The redfish, with its bronze flanks and powerful runs, is a bucket list catch for many saltwater fly anglers. Most saltwater fly rodders target Reds that live in the shallow flats and estuaries along the Southeast and Gulf coasts. This offers an exciting visual challenge to fly fishers. But hooking a redfish requires more than just casting a fly. Success hinges on understanding their behavior, mastering presentation techniques, and adapting your approach to the environment.
Here are the five key ingredients to unlocking fly fishing success for redfish:
- Know Your Habitat:
Redfish are territorial fish, favoring shallow water environments like coastal flats, lagoons, creeks and inshore bays. They thrive around oyster beds, mangrove shorelines, and areas with grassy or mud bottoms where crabs, shrimp, and baitfish abound. Understanding these preferences is crucial for pinpointing redfish on the water.
- Reading the Flats: Look for tailing redfish – their tails break the water’s surface as they dig for crustaceans. Spotting nervous baitfish or jumping shrimp can also indicate the presence of redfish feeding below. Look for oyster beds which attract the redfish’s prey.
- Tidal Movements: Time your trip with the outgoing and incoming tide. Low tide concentrates the fish. They actively feed during moving water as prey gets flushed out of hiding spots.
- Watch the tides: Along the east coast, during the big tides that flood the high marsh, redfish invade the flooded marsh where they tail aggressively while grubbing for fiddler crabs.
- Light Conditions: Opt for the low light of dawn and dusk on a low tide in Spring and Summer and low tide during the middle of the day in winter. Redfish are skittish and less likely to spook in subdued light at dawn and evening. In the winter, the low tide at the middle of the day warms the flats so when the water comes in the reds come in to enjoy the warmer waters.
- Sunny Days: Good sun lets you see the fish, but you can always find fish by the pushes and wakes they make in skinny water during low light conditions.
- Mastering Stealthy Presentation:
Redfish are easily spooked by noise or sudden movements. A stealthy presentation is paramount to enticing them to strike.
- Pole Over Power: Forgo the noisy trolling motor. Instead, use a push pole to quietly navigate the flats or wade slowly, allowing you to get closer to the fish without spooking them.
- Long Casts, Slow Retrieves: Make long casts that deliver your fly well in front of the redfish. Use slow, deliberate retrieves that mimic the movement of fleeing baitfish. Remember, redfish don’t have eyes in in their tails.
- Minimize False Casts: Minimize false casting. Excessive false casting takes too much time and alerts the fish to your presence.
- Selecting the Right Gear:
The right equipment makes all the difference to the success of your fly-fishing trip.
- Rod & Reel: An 8 or 9 weight fly rod with a saltwater-rated reel is necessary for handling the bulldog like runs of redfish. Ensure your reel has a strong drag system and is sealed to withstand the corrosive saltwater environment.
- Fly Line: A weight-forward floating fly line with a short head allows for accurate casting and effective presentation in windy conditions. Consider tropical rated saltwater-specific fly line during the heat of summer and a cold-water line in winter.
- Leader & Tippet: Use a tapered saltwater leader for smooth turnover and strong connections. Match your tippet size to the flies you’re using and the expected size of the redfish. Typically, a 16 to 20-pound tippet offers a good balance of strength and invisibility. Fluorocarbon is preferable in clear water.
- Choosing the Perfect Fly:
Redfish are opportunistic feeders, and their fly preferences vary depending on location, water clarity, and what they’re actively targeting.
- Match the bait:Observe what baitfish are present in the area and choose flies that resemble their size, shape, and color. Popular choices include shrimp flies, crab flies, and clousers. Check out my favorite flies on the Redfish Flies (I would like a link here )page on my website.
- Water Conditions:In clear water, opt for smaller, more natural-looking flies. For murky water, choose larger, brightly colored flies with added flash to attract attention. Purple and black colors work well in dark water.
- Versatility is Key:Carry a variety of flies to adapt to changing conditions or target different prey preferences.
- Practice Makes Perfect:
Before venturing out on the water, hone your casting skills and practice your presentation techniques.
- Backyard Practice: Set up a target in your backyard and practice casting accuracy and line control.
- Double Haul: Modern rods and lines easily cast to 50’ without hauling but learn the double haul. The added line speed of a double haul helps you handle the wind.
- Casting in the wind: Wind is always a factor in saltwater fly fishing. Learn how to present the fly on the back cast. Learn how to cast off-shoulder. Learn how to cast both with the wind and into the wind.
Remember, fly fishing for redfish is an ongoing learning experience. By understanding their habitat, practicing stealthy presentations, selecting the right gear, and choosing effective flies, you’ll increase your chances of success on the flats. Most importantly, Practice catch and release, have fun, enjoy the challenge, and appreciate the beauty of the redfish’s natural environment.
Capt. David Edens
Orvis Endorsed guide for the past 15 years
Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Fly Casting Instructor
US Coast Guard licensed captain.
Capt. David Edens
308 Wild Heron Rd.
St. Simons island, GA. 31522
706.540.1276
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