Red drum are easily had during the summer. They can be caught in near-freshwater and offshore in very salty water. Because they slow down when they get too hot, they tend to eat first thing in the morning. After that they become inactive and rest. Keep in mind that a cloudy day can keep water temps down a degree or two and that makes all the difference for redfish. They will keep feeding so long as it is not too hot. Thunderstorms can knock down water temps with their blasts of cool air and shade.
The best redfishing of the year is found in the fall time. It should come as no surprise that redfish championships are held during the fall in October. In the fall redfish know winter is coming. They are fattening up on the shrimp leaving the marsh , as well as pogies, mullet, crab and pretty much anything they can fit in their mouth. Winter time is still a great time to hammer down on redfish, but only if you are willing to brave the cold.
As cold fronts blast across Louisiana they will push water out of the marsh , draining shallow water ponds that redfish like to feed in. If the water is so low it is not touching grass on the shoreline, then chances are reds are in the middle of the pond. The lower the water gets , the better the redfishing will be. More of them will be packed into less water. So if the water is really low you can expect redfish to drain into main arteries of water, like big bayous. When this happens, it can be referred to as a "redfish jubilee" because the action is so good.
In spring the water temperature warms up and water levels rise as winds start to blow more from the south and east than the north and west. Water clarity improves and aquatic grass begins growing back. Redfish are eating just like they do the rest of the year.
Spring is a good time to catch reds and when most redfish tournament trails begin. Realize this and you will smash redfish on your fishing trips. Ignore it and you will come back to the dock without much to show.
These are terms used interchangeably and sometimes incorrectly through out the inshore fishing world. You should use them as defined by the In-Fisherman Critical Concepts series of books great reads by the way :. Structure is the shape of a body of water and the bottom of it. A pond is structured much differently from that of a bayou.
Cover refers to any object on structure such as grass mats, fallen trees, natural gas platforms, etc. Also, unlike speckled trout, redfish readily swim in shallow water. They are caught in water so shallow their backs are sticking out! Anglers tend to be most successful targeting redfish in two to four feet of water , so there is plenty of room to float a boat! Anyways, knowing that redfish like shallow water and cover means they are going to be pretty predictable.
This makes them easy to locate, close with and catch! Note: These doodles are here to help you understand the concept of structure, and what it really means in reference to how bodies of water are shaped three-dimensionally. A sloped shoreline may have redfish yards off of it, instead of right against the shoreline, whereas a sharp drop-off shoreline will have reds right against the shoreline.
Redfish love to patrol cover. Sometimes you can see them in the water, like in this picture below. You may encounter these fish at any time of day or night, but my best luck has been mid-morning and late-afternoon. The moon is definitely a factor. The big schools are usually in ft of water on drop-offs from the flats.
The Indian River Lagoon schools are on the eastern shoreline from the very north end of the river through There are hotspots, but this year all of my fish have been a few miles away of where I got them last year. Look for a bunch of tails, or a bunch of slow moving wakes. Bait getting crashed is usually the result of tarpon or seatrout. The redfish tails have a very slight fork, unlike the broom shaped tails of the black drum. When you seem them, cast in front of the school.
Position your boat parallel to shore to cast in tight for the reds and flip out into more open water for the trout. Since redfish favor the most productive areas when feeding on bay flats, look for herons and other stalking birds to give away locations rich in the baitfish and crustaceans these fish love.
As with striped bass, larger red drum roam the surf just beyond the breakers. The biggest fish will also school in deeper holes and patrol channel edges throughout bays. Really big redfish can handle stiff currents and are often found feeding in inlets, harbor mouths and river mouths.
Redfish are especially fond of shallow flats bordering marshy areas, especially if these areas sport patches of eel grass or similar stringy weed growth. The best time of day to catch redfish in shallow water bays is early morning when the water is cooler and midday is best for redfish in deeper water like bridges, jetties, and wrecks to escape the hotter water inshore.
The tide plays a huge factor as high tide will push redfish into the shallows to feed in the rich flooded bays and into channels as tide is receding to feed before the water dries up forcing redfish into deeper water. There will always be exceptions to the pattern and some redfish do their own thing, but this is a good general pattern for most redfish. I know this is a bit random, but if you ever wanted to go on a guided or chartered fishing trip in freshwater or saltwater, you should check out Fishing Booker.
They are the leading database of certified and professional fishing guides at the guaranteed lowest prices. Click here to visit Fishing Booker and book your trip of a lifetime at very affordable prices. Water temperature is a critical factor in your success catching redfish.
Check out this complete guide to the best water temperatures to catch redfish I wrote. For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish Cape Hatteras , please check out this helpful article I wrote. Redfish will make daily migrations during the warmer months into the shallows to feed. When the air is cool in the early morning, redfish will head into the shallows to feed on shrimp, crabs, and juvenile baitfish. This occurs from dawn until mid-morning when the tide is cooperating on most days.
As the air temperature skyrockets by midday, redfish will back off the shallows and into deeper, cooler water. Not only is this water more comfortable to redfish but that is where the best food sources will be. The tide does play a big role in the daily movements of redfish, especially those in shallower water. We will cover the tides in great detail in the section but just know that high tides pushed redfish into the shallows and low tide pulls them out of the shallows.
For a complete breakdown of the best times to fish Port Aransas , please check out this helpful article I wrote. The changing tides play a big role in where redfish are and what times of day they are most active hunting. At high tide, redfish will flood into the shallows to hunt.
These areas were dried out just hours before and any crab or mollusk that remained was buried deep underground. Once the tide returned, these creatures all emerged from the sand and are moving about.
Furthermore, small fish will flood into these shallow areas. Redfish go in to gorge on the abundance of food items.
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