lagoon redfish

Plenty of reds to go around this week! This week I have been fishing all three lagoon systems — the Banana, Indian, and Mosquito Lagoon and it’s safe to say the redfish bite has been very good! Most fish this week are between 18-30 inches, which is pretty typical until we start getting more into the summer. Although Mother Nature decided to give us some breezy conditions, the redfish still haven’t seem to mind.

The bite this week has been mostly around edges, and what I mean by edges is areas where the water may be very shallow (6 to 12 inches or so) with a drop off within close proximity even if it’s only a slight change. It’s very important to place your bait right on the edge where there is a slight depth change; most fish are cruising these areas in search of an easy meal.

On a calm morning you can entice a good bite using small artificial lures such as topwater plugs, seedless Gulp jerk-shads, and Gulp shrimp. As the sun rises and the artificial bite slows, it’s not a bad idea to switch to the ole stand by cut mullet and cut ladyfish.

I find a heavy wind can usually help create a better bite when fishing dead bait. With us having non-tidal estuaries the wind creates a slight current and helps fish find those baits from a little bit further away. I have also been finding a fair amount of fish tight along shorelines with docks, the fish have been tight to the structure and hardly ever turn down a Gulp shrimp or a handpicked shrimp fished on a 3/0 circle hook when presented properly. The proper presentation is to lead the fish! Cast beyond where the fish may be sitting and slowly and naturally bring the bait to its attention, DO NOT BOP IT RIGHT ON THE HEAD! The best way I can explain why is to think of it this way: even though you may eat steak, would you eat one that fell out of the sky onto your dinner table? Or would you prefer someone casually walk over and hand you one on a dinner plate? The concept is the same, just because the fish like shrimp, doesn’t mean they want one to just pop out of thin air.

I highly encourage everyone to catch and release when it comes to the river, but most importantly, get out there and wet a line!