Redfish,
known in some parts as red drum, channel bass, or rat red, these fish have made
a remarkable comeback in south Louisiana. With the "Blackened Redfish
Craze", thousands of tons a year of this species were landed annually for
the commercial market. Today, redfish are protected by the federal government
& have since achieved game fish status.
Lots
of anglers want to know just how do we catch redfish, are relatively easy to
catch once they have been located. So, the first paragraph of our discussion needs
to center around how to find them! Where do we look?
Redfish
are a skinny water fish for much of their lives, although they move into much
deeper water once they exceed about three feet in length. Red drums migrate
offshore in the winter to spawn and can be found on reefs and in deep-water
channels but generally live inshore in very skinny water (2-5 feet). Redfish
can also be found in or around: (Grass
flats, Estuaries, Residential docks, Rivers, Mangrove shorelines), smaller fish
tend to school more than the larger fish, and once you catch one, you are
almost sure to catch more.
Best Redfish Baits
When
learning how to fish for redfish, bait is the easiest thing you'll learn. Redfish
is an inferior eater, that’s mean that the lower part of his mouth is shorter
than the upper. Red drum will root on the bottom using their nose to find food.
When they are rooting for food in shallow water, their tail sticks up out of
the water.
Redfish
will feed on: Minnows, Shrimp, Live and
cut pinfish, Live and cut mullet, Live and cut sardines, Crabs, Sand dollars. Yes,
sand dollars. Next time you decide to take a redfish that you catch home for
dinner, as you're filleting them look in their stomach. You might be surprised
what you'll find.
The best Lures
Over the years one question a lot of time I have
been asked by fellow anglers is what is the best lure to catch redfish. I
always tell them the first thing they must do is ignore those silly
commercials you see on your favorite fishing show. There’s always one gimmick
or other out there and it is always pitched as the next best thing by some
male model (you can tell by his manicured fingers) holding a redfish all
while some buxom broad standing close by rubs on his bicep. The commercial is saying, “buy
our lure and this could be you”.
Believe it or not it’s a timeless message and it
works. Billions are spent each year in the fishing industry on products not
worth the cost of shipping. So before you douse yourself with cologne and head
for the flats to catch redfish and blondes be sure to take a look below at my
five favorite no-nonsense lures for Redfish.
The answer
to which lure to use to fish redfish is simple. Just ask yourself what lure
most closely resembles the food Redfish are currently feeding on in your area?
What is available to them?
But why don’t you do like me and like my dear friend Graeme Pullen
So if you want to make your own fishing lures this book will help you click here.
The best tide?
The million dollar question in redfishing has always been: which is better, high or low tide? Many redfish pros tend to favor low tides with two exceptions: the extreme highs, which put reds in a tailing frenzy and situations where high tides are needed to access a shallow area.
Redfish don’t necessarily feed better on outgoing tides. Lower water simply positions them better for anglers to catch them.
Other FLW Redfish Series pros like Geoff Page of Venice, Fla., and Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville find that falling tides congregate fish and make them easier to catch. Alderman also favors outgoing water in South Carolina. The Watts brothers prefer something a little different, however.
Redfish don’t necessarily feed better on outgoing tides. Lower water simply positions them better for anglers to catch them.
Other FLW Redfish Series pros like Geoff Page of Venice, Fla., and Scott Guthrie of Jacksonville find that falling tides congregate fish and make them easier to catch. Alderman also favors outgoing water in South Carolina. The Watts brothers prefer something a little different, however.
In terms of determining what impact tides have on a particular area, we like the first incoming tide after a dead low,” Bryan Watts said. A dead low is like a reset button. When the water starts to return, most reds that migrate with the tide are going to be eager to get back to their high-water spots, and you can see the migration routes they use as they begin to push back into the creeks or back up on the flats.
So my friend thank you for reading my article, and sorry because i can't continue written.
