Capt. Ross shares tips for fishing topwater poppers and slowtail swimbaits along mangrove edges in Southwest Florida for snook and redfish. When fish are holding in shallow grassy water, poppers are an excellent presentation to avoid snagging grass while creating commotion to draw fish out of structure.
Approach:
Parallel Casting: To maximize time in the strike zone, position your casts parallel to shorelines and close to structure. Fish will often be hiding under mangroves in ambush. Working poppers and slowtails along the outside edges keeps you in the strike zone.
Topwater Shallows: When fish are staged in shallow, grassy water, surface plugs like the Charter Grade Popper allow anglers to work baits slowly while avoiding fouling on grass. Work these plugs with a consistent, slow popping action for aggressive topwater strikes.
Slowtails On Drop Offs: On deeper shorelines, weighted swimbaits like the slowtail allow anglers to bottom bounce tight to structure. Use short rod tip twitches while popping the slowtail along the bottom. Alternatively, you can use a slow, steady retrieve to quickly cover water searching for active fish.
