How to Catch a Redfish?

[Bofus]

Howdy folks-

I'm fairly new to the area and have been fishing the flats out of Saint Mark's pretty consistently since late April and have done fair with the trout. However, I have not caught nor seen a redfish. Are they not out on the grass in the flats??? sure doesn't seem like it. I have fished a little bit around the marsh and nothing there either . Can you please enlighten me on how to catch a redfish around those parts? Any help appreciated!

[FishWithChris]

Step 1: Set yourself up for success, hit the shorelines and bars early
Step 2: Throw some Choice baits out there
Step 3: Fish with Confidence
Step 4: ????????
Step 5: Profit!!

[onefishtwofish]

Never caught one on the grass flats. Think structure-bars, standing grass, rocks, docks, etc. They are tough in the mid-summer.

[Steve Stinson]

Fish the shoreline. Reds will sometimes be out on the flats where there are rock piles, but more often they are right along the sawgrass line. Topwater plugs, spoons and jigs will catch them. Once you find a spot where you get one or two, you can normally go back on about the same tide and find more there. The tide seems to matter more than the time of day based on my past experience.

Also, as the weather turns cooler this fall, they will move into the rivers and creeks.

Good Fishin' - Steve

[Bofus]

Thanks guys! Anyone else?

[One Keeper]

I was gonna comment on this topic. But no need to re-type what Stinson said. That purdy much sums it up. Great advice.

[DEMON]

In addition to the responses above. Spend your time in these areas wisely. Look for activity around the bars & grass lines. You are looking for bait gathered around the oyster bars, etc. I look for happy mullet that are jumping & feeding. Non-schooling reds seem to follow the mullet. I don't waste hours blind casting where there isn't activity. Spoons & jigs will catch just about any redfish that is feeding. The last technique is to anchor up at a creek mouth that has oyster bars & soak cut bait (mullet/ladyfish) on the bottom. I like moving water & happy mullet the best but have caught them @ dead high tide around the grass line as well. You have to spend time looking for reds. Some days they are there and some days they aren't. Unfortunately, at least for me, sometimes you use the prime part of the tide looking for reds & miss the trout bite. Sacrifice, sacrifice!

[big bend gyrene]

Favorite spots for reds are oyster bars on hard bottom offshore, offshore in this case being anywhere from 100 yards or so out to a mile or two. Makes the fish easier to target as they'll key on the structure / not be quite as dispersed hunting grass edges and river currents. That said, second favorite areas ARE against grass... still oyster bars on hard bottom, but bars running off the grass line at the mouths of feeder creeks.

Keep as much distance as possible from the spots you're fishing and approach them as if they're cradles holding babies you don't want to wake. I anchor off at my max casting distance with a good FULLY spooled reel (cast longer with less line friction catching reel lip) and if want to get closer just let a few more feet of anchor line out at a time. You can't be too stealthy / too quiet with your approach.

I like fan casting Johnson gold minnow spoons around the bars to see if I can quickly find any fish / any school if more than one's at home. If I have shrimp second favorite way to catch them is to cast a shrimp under a shallow rigged cajun thunder to the leading edge of the bar close enough for the current to catch it then let the current carry it parallel with the bar until it gets well behind the bar / has fully tempted any fish along and holding behind the bar.

[Redfin]

1. Locate oyster bars
2. Throw Gold Spoon
3. Repeat
4. Fry Catch