Fishing Lures That Catch Redfish

                                         All  Fish Are Released Unharmed........

                                                   A 35 Inch Bull Redfish

                       Kayak Redfish Caught on ultra light tackle by the Editor

  Redfish Lures - Weed less rubber jigs are great for catching redfish but you can catch redfish on top water, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, shallow divers or rubber worms and live baits including shiners, pinfish, shrimp and crabs. Sometimes a combination of these will work best to catch redfish. If your target fish is red fish then try some rubber baits on your next redfishing trip. There are a lot of rubber baits on the market with many offerings from all the major lure companies.  I 've had good success with rubber baits from many different lure companies. They come in many colors but the pink, red,  lime green and root beer are my favorite colors. Try both the straight stub tails instead of the curly tails, but both styles are very effective for redfish and trout. Use the strategies below when using rubber baits for redfish. Putting a rubber bait under a floating popping floater with a 24 inch mono 30 lb leader will usually do the job when red fish are back in the mangroves.

     Redfish Tackle:   Use a mono or fluoro leader in the 30 to 50 lb class and re-tie your lure often if you're catching any fish. This is the biggest single reason some fishermen don't catch the big ones or the big ones always gets away.  20 lb power pro as a main line.

               The new Torque Fishing Kayaks work great for hands free fishing

     Another very effective and my favorite technique is ultra light and fish a 1/8 ounce jig with 8 lb mono line and a 20 lb leader and a root beer  or buck tail jig.

       You will be surprised how far you can cast with this setup. This allows you to make long casts with a small quiet 1/4 oz jig head. This is ideal tackle when you are fishing the quite backwaters out of the wind where a quiet approach is necessary or when redfish are tailing. Tailing redfish are a lot of fun to cast to and will usually take your lure offering. I prefer a shorter rod in the 5 ' 6" range but most red fishermen like the longer 6 to 7 ft rods. I find I can cast underneath the mangroves better with a shorter rod and with lighter line casting distance is not an issue. Use this technique with a fishing kayak and you can't help but catch some reds.

                  Red Fish Techniques & Tips

     Redfish Techniques - Try soaking your rubber lures in coffee grounds for a few days prior to your fishing trip. This can also be effective for hard lures. Fish the mangroves and potholes - Throw your jig back under the overhanging mangroves on higher tides and skip the lure to the fish. The redfish can be a 100 ft or more back inside the mangroves on the high flooding tides. Redfish will move out of the mangrove roots at the first indication of an outgoing tide. So this is a good time to fish along the mangroves and the potholes out from the mangroves. The redfish will either be back inside the mangroves or on the flats surrounding the mangroves in the white or yellow potholes. These potholes are deeper than the surrounding grass flats and give the fish easy access to the mangrove roots on high tide. On cooler days the redfish will also be on the flats where the sunshine is warming the water rather than back inside the cooler mangroves. But you can count on the redfish being back in the cooler mangrove root systems on warmer days and summer flooding tides. Fish according to your conditions:   On warmer days look for the cooler locations with shade or wind to cool the water. On cooler days look for sunny locations out of the wind later in the day after the water has had time to warm up some. On bright days use a painted bait that will reduce the reflection the sun. On overcast days use painted colors like Green, Yellow, Red. When fishing muddy or stained waters use lures with more noise and flash. fishing clear water use quiet lures as the fish will be more alert to the surroundings. In shallow clear water it's important to make long cast into open potholes.

                                                       2011 Bull Redfish

                 Red fishing doesn't get much better than this on ultra light tackle!

 Gregory Spruill From Alabama With A Nice Redfish

  Red Fishing Tips - If you are throwing a lure back into the mangroves it's very important to get the fish out of the mangroves as soon as possible. When you get a strike get your rod up vertical and apply as much pressure as possible on your tackle. If the redfish is heading into the mangrove roots use your trolling motor to help move the fish out of the mangroves. If the redfish goes to your right parallel to the mangroves move your rod tip to your right parallel to the water. This will help pull the fish away from the roots and barnacles. If you move your rod to the left instead the line action on the fish will pull the fish back into the mangroves and you may lose the fish. If the fish goes to your left, move your rod tip low to the water and parallel to the water on the left and use your trolling motor to help pull the fish sway from the mangroves.

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                                             Fishing Lures That Catch Tarpon

                                       All our Fish Are Released Unharmed........

                    Lynn Beasley With His First Tarpon.  80 lbs And Full Of Fight

   Tarpon Lures - The number one tarpon fishing lure is probably the lead jig and circle hook with a rubber bait. This setup probably accounts for half the tarpon caught in Boca Grande Pass, Florida. Boca is one of the world's leading tarpon locations during May to June. The pass will be filled with anglers dropping down a weighted jig and  waiting for the "bump" of a big fish. Some of the biggest tarpon are taken by this method. Tarpon can also be caught on crank baits, spoons, top waters, flies, imitation crabs and assorted other rubber offerings. Some anglers even catch Tarpon by trolling lures of various depth.

    Tarpon Techniques -My favorite way to catch Tarpon is on a jig and lead sinker while the Tarpon are in the passes. The best pass is Boca Grande, Florida and the fish can be big - 200+lbs. Again you can tell where the tarpon are as there will be many boats drifting in the pass and trying to hook up with a monster. The fishing is straight forward as you only need to drop a weighted jig to the bottom and wait for a bite. It's not that simple though as there are things you must be aware of. First the fish only feed when they are on the bottom, not the surface. Although you may see thousand's of tarpon on the surface they will rarely bite. It's when the school goes to the bottom that they feed and are catchable on jigs. Many times there will be multiple hookups and you must be careful not to get to close to a hooked tarpon as he may jump into your boat with you. I have seen this on several occasions. Last year a hooked tarpon jumped into a boat full of green fishermen and it almost destroyed the boat jumping around. The folks in the boat jumped out of the boat into the pass where there were huge hammerheads and bull sharks feeding on the tarpon. A couple experienced fishing guides came over and jumped into the boat with the flopping tarpon and threw him overboard and rescued the men in the water.

                                            Fishing For Tarpon

     When fishing a lead jig on the bottom in the passes, you don't need to jerk you fishing rod to induce action on the jig. The action of the boat going up and down is enough to work the jig. The idea is to try to get out in front of the pack an drop your rig down for them to come to it. It does require a lot of moving around with the boat and you need to leave the motor running so you can get out of the way of others. Try to keep your lure as close to the bottom as possible. You need to be just off the bottom less than a foot so you won't get hung up on the rocks.  The tarpon will usually hit right off the bottom as well.

   If you get a strike you need to point your rod at the tarpon and reel as fast as you can until you can't crank any more. This drives the hook home. About this time the tarpon will probably be making a jump anyway. When the tarpon jumps out of the water you need to drop you rod tip down quickly. It's important to release the pressure on the line as the fish jumps, otherwise he will throw your lead jig. You can tell when the tarpon is about to jump as the line will start heading toward the surface at an angle. So be ready to drop your rod when the tarpon breaks the surface. If you are successful in the hookup and keeping the fish during the jumping, you will have to chase the tarpon with your boat. Get a comfortable seat up front with a belt rod holder so you can settle in and chase the tarpon for up to an hour or more. The hooked tarpon will go all around the pass until it tires out. Then you can bring him to the boat and release him. Be aware of the sharks in the water as you release the fish or the sharks will get him as he will be tired from the fight. Drift with a threadfin or cast to active tarpon with a pass crab. Target the tarpon with the white backs as they are the tarpon that have just arrived from offshore and are hungry. The dark backed tarpon are tarpon that have been in the pass for awhile and are probably not hungry. 

                  Tarpon Fishing Tackle & Tips

   There are several methods to successfully catch Tarpon including running the beaches ahead of the advancing school of tarpon and dropping cut bait such as catfish on the bottom in front of them. This is one common tactic used by the local tarpon fishing clubs. When a big tarpon grabs the bait you'll know it!

   Another successful method is to wait until the tarpon go through the passes and into the Pine Island Bay area. You can see them rolling throughout the bay. Now's a great time to catch them on live baits like shiners or lures that look like shiners or fiddler crabs. It's easy to tell where the school is as there will be several hundred boats sitting around waiting for them to surface again.

  Tarpon Tackle - Tarpon can be caught on heaver spinning gear as song as you are willing to start the boat and follow the fish until it's ready to bring along side and remove the hook. Most tarpon fishing is done with Penn 3.0 or 4.0 reels and short stout rods that allow the fish to be boated and released quickly. If a tarpon is fought for a long time it will become exhausted and not be able to escape the sharks swimming nearby waiting for a free meal. So try to land and release your tarpon as quickly as possible. Also you are not allowed to bring a tarpon into your boat unless you have a tarpon permit. You must release the fish while in the water.

  Tarpon Fishing Tips - If you are fishing with circle hooks and a lead jig you need to start cranking your reel as fast as you can when you feel the "bump" or strike. It can be very soft with a lead jig as they are scooping it off the sand bottom. Keep the line tight and the rod tip up high as look to see if the line is stretching toward the surface. If so this means the tarpon is getting ready to jump and you need to prepare to drop your rod tip as the fish jumps. This takes the resistance off the line and the big lead sinker and will help prevent the tarpon from throwing your hook. Most tarpon fishermen lose the fish on the first jump and call it a "hook up". The term has become so popular many fishermen refer to the number of hook ups they get each trip instead of tarpon boated. 

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                                                                                      TARPON

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                                            Fishing Lures That Catch Snook

                                           All our Fish Are Released Unharmed........

                                            Lures That Catch BIG Snook

            Lynn Beasley With A Pair Of Nice Snook Caught In Bonita Springs, Fl

Snook Lures - Snook will hit topwater, diving plugs, crankbaits and jigs. They also like soft baits.

   Snook Tackle - Light to medium spinner or bait casting tackle will work but if you get one headed for the mangrove roots and barnacles it will be difficult to stop.  I like to use heave spinning reels and rods. I use a 4000 series reels and medium heavy 7 ft rods loaded with 65 lb power pro line and a 50 to 80 lb mono leader. Fluoro will work in larger lines like 100 lb but does not handle the cuts and abrasions from the mangroves.

                  Big Snook Fishing Techniques & Tips

      Editor With A Freshwater Snook

   Snook Techniques - Snook live in saltwater and brackish water. This nice 34 inch snook was caught in a freshwater canal. I was fishing from the shore for largemouth bass when the Snook nailed the fishing lure. Snook are exhilarating to catch in the shallow waters of Southwest Florida. The winter of 2011 has not been a good year for the snook populations in southwest Florida so the fishing may not be as good this year as in the past. If you haven't hooked into a large snook you haven't been fishing yet. These are very powerful fish and will break off on most unprepared and inexperienced snook fishermen.  Snook will usually find an ambush point where there is a lot of current. The stronger the current the better the snook fishing.

                                          Fishing For Snook

    Another great Snook fishing time is at night around the dock lights. Snook seem to feed best at night during the late spring and early summer months. The rivers always offer some great snook fishing opportunities. The regulations on snook fishing are very strict so be sure to check the latest fishing regulations before fishing for snook.

   Snook Tips -  When getting a snook strike it's very important to turn the fish around as quickly s possible especially if there are mangroves nearby. Snook love to run back into the mangroves.

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                                                                                      SNOOK

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                                              Fishing Lures That Catch Trout

                                        All our Fish Are Released Unharmed........

 Trout Lures - I had been fishing in the Southwest Florida Gulf Coast flats for several years for trout, snook and redfish using every new lure that came out in the tackle stores. I was having some pretty successful fishing trips and invited a friend to go fishing with me on day. When we got on the water, I pulled out my big tackle box with countless lure combinations to fish for the day. I noticed he only had one small jig to fish with so I asked him if he wanted to use some of my lures. He replied, no and you will be wanting to use one of my lures before the day is over. He was using a 1/8 to 1/4 ounce jig available at most fishing outlets, and almost any local tackle shop. I tell you he caught trout, flounder, redfish, snook and lady fish like crazy. 

          Trout Lure Reviews                                        Trout Strategies & Techniques

                                   Fishing For Sea Trout

                 Big Trout Fishing Tackle

    He made my loaded tackle box look ridiculous. I could not believe how successful he was fishing for all varieties with one very inexpensive lure. A 1/8 ounce jig with a straight tail, not the curly one. He made a believer out of me that day and now I never hit the water without a collection of jigs in my tackle box. In fact my wife won't fish with anything else. She likes to catch fish when she goes and she knows the pink jig will. The rigs usually come in a package of two and they are tied together to make a tandem rig. I cut the leaders off so I have two separate jigs and I tie them on one at a time. I usually don't fish with a tandem jig setup, except maybe for fishing schooling sea trout. Most soft bait available will catch trout if fished properly.

   Trout Tackle - You can use the same tackle you use for bass on trout and the same lures. Trout fishing is very similar to bass fishing in many ways. I like a lighter spinning reel and light action 7 ft rod loaded with 8 lb test mono. I prefer mono line for trout because it has some stretch or give to it where power pro does not. Trout fishing is a situation where the new high tech lines may not be the best equipment. You can make longer casts with them but they are not as forgiving on a soft trout's mouth when they make a hard run.

               Big Gator Speckled Trout Techniques

  Trout Techniques - Try fishing later in the day during winter months. Give the sunshine some time to warm the water on the flats. Winter tides can be extremely low so look for the deeper potholes. Try using a poppin' cork floater with a rubber jig or a shrimp imitation. Use a light 20 to 20 lb fluoro carbon leader. I prefer to use a light 1/4 or 1/8 ounce jig with Yummie Chummie lure scent to help attract a strike. Adjust the length of your leader so your lure rides just above the grass below the water in the resting position. Throw your poppin cork and lure into a pot hole and let it settle for a couple minutes, then pop the floater very hard. The biggest mistake trout fishermen make is to not pop the cork hard enough. The poppin cork needs to make a very loud sloshing sound. The popping noise sounds like fish feeding and it attracts the bigger fish to join in. Pop the cork every few minutes but try to allow the fishing lure to stay in the strike zone as long as possible. If you're fishing very shallow water your lure with the leader may be as close as 6 inches from the poppin cork. If your fishing for spotted sea trout during the winter months try fishing the dead side of the tides as less water movement allows the water to warm up more than heavy currents. Use the wind, sun, shade and current to select the best place to fish. Topwater lures also work great for sea trout. Be sure to use mono line instead of the new power lines as the new scientific fiber lines do not stretch and you need to allow the fish to take a topwater lure before setting the hook, otherwise you may pull the lure from the trout's mouth. Top water lures are great for sea trout as it keep your lure out of the grass and on the surface. surface lure strikes can be very explosive and a lot of fun. Fish topwater lures during the winter months in the evenings after the flats have a chance to warm up. In winter months and colder water fish smaller finesse lures in the morning, then you can change to larger lures as the water temperature increases. On cooler days fish the shallow areas, out of the wind and exposed to the sunshine. This is where the warmer water will be located.

              Big Gator Trout Fishing Tips & Facts

     On warmer days fish in shaded areas with wind exposure. The fish will be under the mangroves and in deeper water on hotter days. I like to get up late on cold days and got fishing for trout in the early evening after the flats has warmed up. On cloudy days or darker stained water use darker lures. When fishing for gator trout it's necessary to make extra long casts, especially in clear shallow water. The big gator trout are very wary of any noise or water movement. Using fish attractant scents are also a good ideal for big trout. Gator trout mostly feed on mullet and pinfish so use lures that imitate these baits. Shrimp imitations are usually not as good for gator trout as baitfish imitations. When fishing for gator trout you will need a fluoro carbon leader, especially in clear water. Also use mono line instead of the new non stretch lines as the trout has a soft mouth and the hook will easily pull out of a big trout's mouth if your line doesn't have some stretch to it.

Spotted Trout Facts & Tips -  Spotted Sea Trout don't like low salt levels so heavy rains push the trout into deeper water. Trout like water temperatures in the 65 to 75 degree range. Trout will average 14 to 20 inches, 1 to 5 lbs but trout grow to 30 inches or more and are called gator trout. The world record sea trout is currently 17.7 lbs. Sea trout will intermingle with red fish schools and can often be caught while catching redfish. Trout are schooling fish so make long casts and work your baits slowly.

                                 Editor With A Nice Speckled Trout

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