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| Jo finding out what it's all about |
To start off, let me remedy any of your doubt and command you to go ahead, get on-board, book that redfish trip...Now! Trust me, you want to do this! This was my second time and God willing I will be back to do many more trips.
What you need to know...
It's generally considered prime time from around October through December but keep in mind anglers fish for redfish year around.
This is mostly a site fishery therefore I wouldn't put all your fishing on one day. A cloudy or windy day can really shut you down. Ideally I would book minimum of 3 days.
While everyone wants to catch a bull red, take every opportunity that comes to you. Some days it will be many and others days it might be few. Hint, the small reds are just as fun.
Be rigged to cast short. I mean real short. Red fishing is usually up close and very personal. You never give up on a redfish until it bolts out of site.
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| Luv that Tail |
A Typical Day...
A nice feature of this fall time redfish site fishery is you only fish during sunlight hours. Generally you start around 8am and end by 5pm. You need the sunlight for fish spotting. You can wake up and take your time in the morning with breakfast and coffee before you meet your guide. Get your business in order before you head out. Redfish guides generally don't take breaks. It's a constant hunt.
Pack your own lunch. It's been my experience that most redfish guides don't provide your lunch. Many of them won't even break for a lunch unless you request to. It's good to pack easy food choices and get back to the fishing quickly.
Whether you fish in Louisiana or Alabama, it's a good idea to have a rental car and be flexible with meeting spots. The guides might choose from many different locations to launch their boats from depending on weather, water and wind conditions.
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| Just one of many |
Gear list...
Rods:
Rods are very subjective in red fishing. There are times an 8 weight is enough and there are others times a 10 weight is not too much. I guess it would be easy to say that a 9 weight is ideal. I think the more important rod characteristic would be "easy loading." Most of your cast are going to be very short. I've been most effective with rods that load easy at short distance. Shorter mangrove style rods can very effective.
If I were to take two rods I would focus in a short mangrove style of about 8-9 weight such as
Sage Bass II series 330gr,
Redington Predator Series 8710-4, or
Scott Meridian 848-4. I used the Sage Largemouth and it was great at this game.
For Bull Reds in open water, where longer cast are needed, reach for a good 9' salt stick. A
G.Loomis NRX 9 weight or a
Winston Air Salt 9 weight would both be great choices
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| Little ones are a blast! |
Lines:
I put lines before reels because I actually believe they are more important to choose right. Like rods, lines can be very subjective to this style of fishing. I think the first hitch is tropical, or moderate temp lines? I've used both and at this point I see no reason to need tropical at this fall time of year but at same time I've had no trouble using a tropical temp line.
Most important quality of a line is ability to load your rod close, especially in the marsh style of fishing. If that means a double bump line such as
RIO Outbound Short or
Scientific Anglers Titan Long then go with that. Another line that works well is the
Airflo Bruce Chard Tropical Punch. Both RIO and S/A make designated lines for winter redfish. The
RIO Winter Redfish is a double bump line that's loads close. The
S/A Mastery Redfish Coldwater is only half line bumped so depending on your rod choice you may have to bump up one line size for short loading.
I express all this simply because from experience most of your cast are going to be within 30 foot and I've caught too many redfish to count in under 20' cast.
Reels:
Keep in mind you are in saltwater so you want saltwater quality reels. With smaller reds you most likely won't ever get to backing but big bull reds can get you deep in backing. Size your reels to your rods and you should have all the backing you'll possibly need. My
Nautilus Reels performed with excellence as expected. I also successfully tested a
Ross Evolution R.
Let me reiterate one more time, "Trust me, you want to do this!" If you need more encouragement Check out my first redfish experience in
Redfish, Born on the Bayou.
Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist
"Fly Fish the World with Us"
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