In the fall the yearling shrimp beginning a massive migration to deeper water and their movement draws both fresh and salt water predators. Action is equally furious for flyfishers, top-water advocates, grub chunkers or bream-buster enthusiasts.In the same water you’ll find oversized redfish, monster speckled trout, hog bass and hand-sized shell crackers willing and hungry.
Continuing into the winter, the Bay and the creeks that feed into it are the warm-water homes of resident redfish, trout, sheepshead and black drum. When fish can’t be found anywhere else on the Forgotten Coast because of cold temperatures, they can be found here in astounding schools.
In the spring the resident species fall out of the creeks into Blount’s Bay as they follow the warming water and emerging food. This is the time to cast topwater plugs off the docks during low light for spawning speckled trout in the seven pound range. Daylight will find roving schools of smaller trout attacking bait pods and big redfish looking for mullet. This is the time for unprecedented success with Zara Spooks and MirrOlure Top Dogs.
Then in the summer the growing schools of menhaden draw in the heavyweights, the Silver Kings. You can stand on the docks and watch tarpon jumping almost any day. I’ve fought many from the docks but you almost have to be in a boat to have a chance of landing these behemoths. This is the time for world-class fly rod action.
