As I write these few paragraphs it is the middle of September and it’s still hot on Florida’s Space Coast. I find myself looking forward to October as it is easily my favorite month for fishing here.
There will be lots of inshore action fishing the Indian River Lagoon system. Spotted seatrout, redfish, ladyfish, juvenile tarpon and jacks will be feeding in the shallows we habitually fish all year. However, in this area, it’s the breeding redfish that gets my attention.
It is well known that our local redfish breed within the non-tidal regions of our inland waters. There are productive spawns within the Banana River Lagoon, Mosquito Lagoon and a great area of the Indian River Lagoon. For the novice angler this is an anomaly unique to our area. Throughout the redfish’s entire Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico range spawning takes place in the sea, often near an inlet or pass.
Spawning redfish are found in schools sizes of a few dozen to maybe a thousand fish strong. This is quite a sight, a sight most anglers will never see. On days with good sunlight and calm conditions a large group of trophy sized redfish will nearly glow just beneath the water’s surface. Their coppery hue is noticeable often at a great distance as long as the water is fairly clear.
Moving fish will give themselves away by disturbing the water’s surface. Even in a light chop the “push” will be obvious as the disturbed water of the moving fish will generally move in a direction other than the direction the breeze comes from. The wind usually causes the waves to go in one predictable direction at a time. Anything creation a wave motion contradictory to the set wave patterns is either fish or possibly a boat’s wake!
Go to heavy gear for these reds. I use seven foot medium action rods loaded with ten pound braided line for most of my open water fishing, but jump to seven foot six inch rods and fifteen or twenty pound braided line for the breeders. This allows us to cast a bigger top-water plug or larger natural bait as well as increase our drag pressure to efficiently fight these bruisers!
Bringing them to the boat in short order helps to assure a healthy release and releasing these awesome critters while they’re still strong is the only way to secure their future!
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