It’s BIG redfish time boys and girls; well at least it’s the traditional season for them. In truth we’ve been catching a few of the trophy sized reds since January.
While I’m pecking away at the keyboard we have a bitter cold front moving through the area. This type of weather is the only combination of factors which will quickly put a damper on my plans to fish for trophy reds. Only strong winds or only cloudy skies or only water temps a bit cooler than we like and we can still usually find a group or two of big fish to entertain ourselves with. Put all of these factors together and an angler quite literally strikes out at the chance for a trophy in the sight-fishing arena.
Luckily by this time of year the cold fronts begin to spread out and the water temperatures slowly climb to the redfish’s optimum range. Within this optimum temperature range the redfish often manifest a certain amount of aggression which helps the angler actually catch these awesome fish.
While live and cut bait will account for most of these trophies we’ve caught countless MONSTER (20 to 40+ pounds) redfish on Exude soft plastic baits. So can you, in fact if you are lucky enough to be the first angler to approach a school of trophy class redfish a well placed soft plastic lure will often be accepted by these heavily fished bruisers. Stealth and finesse are key factors in capturing that trophy of a life time, especially if you want to fool them rather than feed them!
As spring continues to warm the waters it not uncommon for some of the fish to break free of the school or the entire school itself may work their way onto the shallow flats in search of crabs and shrimp buried in the grass. This is another prime time to offer these brutes an artificial bait. I usually start with an Exude Cajun Crab and let the waters clarity dictate the color.
I’ll instruct my clients to inch the crab slowly up to the tailing redfish, moving the plastic bait ONLY when the fish’s tail is breaking the surface. My theory is if the tail is underwater the fish is already spooked or looking for the plastic,,,,
This is Captain Mark signing off: May your rods bend, your drags scream & your knots hold!
Capt. Mark Wright
cell: 321-302-3474
home: 321-264-3474
email:captmarkwright@earthlink.net
www.captmarkwright.com
