Toward the end of the year, October has been well known in the Tampa Bay area as one of the best months to target schooling redfish. Years ago, it was nothing to see multiple schools of 100 to 300 plus redfish in a school. Places like Double Branch, Weedon Island, Picnic Island, Tierra Verde, Fort DeSoto, Tarpon Key, The Clam Bar, Rattle Snake Key, South Shore and Cockroach Bay hosted these schools. It was nothing to go out and find your own school of reds, or join the many boats fishing a well-known school of redfish. With the schools being so large back then, they would actually turn the water color a reddish hue that could be seen from a good distance away; especially, if you were wearing copper or amber colored polarized fishing glasses.
At the present time, many of those areas I mentioned still get their share of redfish and some still get decent size schools but, sometimes, it is just smaller schools of 8 to 15 fish. It just depends on what area you are fishing in and how noisy you are. Many times, the redfish will wait at low tide at the edge of a flat waiting for the tide to come in, so they can get to a feeding zone.
Feeding zones can be many different types of structures from passes, bridges and reefs to grass flats, oyster mounds, islands and mangroves to name a few. When fishing in Tampa Bay on the flats, I like to look for good grass that is holding plenty of bait. Bait can be finger mullet, scaled sardines, pinfish, shrimp and more. Now, on the flats, if you can find an area alive with bait or schools of mullet with structure, you are heading in the right direction. If you can find an area that combines multiple redfish attracting structures, it will up your odds of finding them. So, if you find mangroves on an island with an oyster mound off the point of the island (which will usually have a deep hole from the current) there is a good chance that redfish will visit a spot like that. This would combine several different things at once that all attract reds.
Many times, in places like this, redfish will follow the tide in as it comes up. If you can get to the spot and set up before they get there, they will be most complacent and happy to eat your offerings. The worst thing you can do is chase the school of reds–it will give them lockjaw. If you spot a school, get in their pathway, anchor down and let them come to you. Start throwing out live chum and cut bait to get the water by your boat to attract them to you.
Redfish have a very keen sense of smell, so the cut bait should bring them to you. Try cut Ladyfish, threadfin, pinfish or anything oily. Fish with both live and cut baits in the rod holders.
Good Luck,
Capt. George Hastick