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| June |
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| Summer
Redfish Roundup |
| Summer
is approaching and the winds continue to taper off with the
water temperatures rising. These ingredients are a great recipe
for chasing the spot tailed species called redfish. These
fish can be caught anywhere from the Carolinas down and around
the Gulf of Mexico all the way through Texas. Redfish are
technically a Red Drum but is known by many names depending
on which part of the southeastern US you are fishing. Some
of the nicknames for red drum include spot tails, red bass,
channel bass, drum, reds or the most popular “redfish”.
No matter what they’re called or where you catch them
one thing is always the same, the fight! Redfish are known
for there strength, stamina and unwillingness to give up without
a struggle. Ranging in size from less than a pound all the
way to the world record 94 lbs, redfish average 8-12 lbs in
most areas. With the recent net bans, the populations are
rising and average sizes are increasing. These attributes
are what make redfish one of the most popular of all saltwater
game fish.
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There
are not many secrets to locating and catching redfish. They
can be found on the shallow flats in the Florida Keys, around
oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and large schools of breeders
are often seen offshore where they go to spawn. The most popular
question I receive is, “What’s the best way to
catch redfish?” There really is no right answer to this
question that will apply to all situations. Reds will eat
live bait, dead bait, artificial baits as well as flies. For
the purpose of this article, I will concentrate on fishing
in Northern Florida Bay and Flamingo. But, these techniques
apply to any areas where redfish are found in shallow water
ranging from less than a foot up to 6-8 feet.
My favorite
way to catch reds is by sight casting to them on the flats.
On the falling tide, redfish will tend to move out away from
shorelines and into potholes that slightly deeper than the
surrounding waters. As the tide rises the redfish will begin
moving out of the potholes and cruise around of the flats
feeding on the various bait being brought in by the rising
water. I like to work slowly along a flat casting to all the
potholes while searching for wakes from moving fish as well
as tails above the water and puffs of mud created by them
foraging on the bottom for crustaceans.
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Also,
don’t let a stingray pass by without a cast just behind
the ray’s back. As stingrays move along, they stir up
the bottom creating a feeding frenzy for any fish following
in their path. In these shallow water situations, I prefer
using artificial baits since they are more resilient to repetitive
casting. In areas where the grass is too thick for exposed
hooks, I use a Berkley 5” Jerk Shad rigged weedless
on a worm hook with a small bullet weight just above the bait.
This rig will cast a mile with 10lb braid and will not be
fouled by the surrounding grass. Another new innovation and
great baits are the Berkley Gulp shrimp and crabs. This new
formula by Berkley is water based which allows the baits to
release 400 times more scent than other soft plastics. In
the deeper areas, use a 1/8 oz to ¼ oz Hank Brown HookUp
Lure to get the bait down to the bottom. If the redfish seem
to have lock-jaw and won’t eat artificial baits, change
over to live or dead bait. Crustaceans make up the majority
of the diet for reds so use a shrimp or blue crab to coax
these fish into eating. Larger, mature redfish also forage
on finfish such as mullet, pinfish and pilchards as well as
crustaceans. Like most game fish, redfish are found in areas
with an abundance of bait. This could be flats with schools
of mullet as well as oyster bars that are a sanctuary for
crustaceans. No matter where you chase redfish just remember
to follow the local regulations and do you best to return
these fish back to the water unharmed. |
Offshore
Report
Offshore fishing
has taken a turn for the better. Finally the Mahi are showing
up. High winds have been knocking us around out in the blue
water. The results however have put some color in the fish
box. Schoolie sized dolphin in the 3 to 5 pound range with
an occasional 8 to 12 pounder mixed in has been normal.
These fish have been scattered in varying depths of the
upper keys. Not many schools yet, just traveling handfuls
of fish. There has been a few big Dolphin caught recently
too. The bigger fish have been tipping the scales in the
50-60 pound range. That’s good news for all those
tournament anglers out there. Also, on the offshore scene
there has been a few yellowfin tuna being caught. These
bigger tuna have fallen prey to rigged ballyhoo’s
trailed by a colorful Frenzie lure. Only a few wahoo have
been caught recently since their population has dwindled
due to their annual migration. The billfish are showing
up out in the Gulf Stream as well. The occasional blue marlin
has really surprised some dolphin fisherman so far this
summer as well as quite a few late season sailfish. Expect
more to come as temperatures heat up. For the evening fisherman
calmer sea conditions will provide some great swordfish
action. Good reports of larger swords have been announced
and that will only get better too. Catch’ em up!
You can contact Capt. George Clark Sr. or Capt. George Clark
Jr. at www.rodeocharters.com
or (305)522-5530 and (300)852-3829.
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Til’
next time, Tight Lines and Light Winds…….
Captain
Lain
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