If you're a diehard redfish angler like me, you get cabin fever when you cannot sight fish for a few days after a tropical storm covers the flats with high water and floating debris. Downpours and rising tides are inevitable in Florida in late summer, even if you aren't in the direct path of a storm.

The good news is that redfish respond to these events in predictable ways, and a few changes in tackle and technique can put you on the fish sooner than you might think. Moreover, all that discoloring runoff has a silver lining of sorts in that it often floods shorelines that are rich with small crustaceans, opening new and fertile feeding grounds for reds.

For a long time I had a hard time adapting to the sudden and drastic changes brought on by tropical storms, but I picked up some real gems of insight from guides who fish my home waters of the Indian River Lagoon system-men who don't have the luxury of choosing which days to fish. Upon learning of their solutions and seeing the similarities in their approach to finding post-storm reds, curiosity stirred me to check with guides from other parts of the state as well.

Summarized here are several 'round-the-state strategies for staying in the redfish game right on through the storm season.

Capt. Brian Clancy, who fishes the Indian River Lagoon area, believes that redfish initially remain in the immediate area after a tropical storm passes. "Lagoon water quickly becomes discolored and rises several inches. It's difficult to locate the redfish, but they are there," he said. He likes to go to a gold, single-hook spoon in a 1/8-ounce size. "Because I cannot see the reds, I am blind-casting. A spoon can be cast a long distance and fished slowly, close to the bottom."

Clancy emphasized that fishing deeper than normal was important. "We usually fish a few inches below the surface for reds that are clearly visible in barely a foot of water. Now that the water is deeper and discolored, you have to use a lure that will get down to them." He added, "A spoon still puts out a lot of flash and vibration as it wobbles with a slow retrieve." Clancy noted that he also uses more frozen and cutbait immediately after a storm. "I hope to put scent into the water and have reds that I can't see come to me."

After three or four days, Clancy expects to again find reds shallow with their tails out of the water. "After moving shallow again onto newly flooded feeding grounds, they display old habits. We return to soft-plastics and flies to take fish that we can see once again."

Capt. Mike Hakala, another Lagoon veteran, agrees with Clancy that redfish stay in the general area after a tropical storm passes, moving with the rust-colored tannic water as it rises and then falls. "While I prefer to stalk tailing redfish that I've sighted by quietly poling my flats boat, I find that the high, discolored water we have after a storm requires a different tactic." Hakala goes into search mode. "Initially, I have to cover a lot more water so I often turn to my trolling motor." Whenever possible, he says he trolls into the wind for better boat control and moves slowly along a flooded shoreline.