By Capt. Raymond Griffin
Brrrrrrrrrr. Yes, it's cold down here in the Louisiana Bayou Country and all across the Gulf Coast! The good news is that the warm weather is just around the corner. Since deer season is over many of you are probably thinking about heading down to the coast and trying your hand at some red fishing. I have a few tips that I would like to pass along to help make your trip more successful.

First, most of you probably haven't used your fishing equipment in a while, so it will need a tune up and new line. Our friends at Marks can help you out with that. Don't make the mistake of coming all the way down here or to the coast and have an equipment failure at the wrong time!

The most important thing to remember when you fish during the winter or early spring is that the water levels are usually lower, from one to two feet, because of dominate north winds. A lot of the areas that you usually fish will be mud flats! Be careful, plan ahead, talk to locals in the area or hire a pro to take you out and show you safe areas. There is no worse feeling than to run up into what looks like a promising area and feel your boat "rise up" and stop because you're on a mud flat! I know, I've done it!

There is one thing that is consistent all across the Gulf Coast no matter when or where you fish, the fish are caught in the water and can't get out! You just have to find where they are! Red fish, being bottom feeders, will migrate to deeper holes or canals where the temperatures are more constant. Just like us when it's cold, red fish move more slowly. They will also feed only when an easy opportunity presents itself. The two best rigs for bottom fishing is either a Caroline rig with a slip sinker or just a 1/4 ounce jig.

Once you have found a deep channel or canal, your best bet will be to use cut bait like dead shrimp, cut mullet, cracked crab or live minnows. The best bait is one that smells and can be "worked" sloooowly across the bottom. If you try an area for 10 to 15 minutes, do not move far. I have found that by moving just a few yards at a time, you will eventually run into a school of fish that is just laying there!

One of the fun things about cold weather fishing is that you never really know what is going to bite. It may be a big red, a big drum or a big ole sheep head! Once you've found the fish, they are usually pretty thick, so stay put and hold on tight!

The other technique that works consistently is to find an old oyster reef and fish the edges. The currents have usually made the edges deeper and fish will hold there just as they will in the deeper holes.

The main thing to remember is to fish slow, fish each area thoroughly, use bait and be very careful where you go and let someone know the areas that you plan to fish, since there are fewer boats out to give you a hand if you get into trouble.

Remember, warm weather is just around the corner, but there are still some great fish to be caught right now!

Captain Raymond Griffin
1-800-741-1340
www.griffinfishing.com