Redfishing 2024

bigtimfish reply :

For those of you out there that have never caught a redfish. If you ever get the chance to go try to catch some, GO! I am lucky enough to live on the upper Texas Gulf coast.Luckily I can drive for 5 minutes and launch in A very very good fishery called Sabine lake. So I have caught quite a few. In many ways it is like bass fishing. You can use a lot of the same baits. It is a good fight. The one way it differs from bass is there is no"oh I think I have a bite". A red will nail it and run hard. You better have your drag set right or it's gone along with your favorite lure. Give it a shot if possible, you won't be disappointed. These baits will get you by.Flukes,white or glow senkos,redfish magic spinners(single colorado blade/minnow body on jighead)gulp/powerbait shrimp,bone zara spooks,pop r's,mann's wake baits,cocaho minnows on jigheads,and stingray grubs, and silver or gold spoons. One techniqe I use around here is what we call " working the birds". Bring some binoculars find a bunch of seagulls diving in the water(they are eating baitfish), and throw that spoon past the birds. Let it sink for a few seconds, start your retrieve and hang on tight.

SirSnookalot reply :

We don't have a lot of redfish in my part of Florida but I have caught some and they are AWESOME.

I'm going to Tybee Island, GA next month and they are supposed to have some nice reds there.

vanquish reply :

I have never had the pleasure of catching redfish but I hear it's great fun and that they are very tasty.

Krzkev reply :

It has been quite a few years since I have caught redfish, but I do agree, they are great fighters and, yes they are tasty. The Florida slot limit is 18 to 27 inches. I remember catching them in the Sebastian Inlet like 4 feet long and like 25-30lbs. Those were really fun to catch.

RoLo reply :

I lived in Edgewater, Florida for several years, between Oak Hill & New Smyrna Bch.

When the new ramp in Oak Hill opened up (about 10 yrs ago),

I spent more time in fabled Mosquito Lagoon than I spent bass fishing.

We mostly targeted red drum (reds), spotted seatrout and gag grouper.

Roger

bigtimfish reply :

Quote

I lived in Edgewater, Florida for several years, between Oak Hill & New Smyrna Bch.

When the new ramp in Oak Hill opened up (about 10 yrs ago),

I spent more time in fabled Mosquito Lagoon than I spent bass fishing.

We mostly targeted red drum (reds), spotted seatrout and gag grouper.

Roger

Don't even get me started on the Specks(spotted sea trout)

Those are a blast to catch too. Very much in the same way as a red. Except not really off of the bottom, (IMO)they are more like suspended and topwater bass. Same baits work with them as well.Especially the silver spoons. My biggest so far is 8lbs.It looked like a freak.

SirSnookalot reply :

The redfish I've caught in south Florida have been by accident while fishing for snook. I'm kinda guessing redfishing is quite similar to snook fishing which is a lot like bass fishing.

What affect does the tide play in redfishing? Snook fishing is only about tide.

bigtimfish reply :

To me the tide depends on where I am fishing. In some spots it is always better on an incoming and high tide. But on the North end of Sabine Lake the outgoing tide is the best.

Jake. reply :

Redfish are my favorite saltwater fish to catch. They put up a great fight.

Catt reply :

Saltwater anglers are just waking up to the idea that bass lures work just fine for Specks & Reds. Bass anglers are just waking up to the idea that Speck & Red lures work just fine for Bass.

Bigtimfish you are on the west side of the Sabine & I'm on the east

You ever fish Calcasieu (Big) Lake?

We are killing both Speck & Reds with a ¼ oz lead head & a Norton's Sand Eel Jr. glow chartreuse and Corkys

RoLo reply :

Quote
Don't even get me started on the Specks(spotted sea trout)
Those are a blast to catch too. Very much in the same way as a red. Except not really off of the bottom, (IMO)they are more like suspended and topwater bass. Same baits work with them as well.Especially the silver spoons. My biggest so far is 8lbs.It looked like a freak.

An 8-lb trout is HUGE, you've got me beat by a pound. My best seatrout was 7-lbs even,

taken in Mosquito Lagoon (Cape Canaveral) on a jumbo shrimp. Just as you said though,

in May and June we'd fish the shoreline in 2-feet of water using Johnson spoons and MirrOlure Top Dogs.

Our main quarry however was always red drum, and in Mosquito Lagoon the reds are essentially landlocked,

but still reach weights approaching their seagoing counterparts. We boated countless redfish

between 20 and 28 lbs, but unless you broke the inlet, red drum over 30 were very few and very far between.

Roger

mrlitetackle reply :

reds are great!!!!!!!!!

recently ive caught the majority of mine on the Mirr-o-dine XL (suspending twitch bait)

red and white,

and the green top.

their very strong and bullish fighters,

......make hard, and strong runs.....

absolutely great!!!!

i fish the indian river (wade) in the titusville area here in FL......

and also make it out to mosquito lagoon about twice a month or so.....

goood times!!!!

mrlitetackle reply :

just agreeing with RoLo.....

an 8 lb trout is massive :o

i mainly run into numerous SUPER-DINKS when it come to seatrout.....

the largest ive caught was probably around 4 or 4.5 lbs.......(?????no scales in wade fishing??????)

tutle reply :

I lived in Titusville for a couple of years several years ago. I go down there 3 or 4 times a year still. My biggest red and snook were in Sebastion inlet but my PB trout was 31 inches and weighed 10 lbs. and I caught it with a skitterwalk off the dike road that goes to Peacocks Pocket by way of catfish creek and gator creek. I spent 15 days at the inlet last month(June). My next trip will be Thangksgiving week.That is a great time of year for bouncing flair jigs out of the inlet at night on an outgoing tide but I want to spend at least a couple of days wading some of my old hot spots around T'ville like the flats south of Kennedy point and and maybe around those little islands near where Banana Creek runs into the Indian River in the pocket.

bigtimfish reply :

My biggest was 8lbs. The biggest I have seen in person was 9lbs(father). But I have seen pictures of specks that break double digits.

mrlitetackle reply :

Quote
But I have seen pictures of specks that break double digits.

id love to see that in person,

ie. on the end of my lure ;D ;D ;D

Catt reply :

Louisiana state record is a 12.38-pound fish; Calcasieu Lake added three Top 10 fish

In Texas, the record is 33.75 inches (85.7 cm) and 13 pounds 9 ounces (about 6 kg).

The Sabine Lake record is a 30.5-inch fish that weighed 11.50 pounds. In May 2001, an Ohio woman fished with Jerry Norris of the Original Sabine Lake Guide Service in Port Arthur, Texas. Her catch included a 32-inch trout with a girth of 16 inches, a potential record.

central_fl_fishin reply :

I fish reds (almost twice monthly) from mosquito lagoon to sebastian. I find it alot like bass fishing except instead of worms I use plastic shads. Topwater rapalas like the skitters work good too. Had some luck on spinners. If you can find them while they are feeding in the morning of by tide you can catch them on almost anything, just like bass. Reds are much more tastier than bass though. (yes, I eat bass of the right size, hehe) ;D

I.rar reply :

is this a red?

brought it in on my ul rig in a lake in broward county. f7 floating rapala. broke the line as soon as it was over the net. one hell of a fight.

SirSnookalot reply :

To my knowledge there are no redfish in freshwater lakes in Broward county. No spot on tail but I understand not all reds have them.

bigtimfish reply :

Quote
is this a red?

brought it in on my ul rig in a lake in broward county. f7 floating rapala. broke the line as soon as it was over the net. one hell of a fight.

I.rar reply :

Quote
To my knowledge there are no redfish in freshwater lakes in Broward county. No spot on tail but I understand not all reds have them.

thats what i thought as well. i showed the pic to an old co-worker and thats what he told me. i have never cought one and it does look similar to the pics ive seen.

oh well..

Sam reply :

Nope, that is not a redfish.

Looks like some type of carp.

bigtimfish reply :

Bayoubassassassin a member on here used to have (maybe still does)a pic on his avatar or icon of a good red(a bull red)

I.rar reply :

Quote
Nope, that is not a redfish.
Looks like some type of carp.

thanks.

thats what i thought it was at first , but ive never seen one in person.

Stagerlee reply :

google image redfish.

NaturalAcoustics reply :

thats a bull red =)

Dock Master reply :

I caught two dink Redfish and 2 nice Flounder on a Beetle Spin.

You ever done something like that?

NaturalAcoustics reply :

I do actually =) when me and my freinds hit the water early enough ill pull out the lures never got a flounder though =/ dont seem to be very many this season havent caught one yet =/. Reds and trout however i catch a lot on beetle spins and gulp shrimp. Dead shrimp and cut bait is my choice though =)

CmacFL reply :

I have to go out and catch a redfish, I never have. I've got a lot of nice trout, but I hear redfish is ten times better to eat. I have to get one just to fight it though, worry about catching some to clean later! Mosquito Lagoon sounds like the place to go, might have to give it a try.

Olebiker reply :

Our bass club is fishing a tournament on the Apalachicola River out of Bay City this weekend. We have about as much chance of catching a good redfish as we do bass in these waters. I can't wait.

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