Best Methods For Casting At Tailing Redfish
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
How many times have you seen tailing redfish, then cast at them, and come up with nothing?
What are the best ways to present your lure in front of tailing redfish to trigger strikes?
Learn everything you need to know on how to best present your lure to tailing redfish below!!
Check this out!
Casting To Tailing Redfish
Lots of anglers question where they should place their cast to induce bites from tailing redfish.
It depends on a few factors concerning redfish behavior as well as other conditions.
The first is the mood or behavior of the fish.
If the fish appear super spooky and skittish, you will want to cast further away from the school.
The goal is to lead the fish into your lure.
You want the school of fish to swim into the lure and strike.
First and foremost, try and make out which direction the school of fish is moving.
Next, you want to observe how fast the fish are moving because this impacts how far ahead you lead your cast into the fish.
If the fish are moving fast, you want to cast further ahead, however, if they are slowly milling along, then you can cast a bit closer.
Just keep in mind you do not want to spook off these fish with your cast.
Where To Cast
An example scenario could be the fish are not acting skittish and are moving at a decent pace.
You want to cast past the fish and begin reeling when the lure hits the water.
Reel the lure fast just underneath the surface of the water and stop it once you know its in front of the fish.
You want to let the redfish find the lure.
If you use twitches and pauses in your retrieve, the redfish will feel that vibration and there is a chance they swim off.
Another method is casting directly in front of the school of fish.
If you are accurate with your casts, try to aim right in front of where the fish are traveling.
You still want the lure to rest there so the redfish can find it without being scared off.
Furthermore, redfish will sometimes remain in place and be tailing without moving.
In this case, they are most likely rooting around in the mud for a crustacean or meal.
You want to place your cast as close as you possibly can in this scenario.
It is best to aim your cast almost on top of them, but the same rules mentioned above apply to this situation as well.
You still need to figure out which way the fish are facing and whether or not they can be easily spooked.
Using lighter and smaller lures will work best in this scenario.
If possible, you should make use of a sidearm cast because the lure stays low to the water and creates relatively no splash when it hits the water.
You need to feather the spool and your rod tip will guide the lure where you want it to land.
An overhand cast creates a high arc for the lure to travel and when it hits the water, the larger splash can scare fish off.
If you know for sure your casts are off and you could risk lining the school of fish, you can always stop the lure after you cast it to at least have another chance at making a better cast.
Lure Options
Typically, tailing redfish are more noticeable when the water is clear and glass calm.
In these conditions, you want to make sure you are using a lure that will not cause a lot of commotion, yet still attract the attention of the fish.
The best lure to use for this situation is the Alabama Leprechaun Jerkbait.
This lure casts a great distance but more importantly, you can cast extremely accurately with it.
In another scenario where fish are hunkered down in one spot and rooting around in the mud, the Slam Shady 2.0 is the way to go.
The Slam Shady 2.0 is even more effective in this scenario with the tail pinched off to create the “Nub” rig.
Casting To Tailing Redfish [VIDEO]
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Conclusion
Tailing redfish can prove to be tricky to trigger strikes from, however, with proper cast placement and lure retrieval, you can hook into these finicky fish.
You have to keep in mind which direction the fish are traveling as well as what kind of mood do they appear to be in.
These factors along with getting your lure right in front of their faces are what will make or break you hooking into a tailing redfish!
Do you have any more questions on what to look for or how to catch tailing redfish?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about the best lure for tripletail, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Great info, thanks for the help. PS would love to see that hat you are wearing come back to the store
This is an incredible video! Thank you Pat!
Excellent techniques, much like fly fishing sight fishing. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, great video… great instruction and technique. This is something I really want to get better at. Thank you Pat