The kids aren’t the only creatures going back to school!
The redfish bite has been fantastic lately and will reach the level of stupendous leading up to October, when it will become… whatever is better than stupendous. The flats are alive lately with meandering schools of fish in the dozens and scattered fish in the hundreds. These fish are of the hungry variety too, which is my personal favorite type of fish.
There are several ways to get these fish hooked, but the easiest, by far, is a stinky cut bait. Take some time to sit on the flat and watch the schools before trying to approach them. Pay attention to the pattern that they are working and try to set up out in front of them. I like to use a cut pinfish on 25-pound leader and a 2/0 circle hook and free-line it. The fish usually take their sweet time to eat it, so be patient and wait until the drag starts singing to reel tight. It is common to have multiple fish hooked up at a time, so it’s a good idea to have one rod per angler sitting out there.
I like the dusk and dawn if possible, and if either of those times coincide with an outgoing tide that’s even better. In our area, we are usually sitting in about a foot or so of water and following the fish out as the water drops. Similarly, if you are fishing the incoming tide, I like to get as skinny as you can get and follow them in as the water rises.
You can use the same technique throwing artificials as well. Weedless gold spoons are perfect for these schooling or scattered fish, but a scented soft bait on a jig head works great if worked slowly through the school.
As always, please make sure to revive these fish thoroughly! Warm water has them moving slowly, and summer is also the sharky time of year, so try to get them lively again before watching them disappear back into the grass!