Redfish Time

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Redfish Time

Frank Sargeant

Ray Markham with a big red

By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2009

Despite the heat, the early fall run of redfish is gaining steam throughout Bay area waters. Water temperatures climbing into the upper 80's usually mark the beginning of the dog-days surge, with schools of the big channel bass arriving on the flats, around the deep bars and in the passes as they prepare to spawn in September. These fish live offshore the rest of the year, and are rarely seen there by anglers.

The fish often travel in large schools, with 20 to 50 fish in a pod. With most averaging 8 to 12 pounds (sometimes much larger) the fish are readily visible as they plow across a flat, making a moving hump or vee in the water. And when the sun is right, they sometimes create a "red wave" as they rise near the surface, literally turning the water a coppery red with the gleam off their scales.

Redfish numbers are moving back toward historic highs thanks to almost two decades of very tight harvest control. It's a classic story of the great effect of modern scientific fishery management.

Reds are at home throughout Bay area waters, but the most interesting fishing is usually on the flats where they can often be caught on topwaters and even on flies. Any grassy flat with numerous potholes and a few swash channels or ready access to deeper water is a likely place to look for reds these days. The biggest spawners are usually found on flats near the larger passes—those around Fort DeSoto are famed for monsters.

Most anglers chase reds from flats rigs, shallow draft boats that can be poled or powered by a silent electric trolling motor to within casting distance of the fish. When a school first arrives on the flats, the fish are usually cooperative, grabbing any jigs, spoon or lure that lands anywhere near them. But after they've been worked on for a few weekends, they're likely to take flight at the wave of a rod or the scrape of an anchor across the deck.

When the fish get spooky the most successful fishermen often step over the side and wade into range. The smaller and lower profile makes it much easier to approach the fish, and they sometimes strike only a rod's length from the angler.

In general, the fish will be found well back on the flats and around deep mangrove edges on high tides, while they generally drop into potholes and swash channels as the tide runs out. Since the fish are more concentrated on low tides, many anglers try to time their trips to hit the falling tides.

Low tides also result in "tailing" reds in many areas. The fish tip up to root crabs and shrimp out of the grass, and when they do their tailfin often waves above the surface, creating a visible target. Anglers who wade within range and softly land a lure near these fish usually get a spectacular fight in water that's only slightly more than ankle deep. Learning to see the tails takes a bit of practice--usually, only the blue-gray tip comes through the surface--but when you know what to look for it adds a whole new dimension to sight fishing.

Some specific spots to check for schooling fish now on the south side of Tampa Bay would include Rattlesnake Point, Joe Island, Bishop's Harbor, Piney Point and the flats and swash channels south of the Little Manatee River. On the east shore, the flats around Bullfrog Creek are good, as are those around Archie Creek. Most of the north end of Old Tampa Bay is good, particularly flats around Double Branch and Rocky Creek, plus the flats near the Clearwater Airport. And on the west shore, Weedon Island, Pinellas Point and the Fort DeSoto flats are all good choices.

The classic fall redfish lure is a weedless spoon like the Johnson Silver Minnow. The DOA Shrimp is also good, as are the Tsunaimi swimbaits.

In jigs, swimmer tails in gold flake or silver flake are great. Heads of 1/4 to 3/8 ounce work best in the shallows. A combination of a small foam cork with a lightweight jig or plastic shrimp can be deadly. The cork is popped to create surface attraction, while the jig or shrimp skips along just above the grass. It's deadly for not only reds but also snook and trout.

Any noisy topwater will catch reds. Some of the best are the MirrOlure 7M and 28M, the Zara Spook, the Bang-o-lure and the Tiny Torpedo. All these treble-hook lures should have the barbs flattened before use, so that unhooking fish without injuring them is possible.

When the water is grassy, weedless lures including any form of Texas-rigged soft plastic jerkbait are hard to beat. And in the swash channels, the DOA plastic shrimp and finger mullet are good choices.

For live baiters, there's no better choice than the scaled sardine. Chumming with a few injured baits around a redfish pod guarantees a feeding frenzy, and anglers often wear themselves out on a big school. Live shrimp are also effective.

Less dependable but more spectacular fishing can be had for the really giant reds that move in from the Gulf around deep water bars like those off Port Manatee and along the edges of the ship channels near the Skyway Bridge through this month and next. Here, anglers troll big spoons or grouper-sized diving plugs to connect with whopper reds that range from 20 to 40 pounds. Fish of this size are also found in many of the passes between Bunce's and Clearwater. It's a fishery that has not been well mapped to this point, but there seem to be more of the whoppers each year, and for those with the patience to keep searching until they hit a school, the rewards are worth it.

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