Few sights in inshore fishing get the heart pounding like a copper-bronze redfish tail waving above the marsh grass. That's flood tide fishing, and a well-rigged soft plastic is one of the best tools you can throw at those fish.
A flood tide happens when the water rises high enough to spill over the banks and onto the spartina flats. Redfish follow it up into the grass to root for fiddler crabs, shrimp and small baitfish that are normally out of reach. With their heads down and backs in inches of water, they give themselves away: tails, wakes and "nervous" grass. Here in Northeast Florida, the marshes around Jacksonville offer some of the best flood tide fishing on the East Coast.
When Flood Tides Happen
Flood tides line up with the biggest tides of the month, which come around the new and full moons. In Northeast Florida the prime window runs from late summer through fall, roughly August into November, when seasonally high-water stacks on top of those moon tides. A steady onshore (northeast) wind can push even more water into the marsh.
How to plan a trip:
Check the tide chart for the highest predicted highs of the month, then compare them to your past trips. Note the height at which your favorite flat starts to flood.
Arrive early. The best fishing is often the first hour or so as water first creeps into the grass, and again as it starts to drain.
Pick a sunny day with light wind if you can. Spotting tails and wakes is the whole game, and glare-free light helps a lot.
Watch the clock on the fall. Water leaves the grass faster than you'd think, so know your way back to deeper water.
Where to Find Flood Tide Redfish
Not every patch of marsh holds fish on the flood. Look for these features:
Short, firm-bottomed spartina flats. Shorter grass makes tails easier to see, and hard bottom is easier to wade.
Fiddler crab country. Mud banks covered in fiddler holes at low tide are the buffet redfish will be hunting once the water rises.
Edges and pockets. Fish often cruise the outside edge of the grass before pushing in, and they love small open pockets inside the flat.
Low spots and ditches. Slight depressions flood first and drain last, so they hold fish longer at both ends of the tide.
Around Jacksonville, the marsh systems of the lower St. Johns, the Intracoastal Waterway and the Nassau Sound area all flood. Scout your spots on low water so you know the bottom before you fish them high.
The Best Soft Plastic Baits for Flood Tides
Soft plastics shine in the grass because they land quietly, rig weedless and look like the crabs, shrimp and minnows the fish are already eating. Match the bait to what the redfish are doing.
Bait style
Why it works
Best when
Paddle tail (3–4 in)
Steady thump draws fish from a distance
Fish are cruising or the grass is sparse
Shrimp imitation
Natural profile; can sit still and still look alive
Fish are tailing and focused on the bottom
Crab or creature bait
Matches the fiddler crabs reds are rooting for
Heavy tailing over fiddler mud
Jerk bait / soft stick
Slim, quiet, slides through thick grass
Grass is tall or fish are spooky
Color tips: Natural shades like new penny, root beer, golden and shrimp-colored baits are tough to beat in clear, shallow water. In dirtier water or low light, go darker or add some flash so the fish can find it.
Scent helps. Redfish are rooting by feel and smell as much as sight. A scented bait gets eaten and held longer, which gives you an extra beat to set the hook.
Rigging Soft Plastics for the Grass
In the spartina, the rig matters as much as the bait. A bait that snags every blade won't catch anything. Keep it weedless and keep it light.
Use a weedless hook. A 2/0 to 4/0 wide-gap or EWG worm hook, Texas-rigged with the point skin-hooked back into the plastic, slides through grass cleanly.
Go light or weightless. In inches of water, a weightless bait or a small weighted swimbait hook (1/16 to 1/8 oz) lands softly and stays in the strike zone.
Rig it straight. A crooked bait spins and twists your line. Line the hook up so the bait sits and swims true.
Add a fluorocarbon leader. 20–30 lb fluorocarbon gives abrasion resistance against oyster shell and grass without spooking fish in clear water.
Try a light weedless jig head in open pockets. A 1/16 oz weedless jig head gets a shrimp or paddle tail down a little faster when fish are in holes rather than thick grass.
Presentation: How to Fool a Tailing Redfish
Flood tide reds are feeding hard, but they're also in skinny water and easy to spook. A good cast beats a long cast every time.
Read the tail. A tail up means the fish's head is down. Note which way the tail is pointing; the head is on the other side.
Lead the fish, don't hit it. Cast 2–3 feet past and ahead of the fish, then work the bait into its path. A bait landing on its head usually sends it running.
Keep it slow. Twitch, pause, and let the bait sit. Shrimp and crab imitations often get eaten on the fall or while sitting still.
Watch, don't just feel. You'll often see the fish turn, tip up or the tail light up before you feel anything. Wait for weight on the line before you set.
Sweep-set the hook. With weedless rigs, a firm, sideways sweep drives the hook through the plastic and into the fish better than a big upward yank.
Approach quietly. Pole, wade or drift slowly. Bumps on the hull, slapping water and loud steps push fish off the flat.
Gear and Final Tips
Rod and reel: A 7 ft medium-light to medium, fast-action spinning rod with a 2500–3000 size reel handles light baits and still turns a slot red out of the grass.
Line: 10–15 lb braid casts light plastics a long way and cuts through grass on the hookset.
Polarized sunglasses: Non-negotiable. Copper or amber lenses help you pick out tails, wakes and bronze backs.
Wading gear: Wear sturdy wading boots. Oyster shell and soft mud are no joke.
Fish it the right way. Know and follow current Florida redfish regulations before you go. Give other anglers plenty of room on the flats, avoid running a motor across flooded grass, and handle fish you release gently and quickly.
Gear Up for Your Next Flood Tide
Flood tide season is here, and the right soft plastic can make the difference between watching tails and landing fish. Shop our custom soft plastic baits at limitoutlures.com and stock up before the next big tide.
Got a flood tide red on a Limit Out Lure? Tag us @limitoutlure so we can see your catch.