SE NC Report: redfish continue to hit in the shallows

[jeffreyweeks]

The weather hasn’t been the best for fishing thus far in 2011, though local waters have not stopped producing nice redfish in the back creeks. When the weather allows it this action is available for those hardy enough to seek it.



Right now you can find redfish schooled up in pods of literally hundreds of fish. These slow-moving schools will roam the shallows during the day when the water temperature gets as high as it is going to get. On a sunny day they will favor dark banks that attract heat.

Regardless they are in there to feed on small fry that have also gone shallow, both for warmth and for safety to try and stay away from the redfish (who themselves also favor skinny water to avoid the dolphins—dolphins love to eat wintertime red drum). The small bait that redfish feed on will include mud minnows, fiddler crabs, small ghost shrimp, and blue crabs.



Redfish can be caught a variety of ways in these shallow water situations. If you are able to buy or net live mud minnows you can fish them on lead head jigs, casting at the edges of the redfish school. If you don’t have live mud minnows then scented soft baits for companies like Gulp and Fishbites will take redfish.



The bite of the red drum on the soft baits is very subtle at this time of the year, so you need to have your rod in your hand and a finger on the line. Normally redfish really nail such lures but in the cold water they can have a much more sluggish strike.

If nothing else will entice them you can also try cut mullet or cut crab on a Carolina rig. Even cut shrimp will work. Most of these baits will available previously frozen and not fresh right now, but they will draw hits if you are patient. If you can catch any fiddler crabs redfish will also hit them.

For more fishing articles see my blog A Dash of Salty and my website Surf and Salt