texas in quite a while so it felt like I had to find fish in a new area all over again!!
Whenever you are faced with fishing in a brand new spot, it can be an uphill battle.
But, there are some things you can do to put yourself in the best chance to get tight lines.
Take a look!!
How To Find Fish In A New Area [VIDEO]
Find NEW Saltwater Fishing Spots In Your Area In 60 seconds or less!!!
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Set Up For The Mulligan
- Lure: Slam Shady Mulligan
- Hook: 3/0 Hoss Helix Hooks 1/8 oz.
- Rod: Cashion Element Inshore 7 foot MH
- Reel: 3000 Daiwa Fuego
- Mainline: Daiwa J Braid Grand 10 Pound Grey
- Leader: 20lb Ande Monofilament Leader
- Scent: Dr. Juice ®️Saltwater Slam Scent
Set Up For The Mirrolure Lil’ John
- Lure: Mirrolure Lil’ John (Opening Night)
- Hook: 3/0 Hoss Helix Hooks 1/8 oz.
- Rod: Star Seagis ML 7’6″
- Reel: 2500 Daiwa BG MQ
- Mainline: Daiwa J Braid Grand 10 Pound Grey
- Leader: 20lb Ande Monofilament Leader
- Scent: Dr. Juice ®️Saltwater Slam Scent
- Dye: Spike It Dip-N-Glo
On-The-Water Action
Within minutes of hitting the water, I was hooked into my first redfish of the day.
I saw what I thought was a big school of mullet on the surface which really turned out to be a solid school of redfish.
While reeling in the first fish, I made sure to keep the school in my sights.
After hooking into a couple of fish, I figured out the fish were not sitting in deep potholes like I originally thought.
Instead, they were sitting in small potholes and cut-outs covered in grass.
As I made my way across a shallow flat, I saw some birds lined up along a super shallow ledge.
So I went ahead and dropped my anchor pin down to slowly work the entire area in front of me.
Then, I’ll pull the anchor pin up, move closer to the birds, drop the pin and continue casting and repeating this process until I covered the entire area or found the feeding fish.
The last thing I wanted to do was scare the birds which would basically clear out the entire flat of any life.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, stay stealthy and quiet.
There was a heavy presence of fry bait in the area which made me switch over to using the Slam Shady 2.0 Paddletail.
But the wind picked up and that didn’t help with casting smaller lures.
So I threw a Mulligan out there and that got the job done!
Tackle & Gear
The lure I caught all the fish on this trip was the Slam Shady Mulligan Paddletail.
It is a 4-inch paddletail that I had rigged on a 3/0 Hoss Helix Hook 1/8 oz.
There were a ton of weeds and oysters in the area and a weedless rig is the best way to avoid hang-ups or snags.
The Mulligan is unique in that it has dimples all over it to help improve casting distance.
That only improves and helps when you need to cast directly into the wind.
You can cast this lure directly into the wind and it does a great job of cutting right through.
As far as the rod I was using, it is a 7-foot Medium-Heavy Cashion Element Inshore Spinning Rod.
I personally love this rod for throwing any kind of paddletail or swimbait lure.
The reel I paired up with this rod is the Daiwa Fuego 3000 spooled with Daiwa J-Braid x8 Grand 10lb test tipped with 20lb Ande monofilament leader.
Find NEW Saltwater Fishing Spots In Your Area
The key takeaways from this trip were to locate potholes and fish close to wherever I saw birds or bait on the surface.
On-the-water trends are critical to your spring success as these fish aggressively hunt and are on the move!
Finding The Fish Help
In order to help make sure that you are targeting the right areas based on the latest feeding trends and upcoming weather forecasts, make sure to use the following 3 resources because they will save you a ton of time.
1. Weekend Game Plans (updated weekly)
These regional game plans will show you exactly what types of spots to target in under 10 minutes… just click the video to start, and you’ll be informed on what to do on your next trip.
2. Smart Fishing Spots Platform (updated every 15 minutes)
This exclusive software literally shows you where the most fish are likely to be feeding based on exactly when you’ll be fishing. It factors in the tides, wind, and weather to help you quickly see which areas to target throughout the day.
3. Community Reports (live feed)
The Insider Community platform is what you can use to see what is biting near you, and you can get to know other members who fish in your area. Plus, you can use it to keep a log of your catches so you can use past trips to help predict future catches.
Related categories:
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).
Great day on the water brotha!
Thanks Matt!!
Where did you launch from Pat !
I’m staying at Park Center and there’s a ramp in the park. Depending on current, it’s about a 15-20 minute paddle to that first flat. I wish we could launch from the causeway.