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Marsh grasses remain a favorite destination for anglers hoping to hook reds. Consequently, those are the best hues for Aldermans Zap-A-Crab. My favorite redfish fly pattern is a fuzzy variation of Tim Borskis Chernobyl shrimp. They typically have heavy amounts of weight and little bulk to get the fly down to the sandy bottom fast. Good luck out there on the water! The Merkin Crab is widely considered the most effective Permit fly ever conceived. But a fishing trip can also go terribly wrong without the right gear. Weighted Gold Frizzies are very popular in Alabama, according to Wesley Parks of McCoy Outdoors Fly Shop (334-432-3006) in Mobile. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF REDFISH PATTERNS FLOATING AROUND OUT THERE. The Baffin Blue Crab fly pictured is just one example of how you can modify this pattern to fit your target species. The Everglades Special is one of those baitfish patterns that will just about catch any predatory fish. Redfish Backstory Back in the 1970s, red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus (aka redfish, reds, or puppy drum) were rare as rocking horse teeth due to unsustainable harvests. The bull reds, on average, top the 20-pound mark, and they seem to number in the thousands. Flies with lead eyes are going to sink fast and are best used in water depths of 2+ feet or when you want to crawl your fly along a sandy bottom. Redfish, big ones, are abundant, with fish in the 20- to 30-pound class available at times on barrier-island shoals that kiss the entire coastline of the Peach State. Dont try to feed a redfish a bonefish-size gotcha. This fish is looking for a meal, and it will eat just about anything it thinks it can fit in its mouth. Southwest Fly Fishing Magazine, "Exposure" Photo Essay, April 2015. The great thing about redfish patterns is, for the most part, they are pretty darn simple fly and easy to tie. Miniard fishes primarily for tailing redfish in tough, tangled spartina grass along the northeast Florida coast. However, if you venture out in the summer evenings, youll quickly understand how the area acquired its name. The record red drum was 94 pounds and was caught on the East coast. Redfish are strong, hearty, and fight really good. Here in North Florida, this is usually in mid to late spring. Starting at $6.16. Other shrimp patterns to consider are grass shrimp and hybrids like redfish Ritalin. The defining characteristics are a Craft Fur tail, a few wraps of chenille, and then some type of brush to build the head of the fly. This pattern performs extremely well in murkier waters or on overcast days, and just like any other fly the spoon has many variants that can cater to any situation. If the fish arent committing fully to the fly, it doesnt mean they arent interested in it, and it could mean its a little big or isnt swimming correctly. January and February is redfish time in the many sheltered potholes and ponds of the Biloxi, Mississippi, marsh. Seven hot flies for chasing red drum throughout the coastal south. Zap-A-Crab Like Charleston, certain parts in the South have what we call a flood tide. All of the fish you choose to keep must measure between 20-28 inches. The hook sizes and eye weight can greatly vary and give you the flexibility to fish any depth of water. Great fly-rod redfishing in northeast Florida can be found in the creeks and bays off the Intracoastal Waterway just north and south of the St. Johns River. The lagoon runs from the southern tip of New Smyrna Beach to the north end of Merritt Island and encompasses more than 21,000 acres of shallow, clear flats with less than a foot of tidal flow. Sometimes, they can be a bit more technical. Add the sizes you fish most often too. Raz Reed, who created the fly, also uses it for bass, something I havent tried yet but plan on tying up a few for my next bass mission. This is my summer flats first choice in the colors closet to the mullet in your areatans and beige with whites and black markings. The fishing is good, but different, and the type of fly required to dupe reds is different too. For information, visit . Kwan is the fly to have for those quiet, cold winter days on the water. Easy to cast, and light enough to manipulate in a variety of ways once in the water. Having the right fly for these conditions is essential. For more about chasing redfish with a fly rod, find Chico Fernandezs book Fly Fishing for Redfish. Its tied on a size 1 through 2/0 Mustad 34007 hook, unweighted or with lead dumbbell eyes. I had never seen a tail that big or that color. Greens and golds are the first choices in smaller #2 and #4. When retrieved with quick short strips it closely resembles a fleeing shrimp and the head pulses with bite-enticing movement. Cone-Head Wooly Bugger You can play with tippet strengths but stick to what you are happy to fish and go from there. 1 Where to Catch Redfish in Texas. Dustin's Destroyer, Chartreuse and White. The fish looks unnatural and uncoordinated, but its the most exciting surface-lure strike youll see. Fiddler, stone and mud crabs inhabit the Charleston marshes, and their colors are muted, from brown to a dark tan to almost chocolate. If the precise concave shape isnt made, the spoon will plane to the surface during the retrieve rather than wobble. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Texas claims two others, and North Carolina one. A small orange grizzly feather is tied in at the head to look like a fiddler-crab claw, with a single stiff mono weed guard positioned from the head toward the hook point. The fly is finished by tying in three dark but iridescent wild-turkey breast feathers that splay outward from the head over the hook point and bend, which makes it look very crab-like. A subtle fly or plug pulled gently in front of a . Locals like the Surfin Wooly. The fly hit the water and the redfish inhaled it like it was the best meal it had ever seen. True trophy fish can mean being in the right place, with the right flies, setup for success. That means using stout tackle for casting: Try a 9-weight for fish to 20 pounds and a 10-weight for heavier bulls. With diverse locations and ample opportunity, it is a great place to try fly fishing for the first time or the hundredth. Get the latest up to date fly fishing report for Redfish, sea trout, tarpon, mackeral jack crevalle fishing in Gulf Coast with the top producing flies and recommended equipment to get you into fish. In addition to redfish, we have the option to target inshore and offshore species such as tarpon, jacks, kingfish, cobia, bonito, snapper, etc when conditions allow in a 23 foot . Dustin's Destroyer, Bluegill. The Electric Bunny doesnt seemingly resemble one particular redfish menu item, but they find its crabby silhouette irresistible. Thats when Alderman became a believer in rattling redfish flies. For large redfish, you will want to employ a 3/0, 4/0, or 5/0 circle hook. A 6-10wt setup will work just fine. Each area offers something to the fly fisherman. Before you go, know the rules for reds in your target area. Fly Fishing for Texas Redfish: Dolphin and Redfish photo by Marjie Glodberg: We're a big fan of awesome photos showing action and drama! Reds there are primarily crab eaters, especially little oyster crabs and fiddler crabs, and the Turkey in the Straw is dead ringer for a little crab. All five of the flies featured in this article are available in the Sight Cast Redfish Pack and are designed to target Redfish in the Gulf Coast region. Usually a wake is seen, or a small part of the fish is spotted breaking the waters surface. It can be tied in sizes 10 - 20. The basic shape of the fly tends to replicate many sources of the Redfishs diet, such as shrimp, small baitfish, and crabs. In fall and winter months, the Biloxi Marsh and the coast of Louisiana can properly boast the best redfishing in the world. It has a large front collar that pushes water and the head to tail contrast makes it highly visible and attractive to fish. Guiderecommended.com and River Traditions LLC participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and others, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and other companies." These Texas reds demonstrate typical shallow-water feeding behavior. No more sweat-soaked shirts the first hour into poling and smelling like a gym locker by the end of the day. It is hand-tied by Jim Dupre and finished with an epoxy coating, making it bulletproof. They get a lot bigger. Spoonfly So our guides have begun to compile a collection of our favorite patterns here, for all to see. The Razmatz is an excellent choice for a shallow, dirty water fly pattern. Equip your fly line with cast foam poppers, deer-hair bugs or shrimp and baitfish patterns for the classic approach to Snook fly fishing. With all these factors in mind, lets go over five of the top producing Redfish fly patterns that every angler needs in their box. When these marks started erupting in huge, gold splashes, we figured out that they were huge schools of redfish and that we had to be ready for them to pop up at any time.. When: Summer and fall; Who: The following guides specialize in Texas redfishing: Middle Texas Coast: Capt. These fish, without a doubt, make for an incredibly memorable fly fishing trip. The full recipe for Redfish on the Half-Shell can be found here. Generally, the Deceiver fits into a open-water category as these flies are rather large compared to others. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. All rights reserved. The bull reds are singular fish, generally a lot bigger, and are more specific in what they eat. Is this getting you excited? Gear up with giant Clouser flies and sinking lines that range from 450 to 700 grains. The Texas Toad, pictured above, is a good example of one such variation. Texas Sporting Journal, "The Real Laguna Madre", July 2013 Getting the fly to drop deep gains more bites. Its time Florida starts similar program.Snook These trips are great for 1-2 anglers of all skill levels. In most cases, this will include a 9 or 10 weight fly rod, a 25 lb to 30 lb test 7.5 to 9 foot tapered leader, and crab patterns or poppers (depending on conditions). Unless you know the area and own a flats boat, youll need a guide. Floating on the surface, Gurglers will pop, splash, and create noise when being retrieved. All fishing is done out of a 2016 Hell's Bay Professional poling skiff, although we do occasionally wade fish. This is a variation of a fly tied by Jim Misiura. Sheka Shrimps tied in subtle browns and cream colors perform best in stained water. Sometimes the bite is on and game fish will aggressively smack anything thats thrown in front of them. Most of them are caught in the marshes and coastal waters, but a few are targeted offshore. Learn More. On some versions, the chenille body is wrapped with a contrasting-color hackle feather, which gives the fly very buggy shrimp look when the hackle is trimmed with scissors to simulate legs. These fish fight strongly and stubbornly, but they dont make long runs and theyre usually caught in shallow water. Size #1 and #2 are best. Below are some articles to guide you to a TROPHY. They can be in water from 6 inches to 3feet, based on varying conditions of tide and temperature. Days a . They are superb at grabbing the attention of fish from a distance, in murky water, or when the visibility is low. She coaches clients in advance of these opportunities: Drum prep is like a fire drill, she says. Most of the time fly-rodders are working from kayaks and canoes, casting to pushing fish or blind-casting to creek mouths. The fly has a monofilament weed guard and burnt-mono eyes. I like to think of it as the woolly bugger for reds. Anywhere you can flats-fish for Texas reds, youll find that sensory overload. If youre fishing in one foot of water, you can opt for a fly tied with bead-chain eyes. He guides when not teaching and devised the Gold Frizzy for redfish because it does a good job of imitating a gold, flashing and wobbling spoon likely the No. Quickly toss the fly in front of the fish before it heads back out to sea. Tied on a #1 or 1/0 hook in the color that best covers your area. Sign up to get the latest sales, new product updates, fly tying tutorials, and important news! The Redfish tend to like its smaller profiling in the colder months, especially on the clearer days. Ive almost been tempted to tie some very small ones for trout. These are the times when having an arsenal of flies that resembles all the prevalent bait fish in your particular location is a must. While flies with bead chain eyes (or no eyes at all) are best in water depths of 1 foot or less when you want your fly to stay out of the grass and near the surface. You need to ensure to scan the course with your eyes, particularly when fishing in shallow waters. Description - Fly fishing for red drum in the shallow marshes near Galveston using kayaks right after a cool front. His favorite is the East-Cut Redfish Popper, made commercially by T.J. Neal of East Cut Saltwater Flies in Driftwood, Texas (512-461-4473). This allows the crab to stand upright in a defensive posture with claws dancing in the current when resting on the bottom. What a rush. Devils River - Legendary Among Texas Fly Anglers. Youll end up tying this fly on very often because once you get that rush of adrenaline watching Redfish blow it up out of the water, you'll be addicted. Greens and golds are the first choices in smaller #2 and #4. Almost any fly that imitates such forage works well. He ties several versions of it, making it suitable for redfish in a wide variety of waters and angling conditions. Back in November, I made it down to the Texas Coast for a DIY saltwater trip with my buddy, Bryant. What makes the fly different from other crab and glue-body designs, however, is that its extremely weedless. Texas Sporting Journal, "Light Tackling Tarpon", May 2015. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. If youve fished for Redfish before or are researching Redfish flies, you will undoubtedly run across the Kwan fly. Everglades National Park offers prime redfish habitat with miles of flats. From the gulf coast of Texas to Virginia, redfish can be found along nearly 2000 miles worth of coastline. It has a large head that pushes water and the head to tail contrast makes it highly visible and attractive to fish. Truthfully, there are a lot of different redfish fly patterns that all work well. Polling around on that flood tide is a special time to fish, and it should be cherished. Traditionally it's tied with two splayed hackles in the rear that act as claws, paired up with a wide profile body made of EP fibers intertwined with silicone legs that is shaped to match the natural profile of a crab, and topped off with some lead eyes to get it down to the bottom quick. Magnify that sound and it results in a musical popcorn symphony performed by an entire school of reds feeding on fleeing white shrimp. . Fish this fly slow and allow it to sink,then with very small, crawling strips you will mimic the movement of a defensive crab. The body profile and hook riding upwards make it deadly. The flashing and the low frequency vibration sounds it emits when being stripped excels in murkier waters. With a mix of unpredicted weather conditions, we were in for quite the weekend. No spam. Most are designed to have the perfect amount of weight to slowly flutter down to the bottom and not rapidly sink into the weeds where fish cant see it. Often this sound carries across the marsh from two or three coves over. South Texas Sight Fishing Location: Aransas Pass, TX Waters: Port Aransas Area Waters Fish: Redfish Website. Most reds top 20 pounds, and again, if they see your fly, theyll eat it. It's one . Post by ellisredfish Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:50 pm. Because of the guttural drumming sound they can make, the term "drum" was a given name. From baitfish to shrimp to crabs and almost anything in between, Reds are opportunistic feeders. Rick Hartman, an expert fly fisherman and guide, poles a skiff in the Lower Laguna Madre while a friend casts for redfish. A Bonnier LLC Company. Flats-fishing equals sight-fishing, which is what makes it fun. If theres any wind at all, a 9-weight makes casting easier. Copyright 2023 Sport Fishing Magazine. The basic design is made with four to six saddle hackles tied near the back at the bend of the hook.