How To Target Redfish
Redfish are a great game fish and one of the most commonly targeted by inshore anglers, from North Carolina all the way to Texas redfish can be found in shallow water. With North East Florida having some of the best estuaries to target redfish, I’m going to talk about areas to look for them as well as tips and tricks to catch them.
A perfect winter morning with low tides and a big happy school of redfish.
Redfish Habitat and Habits
Redfish can be found in all different water depth from inches out to deep water wrecks in the ocean, but were going to talk about the areas that I typically target redfish which is usually from a few inches to about 4’ of water. In North East Florida these fish’s habitat is mainly made up of mud and oyster flats, tidal creeks and spartina grass flats. Lets pretend we have a high falling tide, with that tide I am first going to look for reds hanging around the edges of the flats where the spartina grass meets the mud, as well as on top of oyster bars especially in the winter time when the darker color of the oyster heats the water quicker. As the tide falls and things are getting a little shallower, the fish will start moving off the tops of the bars and away from the grass and hold around the bases of the oyster bars where they can still feed and feel safe from predators like dolphins and birds. With the tide still dropping we are now at dead low tide and all of the fish have moved away from the grass and the oyster bars, and have most likely followed small troughs or depressions through the flat to an area that has a little more depth than the rest of the flat. Redfish are very structure dependent fish and although it may not seem like it all the time, they are usually holding in a specific spot for a reason, small troughs, depressions, and bowls in a flat are like major highways to a redfish.
A fishy looking oyster flat in St.Augustine.
Flood tide redfish.
Whenever I look at a new flat to fish I always pole that flat thoroughly and look for any edges that have a slight drop, even if its a inch or two, to us that may not seem substantial but to a 25” redfish it is. Redfish are creatures of habit so most of the time where you find them one day they’ll be there the next day on the same water level so take note of that, tide and timing are the most important factor in being a successful angler in North East Florida, with that being said if you find a school of redfish in a spot at high tide they probably won’t be there on low water, most of the time they will shift to an area of the flat with deeper water. Tidal creeks are very similar on high water redfish will hold to oyster bars and on low water shift and stage up in deep holes in bends caused by the flow of water. Now let’s talk about something that is very special to North East Florida, flood tides! Flood tides happen when the water gets very high and floods the spartina grass flats. When this happens redfish will stage up in small tidal creeks and when the water gets high enough, rush up on the flats to feed on small crabs, flood tides are very unique way to target redfish and can be very productive as well.
A spartina flat in St. Augustine.
Tackle and Timing
Redfish forage for a wide variety of things to feed on, mullet, mud minnows, crabs, shrimp and many other things. Again lets start out on a high out going tide, in this situation when the oyster bars are covered up and I have low light, conditions I love tying on a topwater plug and making long cast over submerged oyster bars, this can be very productive and produce some explosive bites from redfish. If I am going to fish with bait my second favorite option is a popping cork, I will tie on a piece of florocarbon leader that is just short enough so my bait doesn’t hang on the oyster when it drifts over them, and half way up that leader I will pinch on a split shot to keep my bait from swimming to the surface, an the end of that leader I like a 2/0 circle hook. When I fish this setup I like to position my skiff to make cast up wind and away from the boat at about 45 degrees and allow my cork to drift over multiple oyster bars and maximizing my chances of getting a bite. Last but not least Texas rigged paddle tails and jerk baits can be a deadly choice for a high tide redfish bite, natural colors like olives, browns, and grays are some of my favorite colors, but white, chartreuse, and flashy colors can trigger a bite also.
My angler caught this redfish on a Texas rigged paddle tail being swam over an oyster bar at high tide.
The tide has fallen and we are now fishing mid tide, topwater plugs can still be a great option for this portion of this tide as well. For this portion of the tide if I am fishing bait I will choose cut mullet, cut blue crab, or live mud minnows, I will fish about two and a half feet of fluorocarbon leader and a 3/0 circle hook with a number 5 split shot to hold bottom. Positioning my skiff I will try to stake off with the wind at my back in a spot that gives my anglers the most options to fish without getting to close to the fish, targeting the edges of oyster bars, troughs and bowls in a flat with this rig can produce lots of redfish. With the water rushing out from the backs of the tidal creeks this can also be a great place to look for redfish, in the winter months I really like poling shallow creeks with clean water looking for groups of fish moving out with the water, this can make for great sight fishing opportunities for my anglers! Creeks holes on a mid outgoing tide can also be a great place to find redfish staging and feeding, when I fish creek holes I typically like to fish a 1/4oz jighead with either a mud minnow or a shrimp, with that setup I like to slowly drag the bottom covering ground and waiting for a thump!
Geoff with a redfish he sight fished with a fly rod on dead low tide in St. Augustine.
Now we reach the bottom of the tide, the oyster bars are completely out of the water and the mud banks are exposed, my favorite part of the tide! The fish have used the troughs to get to the deeper areas of the flats as I mentioned before, this is when you really want to concentrate on those areas with slightly more water than the rest of the flat, like little interstate systems that run through the flats this is where the fish will be holding and traveling. If the water is dirty this is a great time to use those faster moving search baits like jerk baits and paddle tails being reeled a good pace. Moving on to the creeks, creek holes are a great place to concentrate on, on low water because that’s exactly what the fish do, like fish in a barrel, creek holes are just deep spots or troughs that fish will flock to when the rest of the creek is very shallow. Again a 1/4oz jighead with a shrimp or mud minnow is a great option for this scenario, or artificial lures like gulp shrimp or gulp curly tails can be a great choice, and deadly for flounder as well, but ill talk about that in another report.
A solid redfish we caught in a tiny tidal creek.
The fishing is great in Palm Coast and St. Augustine this winter so give us a call and get in on the catching!
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