I went out about five this morning and caught only one Red not really a bragging size either but I seem to only be catching them in the morning with tide coming in. Has anyone had luck in the evening? I've been using shrimp and cut bait.
I can't answer the time question, I have never been able to nail it down myself, As for bait I know small live croakers and large live shrimp both work well, I have heard others say Squid and cut bait as well...
If you baitcast, you may want to try a spoon. I do not use them that much, but I have seen fishermen use them effectively. Also might want to try a MirrOlure with a slow descent. Every fisherman has his favorite size/color, but I think the rattling action along with that slow descent has more of an advantage than size/color.
I am more of a soft plastic fisherman. I would use other methods, but this seems to work best for me. The nice thing about soft plastics (opposed to cut bait/shrimp) is that the likelihood of catching the fish you are truly fishing for increases exponentially. Rarely do I ever catch a sal****er cat using a soft plastic. Not that I mind catching anything because of the fight, but I know that generally I am going to catch the "big three" of the inshore fishes; flounder, speck, red.
Seems that you are newer to the coast, so I'll tell you what I use and how I fish it:
- 1/8 ounce jig head with a plastic lure (I prefer the 3" 'Gulp' shrimp by Berkley)
I generally fish this slower, popping the lure off of the bottom, letting it sink, and doing it all over again. I sometimes even drag it along the bottom, but if there is debris, I have to be more aware of how the bottom "feels". If it's a sandy bottom, I tend to be a little less cautious in how I fish.
Really, though, sometimes you just have to try different actions/speeds. It's weird, some days, I can fish blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back and catch my limit. Other days, I can bring my "Tiger Woods" fishing mentality and catch an old, stinky boot! Guess that's why it's called fishing and not catching. Lol!
Oh, and as far as the tide is concerned, I guess it's better when it's moving, but I have caught fish when it was not moving. I have also NOT caught fish when the tide is moving and the conditions seemed perfect (throwing everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink).
