Sight Fishing for Redfish
Few things are more exciting than fishing for redfish in Texas. Casting to tailing redfish in remote marsh ponds on the Texas coast is one sterling example. Seeing the signature black dot on bronze near the fish’s tail is enough to motivate any angler to trek into the backwaters. With redfish numbers in Texas hovering near historic highs, there are many to be found and they are increasingly large. It’s why fishing for redfish in Texas has become a popular destination for many anglers.
“It used to be that we would catch mainly slot fish in the shallow backwater in places like Sabine Lake, Keith Lake and East Galveston Bay. Now we see plenty of fish in that 36-40-inch range,” says veteran angler Frank Moore. “I like to shoot a topwater past them as gently as possible, and more often than not they will take it. Sometimes though, you need to throw something more delicate like a scented soft plastic on a 1/16-ounce jighead.”
Moore suggests focusing not only on tailing fish, but looking for mud boils and reds sitting just below the surface. “If you look only for tailing fish you will miss out,” he says. That means learning to read the water and look for signs of fish. Don’t mistake a mullet for a redfish — reds push way more water and burst from hiding spots if spooked.
Where to Catch Redfish in Texas
Beach Fishing
Expert surf angler Marcus Heflin teaches free beach fishing clinics for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and says some of the best opportunities are in the surf. “The fall bull redfish run on the beaches is incredible. From September through early November we catch dozens a day on cut mullet, croaker and crab fished on surf rods. The fall run is not the only time to catch them though. There are so many big reds now we find them 12 months a year in the surf,” Heflin said.
Flats and Shallow Water Fishing
Any spot on the coast can harbor monster reds, but hotspots include Surfside, Matagorda Island and South Padre Island. Seagrass beds in San Antonio, Aransas and Copano Bays as well as along the Laguna Madre harbor many redfish. Anglers can cast live baits such as shrimp or pinfish for success, but lures such as topwaters, soft plastics and subsurface hardbaits work too. In fact, this shallow-water style of fishing is the best opportunity to cast redfish on artificials.
Jetty Fishing
Sabine Pass, Galveston, Port Aransas and South Padre Island all have jetty rocks worth fishing. And that’s just naming a few of the more popular jetties in Texas. No matter your favorite rocks to fish, tackle up with heavier gear when targeting bull reds at the passes. Jetty fishing can take the form of cranking lures with a baitcaster, but live baiting with baits like crabs and croakers is much more common. Fish during a moving tide, and make sure to rig up with 50-pound gear. You’ll have to fight the currents, the structure, the fish and maybe even fight the fish away from your neighbors fishing close-by. (Both shore anglers and land based fishermen have equal access to jetties.) A fishfinder rig or knocker rig are simple presentations that catch bull reds with most natural baits.
How to Catch Redfish in Texas
Ideally, red drum are visible cruising the edges or in large holes in the middle of the beds and will take anything from a live shrimp fished on a Carolina rig to a soft swimbait. If the water is off-colored or the reds are deep in the grass, a weedless gold or bronze spoon is a solid choice for luring them out.
On open bays from the Louisiana line down to the Corpus Christi area, one of the most effective methods to catch redfish is looking for gulls working schools of menhaden or shrimp. Redfish will sometimes be found with the speckled trout, usually on the outer edge of the main action-when specks are present.
If you want a reliable redfish lure, a soft-plastic shrimp imitation fished under a weighted popping cork is hard to beat and easy to cast long distances. Chug it twice and let it sit for a few seconds, then repeat. If redfish are present it won’t take long to see the float disappear. This action can occur year-round but some of best catches come during the middle of the day in summer when the bays are dead calm. Birds are usually present but not always. Be mindful of emerging slicks and mud trails that lead to hungry reds, bent rods — and good times.
Best Season to Catch Redfish in Texas
Captain Mike Jennings at Cowboy Charters in Freeport, Texas reports, “Fishing [is] very good nearshore in the fall.” That’s the great thing about redfishing in Texas, it can be good all year long. But the fall, in particular October, is when local waters see thousands of redfish caught in the Lone Star State.
When you hear the film “The Hunt for Red October,” think of redfish, not Sean Connery. In the fall, that’s when the big bull redfish arrive. Jennings says the fish show up as the water temperature drops. “They’re getting into their fall pattern,” he says. To find drum, Jennings first finds the bait. He looks for schools of menhaden to indicate predators nearby.
Once he’s in the money, he anchors the boat and deploys a slow, steady chum slick. Ares near passes, nearshore structure, or off the beaches are the most reliable locations. Then, he fishes sardines, menhaden and threadfin herring on a fish finder rig with a 10/0 hook. Jennings counts on the redfish action to last throughout the winter each year.
