Some of the best places to target feeding fish at dawn are creek mouths, openings that lead to the backwater and the banks of the ICW. The falling water will bring the bait out of the backwater. This is the perfect ambush spot for feeding fish. They also like to keep the bait pinned up along the banks of the ICW.
When trying to decide what baits to use, remember the old adage, “match the hatch”. By that I mean if the fish are feeding on mullet and menhaden go to a lure that resembles it or just cast net some live bait. Try top water plugs such as the Top Pup Jr. or a Skitterwalk. If you prefer soft plastics use a paddle tail or jerk shad rigged on a jig head. No matter what you decide to use I would recommend tying your bait on with at least a 30 lb piece of florocarbon. This will give you a better chance to land a small tarpon or a good size snook. I don’t know about you but I hate losing an 8 to 10 dollar lure to a fish because it wore through my line because I didn’t use that leader material.
For those of you that fly fish like I do, I recommend using a floating line with a 9 ft. leader that has a 12” to 15” 30 lb florocarbon bite tippet. I say a 9’ leader because the water is beginning to clear up. Any baitfish pattern in the color white is my first choice when it comes to flies. If I find tarpon I will use a black/purple fly. I have designed a white fly that is an absolute killer on trout and snook and have been tying it in other colors that are deadly on redfish.
No matter what your choice of baits you need to get out there and fish.