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If you’re going to be casting these for any period of time, you’ll want to trade in the heavier surf stick for a medium-action rod that will allow you to throw farther and do a good job of allowing a decent hook-set. A big redfish will hook itself plenty solid most of the time, especially if you’re using circle hooks that purchase well into the side of the fish’s tough mouth. If artificials are your particular method of choice, there are plenty of options, too.
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These natural baits also work when fished along the bottom in channels and jetty areas, using a slip-sinker setup to keep the bait down below.
#RECIPE FOR BLUETAIL FISH CRACKED#
Fresh cut bait and fresh cracked crabs also can work, too. Shrimp and mullet, and other baitfish including piggy perch and croakers, can be free-lined with small weights to help with their natural swimming presentation while live crabs can be hooked through one of their rear legs and allowed to flutter in the current. Crabs, shrimp and mullet are usually easy to acquire this time of year and can be fished in multiple ways to bring in hungry fish. Texas inshore saltwater fishing outstanding during fall, winter monthsĪs far as bait is concerned, the best characteristic of the redfish - it is an equal-opportunity gourmand - plays right into the hands of anglers, with multiple options for success using natural baits or artificial lures. Many anglers who target bull reds in the surf or from piers and jetties prefer longer, stiffer surf-style rods equipped with stout reels capable of holding a few hundred yards of heavier test line (30- to 40-pound-test range) as well as having a good drag setup that can help play out big fish. There’s really no wrong way to fish for big reds, but if you plan to hook up with a fish in the double-digit pound range, you definitely will want some backbone in your rod. When it comes to discussing tackle techniques for bull reds, the variety of means and methods is actually astonishing, with lots of different ways to lure in, catch and land these brutish specimens. This pursuit is geared mostly toward playing the percentages, which for most anglers means putting out multiple rods and waiting for the fish to oblige. While it’s not uncommon to see fish rolling near the surface or cruising just below the top, this fall redfish hunt isn’t about sight fishing, which typically involves using light tackle and fly rods while stalking shallow grass flats, hoping a fish will give away its position by “tailing” or sticking its back above the surface.
#RECIPE FOR BLUETAIL FISH FULL#
It’s easy to discern if the fish are in and there’s a full-fledged migration occurring, notably by the lines of anglers set up along pass areas with a full complement of surf rods stowed in stakeout PVC rod holders. Once you know the life cycle of these critters and what makes them tick, it’s easy to see why so many anglers look forward to the fall redfish run when the fish are in full force heading toward the Gulf. Those higher tides also coincide with storms and hurricanes, which though destructive, can actually help the Gulf ecosystem in this biological regard. Guides and biologists with plenty of fishing experience note that some of the best redfish breeding activity coincides with high tides that help spread eggs back into marshy bayou and estuary areas rich with nutrients, helping to set the stage for good fishing in subsequent years. Redfish on the Texas coast require stout tackle. Young redfish gobble up shrimp and small crabs and as they quickly grow - reaching a foot in length within their first year and hitting legal size by year three - their diet expands to include full-size crabs and larger fish, including mullet and croaker. Spawning season typically runs from mid-August to mid-October and the eggs laid near Gulf shores and passes ride the current into bay systems, turning into larvae that grow up in the shallows, using sea grass to hide from larger predators while they cruise sandy bottoms. When the fish reach maturity, they move out into the Gulf to breed and spend the rest of their days. Juvenile red drum spend their first few years in bays and other shallower areas, places biologists dub “surf zones,” which are really just tidal areas near passes and jetties. To first understand why this phenomenon occurs, you simply need to look at the life cycle of this most sought-after species across the Gulf and on the Atlantic Ocean side of the East Coast in Florida and the Carolinas. October is big redfishtime in the Lone Star State, with the annual fall migration of big bull reds underway as those fish head from our multitude of bay systems into the Gulf to spawn. Texas has its own running of the bulls each fall and the most savvy of anglers know that when it’s time to lock horns with a beast, you need look no farther than manmade passes that intersect the Gulf of Mexico for a stampede of fishing action.