Florida Redfish
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Pineland Marina, Florida to catch some Redfish
for three weeks. Sponsored by
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Everything You Need To
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Southwest
Florida Fishing Guides
How To Fish For Redfish on Florida's Gulf
Coast
Lure
Fishing Techniques For
Pine Island Sound,
Florida
Pineland Sound offers a variety of
fishing conditions from shallow flats with pot holes
to creeks and river mouths that flow into the flats.
There are also many near shore mangrove islands
where the fishing can be outstanding. The key to
fishing for redfish on Southwest Florida is to
locate where the fish are during the season you are
fishing. Redfish can be caught in Southwest Florida
throughout the entire year. Where the redfish are
holding changes with the seasons. Starting in late
February and through March the redfish will start
hitting lures because the water is to cool for
baitfish to accumulate in the Florida flats. With
the lack of sufficient baitfish for feeding the
redfish will chase many lures a great distance to
strike them. Jigs, rubber stick baits, top water and
shallow divers all work well at times. I have spent
20 years fishing for redfish in Southwest and have
my own secret weapon lures that work and I will
outline those below. Redfish will continue to feed
on artificial lures up through April and into May at
times, but it will depend on the arriving shiner and
pinfish populations. Once the local baitfish
population increases it will become more difficult
to catch redfish on lures. You can still catch them
but you will have make a more effort and you will
have to focus on the right tide conditions and moon
phases to be productive. My biggest redfish so far
has been 39 1/2 inches caught on 8 lb mono and a
Luv's Lure pink jig tipped with a piece of shrimp.
So you can combine artificial lure and live or cut
bait to enhance your fishing results for redfish. As
the summer progresses through July and August the
red fishing will become better and better for live
bait fishing with September reported by many as the
absolute best month for red fishing. Flavoring you
lure with a pinch of shrimp will increase your
chances of hooking up with a redfish during the
hotter months.
Redfish are very aggressive fish and will chase a lure
25 to 50 feet to snatch it up. The strike is very powerful and
similar to a bonefish strike. Redfish will run parallel to the
mangroves during the hookup, unlike Snook that will head back
into the mangroves and break you off on the barnacles and shells
attached to the mangrove roots. The key when fishing near
mangroves is to lay your rod down to the side the fish is
running on. If a redfish strikes and runs to your left along the
mangroves, drop your rod to your left and crank like crazy to
get all the slack out of your line and the fish heading more to
the left. If you lay your rod to the right side instead, you
will pull the fish back into the mangroves and he will break off
on the barnacles. I usually fish light line in the 8 to 10 lb
class for redfish using artificial lures and rarely lose a
redfish this way. The light line allows me to make long accurate
casts with a jig into and underneath the overhanging mangroves.
Redfish Legal Size Limits and Restrictions
Currently the slot size limits for
Red Fish are 18 to 27 inches. This means you can harvest redfish
between 18 and 27 inches. No fish outside this slot can be
harvested. You can catch redfish in all sizes as long as you
release them unharmed. Small redfish under fifteen inches are
called "rat" reds, but you will rarely catch a redfish that is
not in the legal size slot. You may catch one outside the upper
limit of 27 inches, but not under the 18 inch rule. We sponsor
and practice "Catch & Release" on redfish always. The redfish
population is coming back very strong now but for many years
redfish was not allowed to be harvested because blackened
redfish was so popular and in demand that the redfish were
almost decimated in the early 1950's. You are only allowed to
harvest one redfish per person per day now. Always check with
the local latest fishing restrictions before harvesting redfish
as fishing regulations in Florida are constantly changing. Also
beware the manatee restrictions on boats before heading out on
the flats. You could end up with a heavy boating fine by the
local Marine Patrol.
What Is The Best
Redfish Lures
Live Bait
Fishing for redfish with live baits
is almost to easy. Redfish loath pinfish as they
raid their nest and eat their young. I believe
redfish hit pinfish out of anger as much as for
food. Pinfish can be easily gathered with a cast net
or by small hook and line. I usually go out to the
shallow flats in three feet of water where there are
white/yellow pot holes and drop a small piece of
shrimp on a small bluegill golden hook with 6 lb
fishing line and a floater up about two feet. You
won't have to wait long to start catching small to
hand size pinfish if the baitfish is inshore. Most
local guides prefer to use the local whitebait or
shiners for fishing, but I would much rather have a
nice pinfish myself. The whitebait is very difficult
to keep alive. You must have a large circular live
well with a strong circulation pump to keep
whitebait alive. Also once you hook them they won't
last long in the water. They will die quickly or get
sluggish and not attract a strike. Pinfish on the
other hand will live all day in a basic live well or
even a bait bucket and will stay alive and active on
the hook much longer, and of course they are the
natural enemies of the redfish.
After you have collected a dozen nice
pinfish from 3 to 4 inches long, head for the
mangroves to start locating redfish. My standard
rigging for redfish includes a 50 lb mono leader (or
larger) and 20 lb mono fishing line. The reason for
the heavy leader is because you may hook up with a
big Snook while red fishing and you won't have a
chance of landing the
Snook on smaller test lines. Tie on a
torpedo floater about two feet above your hook. I
personally like the torpedo white floaters with a
red band at the top and two swivel connections at
the top or bottom of the floater. I tie my fishing
20 lb mono line on the top swivel and my 50 lb
leader on the bottom swivel. I attach a large
durable number 4.0 hook on the end of the 50 lb
leader and hook one of the pinfish just in front of
the top fin of the pinfish. Make a very light
incision with the hook and the fish will last
longer. Throw the floater and pinfish as close to or
better yet underneath overhanging mangroves along
the islands in the Pine Island Sound and look out.
Pop the floater every few minutes. This is what is
great about these white torpedo floaters. They have
a concave top that makes a popping sound when you
jerk the rod tip quickly. The redfish may go back
into the mangrove roots for hundred's of feet in
search of food inside the mangrove roots. When they
hear the popping noise of your floater they think
it's another fish feeding and they come out of the
mangroves investigate the noise. That's when
they see your pinfish and strike it. The white
floater will simply disappear for sight and you may
hear nothing so always keep your eyes on the
floater. You will be able to see the floater rushing
along the mangroves underwater and that's when you
crank up the slack and set the hook. Be sure as
mentioned above to lean your rod toward the
direction the fish is heading and not against. I
like to hit my trolling motor during the initial
stages of the fight to get the redfish away from the
mangroves as much as possible. If you can get your
boat a hundred feet away from the mangroves and into
the open water, you will most likely be able to land
the redfish. The redfish won't break the water like
a Snook or Bass, but it will make several circles
around your boat before giving up. Try to wear the
fish down some before bringing the fish to the boat,
otherwise when it sees the boat it will make a
strong surge and possibly break your line.
This method also works great
for Kayak fishing or wade fishing. Many of the
inshore islands are within reach of wade fishing
from shore. Beware of stepping on sting rays though
as this accounts for most of the hospital visits by
tourist and fishermen wading the shallow waters of
Southwest Florida. It's a good idea to shuffle your
feet along the bottom ahead of yourself, this way
alerting the sting rays of your approach. Wade
fishing is the absolute best way to catch 50 huge
redfish in a day. I have had redfish swimming around
by feet as I fish for them by wade fishing the
mangrove islands.
Effective Lures
For Red Fishing
Jigs & Rubber Jerk
Baits
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There are several artificial baits
(lures) that will catch Redfish. I have had
tremendous results with LUV's Pink jigs. The jigs
come in tandem sets and I cut them lose and fish
they as solo lures with a loop knot. Fishing with
Lures is best with lighter lines. The redfish can
become very spooky as fishing tournaments and
weekend fishermen speed around the islands in search
of redfish schools. I have seen redfish schools in
the flats with literally thousand's of fish pushing
a wake across the flats. One technique is to drive
your boat ahead of the advancing redfish school and
wait for them. Start casting to them when they come
into casting range. It's best to use a light 1/4
ounce lure so it won't make to much noise when it
hits the water. Cast ahead of the redfish school and
let the school come to the lure naturally. Once the
redfish are within a few feet of the lure twitch it
once or twice to make sure they see your lure.
This is a great way to get multiple hook ups
simultaneously.
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Another productive artificial lure
fishing technique is to use a trolling motor and
cast into the mangroves as you slowly move along the
outskirts of the islands. Try to make long casts
with lures as the redfish may be shy due to boat
noise, talking in the boat, etc. When possible make
long parallel casts to the shoreline. I like to use
a 1/4 ounce jig and let the jig sit on the bottom
after the cast. The I twitch it a couple times and
let it settle back down to the bottom. This will
lure the big redfish out of the mangroves. You can
also use the popping cork technique above and
replace the live bait with a small jig. My most
effective method is to cast back into and underneath
the overhanging mangroves with a weedless rubber
bait or jig. Let the bait settle down and twitch it
and retrieve very slowly, almost dragging the lure
on the bottom with an occasional twitch. If you hook
up with a redfish this way it will be more difficult
to land the fish as it may run through the mangrove
roots. The redfish are much easier to land if you
hook them outside the mangrove roots instead of
inside the roots. If you fishing with live bait you
can toss some live bait up into the mangrove roots
to lure the fish out and to encourage feeding.
Top Water Lures
Fishing with topwater or shallow
diving plugs can also be very effective for redfish.
Fish topwater lures the same as you would fish jigs
and jerk baits above. Make as much noise with your
topwater lure as possible. Don't retrieve the lure
to quickly and pause it occasionally. Vary the
retrieve speed until you find the best one for your
water conditions. The colors don't appear to make a
great difference except to match the water
conditions. On quite days with little wind use a
smaller topwater lure that blends into the water
better. On windy days with water turbulence use
larger more colorful lures as the redfish won't be
as cautious. I've had great luck with Zara Spooks,
and similar top water and shallow retrieve lures.
The redfish may have a more difficult time getting
the hooks on a topwater lure due it it's smaller
mouth which is designed to forage the ocean bottom
for food, so don't set the hook to quickly.
Red fish
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Redfish are found all along the
Central & Southern shores of Florida. Some of the
biggest redfish are caught on the Eastern Florida
shores. Redfish are also caught on the offshore
wrecks and reefs at times. A really big redfish is
called a bull red and can get up to 60 lbs or
bigger. Hook one of these inshore and you will have
a real battle on your hands. The bull reds school up
together during the summer months and move around
the shallow flats by the hundred's. These redfish
schools will move from island to island in the pine
island sound in search of food and spawning. Many
times the bull red schools will remain in the same
location until an event occurs such as a severe
weather change or several passing boats. I have gone
back to the same location on the same tide for days
on end to catch large numbers of reds before they
would finally move on to another island. Then you
have to go out and search for them again. |
Redfish are my most favorite fish species to
catch. If you throw a live bait in front of a redfish he will
usually take it. Throw a lure and it depends on the weather, how
much boat action they have seen and the tide and moon phases.
But he will almost always take al live pinfish. During the cold
front in the winter in Florida the redfish will move into the
canals. You can do some great red fishing with live shrimp in
the canals at this time.
Lure
Testing Grounds
We're testing
lures from some of the top spinner bait manufacturers
to find the best lures to use for a fishing trip
to Pine Island Sound on Florida's Gulf Coast. Our plan is to spend
three weeks fishing Southwest Florida
in a variety of conditions with a fishing guide, a
kayak and
walking the shore to
find the best performing lures for catching
Redfish.
Our
Fishing Strategy
For Southwest
Florida
Redfish bite
best during new moon and strong incoming tides.
Morning are always best for red fishing, but redfish
will anytime of the day during a strong incoming
tide. When I plan my red fishing trips I look up the
local tide conditions and I plan to be on the water
with my lures or live bait just as the out going
tide is at it lowest or slack stage. I like to fish
the first couple hours of the incoming tide. During
this time the reds will be moving onto the shallow
flats moving in and out of the thick grass and into
the open pot holes. Fishing these pot holes can be
the right ticket for great catches of redfish.
After the tide floods the mangroves the
redfish will move into the mangroves and continue their feeding.
Redfish can be caught all along the mangrove islands and up into
them. This is when the popping cork method above works best. As
the tide changes and starts moving out again the redfish will
move out of the mangroves and onto the shallow flats again. You
can then catch them on the pot holes again. As the tide
continues to go out the redfish will retreat into the underwater
creeks and sloughs where deeper water is still available.
Redfish can be caught in the underwater passageways during the
low tides phases. Many local fishermen prefer the low tide for
redfish as it moves the redfish into a few select deeper holes.
The fish can be packed into these small areas of deeper water
waiting for the return of the high tide. You must use stealth to
approach redfish in these conditions and the deep holes are
usually surrounded by miles of ankle deep water, so you have to
have a plan to access them. Once you find the fish though you
can have the fishing experiences of your life ad the fish cannot
escape these areas.
Fishing Tackle
We will be using three identical new Bass Pro
Shops spinning reels with composite graphite
7 ft
rods spooled with 15 lb Andes mono line. We will have spinnerbaits from three different manufacturers on
the fishing outfits at all times and will be fishing
10 minutes with one, then 10 minutes with another,
etc. I like the spinning reel for fishing spinner
baits because it is easier to pitch lures with
spinning reels as opposed to bait casters. I also
like bait casters for certain fishing situations.
The high winds often occurring on the lake lends
itself better to open spinner reels also.
Lures Selected
For The Evaluation
We visited the local Bass Pro Shops, Wal Mart,
Target,
Sports Authority and several local tackle supply shops
looking specifically for 1/4 ounce jigs, rubber stick
baits, shallow diving plugs and top water lures..
Jigs & Jerk
Baits
Top Water & Shallow Diving
Lures
Which Lures Caught Fish??
Visit our
Results page to see which lures caught Redfish
2010 Spinnerbait Review
Lures That Catch
Fish
Information On
Pineland Marina,
Florida
Pineland Marina is located
on the west side of Pine Island near Cape Coral
and/or Ft. Myers, Florida. The marina is pen to the
public and has great accommodations for fishermen.
There's a double ramp, fish cleaning station, marina
store with tackle and live bait. There is a lot of
parking for trailers and cars. The marina also
offers wet and dry boat slips. Upon launching your
boat, you are in some great shallow flats areas and
can start fishing immediately for redfish, Snook and
sea trout. You can look across the bay and see
Captavia Pass and the open ocean. The areas is
littered with many small mangrove islands. There is
a great restaurant called the Tarpon Lodge nearby
that we highly recommend. Ramp fees are currently
$15 including parking. It's the only ramp on Pine
Island giving you access to these unique fishing
waters.
Southwest Florida Fishing Tours
www.LuresThatCatchFish.com
All About Using Spinnerbaits -
A site with everything you need to know about fishing
spinnerbaits.
Upcoming Lures That Catch Fish Evaluations
Fish Catching Results
Pine Island Bay and flats has many islands to explore with a
Kayak. If you would be interested in Kayak fishing or touring in
Southwest Florida contact us. Mention
Lures That Catch Fish for
a discount.
Nice Redfish Caught By The Author Kayak
Fishing in 2010
Lures That Catch Fish is
considering a Kayak Fishing Event on Pine Island Sound in
Southwest Florida in September 2010. Let us know if you would be
interested in fishing or hosting this event.
Contact Us.
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(c) Copyrighted 2010
by Lures That Catch Fish.com. All Rights Reserved.
www.LuresThatCatchFish.com
Roy
John Fuller is a Fisherman,
and Free
Lance Writer
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Lures That Catch Fish's
Red Fish Report
For March & April 2010
Late February and March are my
favorite times of the year to fish for red fish.
Redfish can be caught fairly easy on artificial lures
during the early spring in Florida. The baitfish
population has not arrived from off shore yet and the
red fish are more receptive to lures until the baitfish
start showing up in numbers. Then live bait is the
ticket for catching ton's of redfish. Try a popping cork
(floater) and a jigs two feet under the cork and pop it
occasionally. Jerk baits work well during this time
also, as does top water lures early in the mornings.
Shallow diving crank baits also catch redfish now when
fished along the outskirts of the mangroves.
If you're interested in a
Gulf Coast Guided Fishing
Tour
or a Red Fishing Guided Tour send us an email at:
info@OneOfAKindGem.com
Guided Fishing
In Southwest Florida For Redfish
Contact Us For
Your Next Guided Fishing Tour
Florida Redfish
Lures That Catch Fish.com 2010 Field Tests
Results
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