I can’t recall an east wind lasting this long in recent memory. It has made setting up for redfish challenging, but drifting for trout pretty easy.

To set up for good trout fishing look for open bays with good rock grass and aim your drift toward open water so not to be caught up against a rocky shoreline. A hard wind will beat your trolling motor in shallow water or make it nearly impossible to pole away from some bottom gouging rocks.

Studying the wind and drift will make for a happy trout fishing experience. Using a popping cork with a dark colored soft plastic these are the area’s that I have had the best luck.  South of Chassahowitzka Point and north of North West key, head east in the big bay and fish the rock grass until even with a line between the two points or just south of North West key and parallel of the boundary poles.

Out of Homosassa, line up Mason Creek or Long Point and do a drift out toward the pole line. North try inside of Mangrove Point or Trout Key Bay and drift toward Rock Island Channel. To slow your drift try using a five gallon bucket tied off to the front cleat of your boat.

The redfish bite has been good on the last hour of the incoming tide. Many of the western facing points that I fish have to be approached from the east, with the wind. It is easier to cast with the wind then to try to anchor and cast into it. I instruct my clients to mend their lines by slowly reeling it as their bait travels back to the boat with the incoming tide. Look for jumping mullet. Shrimp or cut pinfish is the best bait.

The inshore grouper bite is on, and with very little floating grass a shallow running plug is a fun way to catch them. A few keeper mangrove snapper are showing up in the river and in Blue Waters. This weekend there will be a high outgoing tide first thing in the morning and low the rest of the day because of Daylight Saving time.