# What’s the secret to catching redfish



## Slb9981

So I’ve had a boat for about two years. Fished with my dad all my life. He’s more of a trout guy than reds. Since being on my own I’ve learned a lot about how to run it and where to go. I just can’t seem to get a handle on how to redfish. I happen upon them on occasion but to specifically target them and find them isn’t clicking for me. 

Two months ago I got the Florida marine tracks to try and get in the skinny water a little more and it is definitely helping me find the creeks and avoid the rocks and such. Boat is a sea pro 228. Fishing out of Steinhatchee on the west coast of Florida. 

My question is what are things I’m missing. I’m trying to fish the tides and focus on the incoming tide and fishing around hard bottom or oyster bars or the grass edges. Using primarily slayer paddletails with an occasional mirrolure. 

Teach me about these fish please. What are they using at different times of the year? How does the tide effect them. Should I be looking for them or blindly casting into an area based on the bottom or holes or such? Where are they on low tides? Any information is appreciated.


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## Smackdaddy53

Redfish are caught easiest by sight casting versus blind.


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## Slb9981

I have a trolling motor should I just go around the edges on higher tides until I see them?

Tried that yesterday and didn’t catch any. But I was in a new area. Water was clear and it was calm so I wanted to see that area. Figured I’d happen upon them tho.


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## Smackdaddy53

Finding them is just the beginning. There is no instant gratification when it comes to fishing. Take your time and learn the areas you want to fish and learn the species. The best way is to spend as much time on the water as possible and experience and learn first hand. You can read all day but in the end you actually experiencing it will teach you the most. 
Give areas a little time and go slow. You need good polarized sunglasses or you won’t see them until you’re too close. Use a small lure or fly, not a big topwater or 6” plastic. Stick with 2-3” lures and smaller flies. Clear water use natural colors, dirty go with white, chartreuse or pink.


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## mro

First I'd double check to see that my gear is "right" for the fish I'm targeting. On this site there are numerous posts for rods/reels etc. but more important is the line and leaders, then the offering to entice the bite.
Personally I almost never go out with just one rod. Depending on what I'm targeting I might have one set up with a larger/smaller fly and another with a top water offering.
(some might think I'm a die hard fly guy and they'd be right  )

But on occasion I do take others fishing and most people gauge there success or failure on how many fish they catch. 
If I were catching challenged I'd have another rod in the boat set up for live bait. While nothing is guarantied bait can work even in high pressure fished areas.


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## Slb9981

I probably spent too much on gear, maybe that’s why I’m divorced but that’s a separate discussion. Lol

I fish primarily with 3000 series spinning rigs coupled with a 7 or 7’-6” rod. Favorite combo currently is a bulls bay 7-6” sniper rod and 3000 series sustain. Use 12-15 lb braid with a 20lb flouro leader. Generally use a 1/8 or 1/16 ounce jig head as well with paddletails. 

Never tried fly fishing and this isn’t a boat to really pole around. I have two boys 7 and 10 that love to be pulled on the tube in the summer so I tried to get something that’s the best of both worlds.


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## mro

Slb9981 said:


> two boys 7 and 10


live shrimp or a green back under a bobber.... oh ya!


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## lemaymiami

Make a point of hooking up with someone local that does a lot of red fishing in the area you want to learn.
If necessary join a local fishing club or even split a charter with a friend...

You’ll learn more in a single day with someone that knows what they’re doing than you will in a year on your own...


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## prinjm6

Target the sand spots (pot holes) on the grass flats where you have clean water and bait present. Blind casting will catch you more fish, in order to locate fish I tend to use search baits that cover a lot of water quickly. Topwater, gold spoon or white , inline spinnerbaits etc.all work well to cover water in search of fish. Once you hone in on areas fish are holding you can use more subtle presentations, weighted weedless hooks with whatever soft plastic. 

Booking a local guide explaining what you're looking to get out of the trips will save you a lot of time trying to figure it out on you're own. Capt. John Lannon of 352 inshore would be a good one to book.


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## Ben

Weedless gold spoon and cover some ground around the creek mouths, islands, and oyster beds. While doing that have the kids working a pin or shrimp under a popping cork.


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## karstopo

Here, it's hard not to find redfish around oyster reefs, although, they might all or mostly be smallish at any given reef. In my experience, fishing oyster bars is about finding the right edges and creases, the fish aren't usually just randomly distributed on the shell. Next step is to find a way to present something without constantly hanging up in the shell. It helps a ton if you can pick out the places the shell is heavy and absent or almost absent. Suspending something like DOA or gulp under a cork might be the easiest way to handle the shell. If I can't see the shell very well, working a walk the dog top water over the shell has been productive in the past. That's kind of an art in itself and not just retrieve at a steady rate and hope for the best.

If I can pick out the edges or have prior knowledge of the reef, I like bringing paddle tails or flies over the edges and let them fall, it just takes some pretty precise casting and some practice to get the presentation and speed right. Lighter weight jig heads are often the best choice for shallower shell. Flies can be even better. If you can find a reef fringed by a little deeper and moving water, those can be terrific for producing fish, especially in low water like what happens in the winter. I've been fishing that type of reef structure for years in the winter and there will even be some sight casting opportunities along the edges as redfish pop up chasing something to eat. 

Nothing about it is blind, though. It's all intentional cast to targets, either fish, fish/bait sign or specific parts of the structure. The only thing that might be blind is throwing a big topwater over the top of the shell, but even then that works better knowing where the dips and creases in the shell are.


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## Slb9981

Thanks guys. A lot of useful information I appreciate it.


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## anytide

Sit down
Sit still
Cut ladyfish on the edge of shell, oyster beds on the falling tide.

Thank me later.


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## Big Fish

Steinhatchee is one of my favorite places to catch reds. Pepperfish would be be a great place to start. Start looking in around 2 feet of water and less anywhere with a lot of rocks. Try throwing some weedless 1/2oz to 3/4oz johnson sprite spoons and cast as far as you can. You can really get into some nice schools of reds in steinhatchee. Start marking waypoints on your gps whenever you see reds or catch some and you will begin to see a pattern. The creeks and bank can hold reds but I have always done best in shallow, open water with lots of rocks. Being in a large boat your strength will be blind casting vs sight fishing as your larger displacement will make the redfish much more wary as you get near them. Good luck.


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## Big Fish

anytide said:


> Sit down
> Sit still
> Cut ladyfish on the edge of shell, oyster beds on the falling tide.
> 
> Thank me later.


This guy is definitely steering you in the right direction. Add cut blue crab to the list as well. Just throw these on a 1/4oz jighead straight to braid and winch them in.


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## LowHydrogen

I'll add to what @anytide said and say, find a gap between a couple oyster or sand bars on falling tide with moving water, throw live shrimp under a popping cork. You'll catch fish, probably a lot, but as others have said learning your area and figuring out patterns is the more rewarding part for most folks.

Good luck.


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## lemaymiami

Yesterday while fishing a bit of mangrove shoreline down here in paradise (the gulf coast of the Everglades near the Shark river...) I had a father and son working lures on light spinning gear... Both were tossing 1/8oz lead heads with Gulp tails - Dad was scoring reds and small snook but the eleven year old was struggling so I made a change... After quickly going to a slightly heavier rod with a 1/4oz head I set up a weighted popping cork very carefully measured so that the lure was just off the bottom then had the young man out there working that cork... You guessed it he caught twice as many reds as his Dad... 

All of this was in two to three feet of water with lots of old branches and some stumps from a jungle shoreline out to where I was holding station with the spot lock set on my troller....

Be a hero... take a kid fishing!


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## jay.bush1434

anytide said:


> Sit down
> Sit still
> Cut ladyfish on the edge of shell, oyster beds on the falling tide.
> 
> Thank me later.


This is absolutely my least favorite way to fish. As a matter of fact, if that's the fishing I was going to have to do, I probably wouldn't go fishing. Of course I only fly fish so it's not like I'm catching a lot of fish anyway . That being said, if you had to catch a redfish, there is probably no better way to catch one than that...


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## lemaymiami

Here's a trick that's worked well for me over the years... I try as much as possible to only fish cut bait at spots where we're also able to toss lures (river or creek mouths, corners of islands where there's a noticeable current). While my anglers are working lures (or flies occasionally) and having success at a spot I'll add a cutbait or two nearby (and out of the way of the lure rods) with the rods simply left in a rodholder... Every now and then the bait rod simply bends over and screams... My angler hands his (or her) lure rod to me as they move to where the action is...

Never know what will show up on the end of a fresh chunk of ladyfish....


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## State fish rob

in the nc sounds , chunk of shrimp on a lead head , fish it like a purple worm. Shoreline .Rarely fails , flounder can be agreeable too. Keep your bait on the bottom, you can get fancy later. Good nose ,bad eye sight little ones aren’t real smart. Ive caught them on shrimp shells and heads in a pinch. Stink it up Good luck.


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## karstopo

Problem fishing with cut/dead bait is that you might get some non-target fish like hardhead, gafftopsail, stingrays or sharks, depending on where you might be fishing. Fishing with artificial baits, flies and even live bait tends to cut down on the fish you may not want. 

Long time ago, we used to stake out on shallow reefs in the bay and put out several rods with live mud minnows. Set them in the rod holders and wait, the wait wasn’t very long. 

Around the inlets here, normally called passes or mouths locally, bigger redfish congregate and cut mullet and menhaden soaked along the bars is deadly on the redfish, especially if the water gets muddy. Sometimes, sharks move in and crowd out the reds. 3-6 feet of water seems to be about right to get some good action, it doesn’t have to be so deep as people might think.


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## No Bait / Lures Only

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Finding them is just the beginning. There is no instant gratification when it comes to fishing. Take your time and learn the areas you want to fish and learn the species. The best way is to spend as much time on the water as possible and experience and learn first hand. You can read all day but in the end you actually experiencing it will teach you the most.
> Give areas a little time and go slow. You need good polarized sunglasses or you won’t see them until you’re too close. Use a small lure or fly, not a big topwater or 6” plastic. Stick with 2-3” lures and smaller flies. Clear water use natural colors, dirty go with white, chartreuse or pink.


1/2oz. Gold spoons n zara spook jr


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## TwitchAO

I have pondered this for the few years that I have been fishing in sw fl (fly). Come to the conclusion the further north and west you go the easier it gets. Thats my secret lol.


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## karstopo

TwitchAO said:


> I have pondered this for the few years that I have been fishing in sw fl (fly). Come to the conclusion the further north and west you go the easier it gets. Thats my secret lol.


Why is that? Less pressure, better structure, better water, just more fish? Curious what makes the difference.


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## TwitchAO

Probably all of that but I'm no expert on redfish. Usually don't target them when I'm in Fl. but I recently got to fish La. and the red fishing in Fl doesn't even compare to the fishing out there.


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## lemaymiami

The truth is.... our redfishing is pitiful compared to Louisiana - but other than trout - that's all they have...


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## Ice Cream Man

Can't catch Reds if they aren't there. Add a cooler or platform to the front of your boat.
That extra height will make the difference in finding them. Poling platform is also key in finding them.

But here's the but (there is always a but). Time of year & technique changes with the seasons. Topwater is a great search lure, but no now in the winter months. Gold spoon are great but not when water temp are cold, can't work them slow enough. Gulp / Zman on a jig head is a better option now here in NC.
Sometimes just dead sticking is the ideal technique.

Fishing pressure will determine what you throw. right now at a communal fishing docks everyone feeding them Shrimp, so give them Shrimp.
While on the flats that have not been pressured soft scented plastic are the ticket......ICM


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## Ice Cream Man

Should have mentioned knowing what to look for is also key. 
Right now, here in NC in the winter months with gin clear water look under, around docks for bait, Mullets are a good sign that Reds, Black Drum & Trout are near. Look for mudding ( mud clouds ) & pushes ( large wakes ) on the flats.
Hope this helps ......ICM


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## Bryson Turner

Find redfish


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## karstopo

Redfish here come back to the same reefs year after year in the winter and which particular reef is going off is dependent on the water levels. Since early in January, I’ve fished the exact same reef three times in medium water levels that puts about 18” of water over the mud and shell with several 16-27” redfish coming to hand each outing. Bait sign like finger mullet flipping is a sure indicator of predators presence. 

A variety of baitfish or shrimp imitations, lures or flies, will work. Fish are typically pretty concentrated so that means few casts between getting eats. Another kayak fisherman fishing the same exact structure used DOA under corks has the same results as my redfish crack or baitfish fly patterns produce. 

Other reefs produce well in low water, but the reefs all have deeper water close by. Don’t get a lot of high water in the winter as a rule. 

Winter is the easiest season here to get on concentrations of redfish and not have to cover much water.


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## finbully

In all seriousness, hire a guide with the idea that you want to learn. This will greatly decrease your learning curve with a competent guide. Capt Bob on here taught me more in a handful of days than I could have learned in many months or years than I would have on my own. The $ you spend on a good guide will pay off forever!


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## jimsmicro

The guide you should hire is Tommy Thompson. The dude literally wrote the book on Steinhatchee. A lot of the advice in here is seriously specific and regional. If you go fishing docks in Steinhatchee for reds I doubt you will be particularly successful. Other than hiring a guide to figure out the basics, there is no secret formula. The guys who are especially successful at this game spend more time on the water than most people do. There's no substitute for that.


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## Slb9981

Is it truly very dependent about knowing the area? So learning at one location will differ quite a bit from the other? Steinhatchee compared to crystalriver?


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## DBStoots

karstopo said:


> Why is that? Less pressure, better structure, better water, just more fish? Curious what makes the difference.


It's because the red fish in LA have never been caught before! So many fishermen here catch and release instead of catch and eat!


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## Drifter

TwitchAO said:


> Probably all of that but I'm no expert on redfish. Usually don't target them when I'm in Fl. but I recently got to fish La. and the red fishing in Fl doesn't even compare to the fishing out there.


I definitely noticed the trend, I thought it was more because of average water temps maybe?


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## Drifter

Slb9981 said:


> I have a trolling motor should I just go around the edges on higher tides until I see them?
> 
> Tried that yesterday and didn’t catch any. But I was in a new area. Water was clear and it was calm so I wanted to see that area. Figured I’d happen upon them tho.


A couple things I have learned is, real clear water can make things harder with reds, its alot easier to catch them if the water if off color. In real clear water I can hardly hit them with a fly without them spooking. I think I find the most tailers on shallow flats at just before low tide to halfway up the incoming. 

That was a bit north of you but.. I guess I would also say it can be really different from location to location. I went in the everglades with @lemaymiami and it was a completely different game.


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## lemaymiami

As noted by others most fishing is a very local affair... What works where I am in the 'glades might not work at all in other places. Matter of fact I'd be lost in other places... Even out of Flamingo the fishing is very, very different inside compared to outside, down in Florida Bay (completely different bottom areas), heavy vegetation in Florida Bay - almost none in the interior or out along the Gulf coast from Cape Sable all the way north to Lostman's River.... Past Lostman's up towards Naples it's different than either Florida Bay or the interior out of Flamingo... 

A quick for instance - out in Florida Bay with all those miles and miles of very soft bottomed turtle grass covered flats.... redfish tail every day when the tide is low enough... In the interior you almost never see a redfish tailing at all. On the outside with a good shallow drafting skiff a great strategy is to look where birds are wading and follow them up into areas that the rising tide is pushing up onto... In the interior the only birds I ever look for are ones wading along shorelines (or waiting patiently at creek mouths on a falling tide..). 

Drifters absolutely right about redfish up shallow in winter time in the interior when the colder water temps have dramatically cleared up the water... Find reds in those circumstances - and they're spookier than bonefish next to Islamorada... Add some wind or other factor that makes the fish a bit tougher to see - and they'll strike anything that moves near them....

One of the charms of the 'glades though is that there's so may different things to do. On a day when the reds aren't co-operating you can find spots with so many speckled trout that you're disappointed if it's not a bite on every cast.. Some days it seems like there's small snook around every downed tree or branch in the water... Other days you'll never find one unless you're fishing points with lots of moving water... and so it goes.

On Tuesday we caught and released a 90lb tarpon in Whitewater Bay - then a 30 lb cobia and a 10lb snook -at the exact same spot out on the coast. When we hooked up the cobia we actually had a double header - but the second fish couldn't have been a cobia at all since we could never even slow it down or raise it with the heaviest rod on my skiff. After almost 30 minutes on the rod it finally broke off (definitely in the "unstoppable" category...). Just nothing like the 'glades...


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## MariettaMike

All redfish prefer clear water between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit with sufficient dissolved oxygen as evidenced by other visible signs of life like rays, pin fish, puffer fish, minnows, 
They eat a lot and need an abundance of food available in any combination of shrimp, crabs, snails, minnows, mullet. The food source is typically driven by structure in the form of grass beds, oyster beds, mangrove roots, rocks, docks, and shorelines. Places where current concentrates food near places they can hide are best. They also need shelter in the form of deep water for hiding from humans, and shallow water to run from porpoises. They typically rest in calm areas, but are harder to catch when laid up.

Redfish are NOT picky eaters. If a redfish doesn't eat its probably because its still scared from a boat buzzing it, or other form of human pressure including sore lips and hurt feelings from being recently caught.

Spoons, jigs on a knocker cork, clouser minnows, crab flies, jerk shad, spinner baits, chatterbaits, skitter walks, will all catch redfish when properly presented.

I've never been to Steinhatchee, but I've heard its got everything from turtle grass to oyster beds. You will probably need to fish away from those FMT tracks. I know they have been busy adding tracks that go practically everywhere, and that has created a whole new breed of joy riders just running the tracks without much stopping to fish. The old Hot Spots printed maps are good start for historically good areas.

https://www.amazon.com/Panacea-Apal...oods&sprefix=steinhatchee,sporting,137&sr=1-1

Good luck.


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## Smackdaddy53

I’ve sight cast a lot of redfish in the dead of winter when the water temperature is low 50s, they aren’t as picky here.


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## SomaliPirate

jimsmicro said:


> The guide you should hire is Tommy Thompson. The dude literally wrote the book on Steinhatchee. A lot of the advice in here is seriously specific and regional. If you go fishing docks in Steinhatchee for reds I doubt you will be particularly successful. Other than hiring a guide to figure out the basics, there is no secret formula. The guys who are especially successful at this game spend more time on the water than most people do. There's no substitute for that.


I don't think he's still taking clients, is he?


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## jimsmicro

You might be right. I know he still fishes, but I'm not sure if he does so as a business anymore.


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## GatorTrout

Tower, trolling motor, and 7’6” med fast rods. 

4/0 weighted heavy wire swim bait hook and Hogie Supershad in all bone. 

cruise around points that oysters have struck. That’s where you will find the reds. 
At least here in the Chesapeake Bay system.


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