Science-Based Strategies To Catch Redfish (With Capt. Caleb McCumber)
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
One of the secrets to catching more redfish is knowing the biology of the fish…
So saddle up for one of our best redfish podcasts yet!
Capt. Caleb McCumber and Salt Strong fishing coach Wyatt Parcel absolutely crush it in this podcast about the science of redfish.
Listen in as they discuss redfish migration, why redfish can be found in certain types of areas during certain times of the year, best lures and bait for redfish, and much more.
If you love catching redfish, then you’ll love this video!
You can watch the video version of this podcast below, listen to the audio version by clicking the play button underneath it, or listen to it on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify.
P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify and leave us a review!
Scientific Redfish Tactics [VIDEO]
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Scientific Redfish Tactics [PODCAST]
Note: Don’t forget to subscribe to the Salt Strong podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify and leave us a review!
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- UNIQUE REDFISH & TROUT RIGS (THAT ARE UNDERRATED BUT WORK GREAT)
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Here’s a timestamped table of contents:
- 1:40 – Learn about Caleb and how he got started
- 5:46 – Teachers learning from teachers
- 7:26 – What types of bait do redfish key in on during the seasons
- 8:29 – How cold fronts push tides and in return, push baitfish
- 11:05 – What do redfish eat during the winter?
- 12:07 – Wade fishing in the wintertime
- 15:02 – Spring redfish are magical gifts, here’s why
- 16:39 – This is when you need to switch up to small, flashy lures
- 18:15 – Targeting drains and finding deep cuts
- 20:10 – You need to mimic smaller baitfish with this
- 22:54 – Why redfish target crustaceans and how to present your baits
- 25:03 – Do lure colors matter?
- 25:41 – Drop it like it’s hot (presenting baits at the right depth)
- 27:11 – Summer redfish tactics
- 28:28 – Surf fishing and river fishing
- 29:25 – The key to fishing for reds during summer
- 30:02 – DO2: Dissolved oxygen levels and why it’s important to fishing
- 32:07 – Here are the tides to target redfish
- 34:03 – This is the ideal fish habitat
- 34:21 – What is an eddy?
- 36:59 – Best dirty water fishing tactics for redfish
- 38:55 – Make some noise!
- 40:02 – Using baits to create attention
- 44:20 – Why and when to change up your retrieve
- 46:19 – The science behind redfish feeding patterns
If you want to get out on the water with Capt. Caleb, book a trip here.
Don’t forget to check him out on Caleb TV, and follow Capt. Caleb on Instagram!
Conclusion
Knowing the science behind why redfish feed where they do and when they do is just another piece of the fishing puzzle.
Learning the seasonality of baits that redfish target is also a big part of knowing what lures to use.
Once you understand the where, the when, and the why, you’ll start catching way more redfish!
Have questions about the feeding habits of redfish?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who targets redfish year-round, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Love some Captain Caleb advice. What great combination with Salt Strong.
Watched the podcast and learned a lot. But I have a question. I fish the Galveston Bay system, Trinity Bay, East Bay, West Bay down to San Luis Pass. We have two types of shrimp in the bay, white and brown. But they are not in the bay at the same time. I would like to know what time of the year each type of shrimp is in the bay. To me it seems you would want to match a shrimptail lure to the color of the shrimp that are present.
Thanks men. That answered my question about finding schools of reds feeding and I can not get them to bite. I need to cast my bait in front of them and on the bottom. Matching the bait to what they are feeding on.
Correct! Knowing what they’re actively feeding on is a sure fire way to correctly choosing a bait profile! And with redfish, they mostly feed down, so to make it easy on them, we slow it down a bit to keep it in that strike zone. That’s not to say that if they’re very active, a faster retrieve won’t work as well, but generally I get more strikes from reds when I keep it low and slow!
Tnx. guys, loved the slow steady retrieve info. You 2 done a great informational job! Way to go$$$$
Absolutely John! Lots of folks get hung up on different lures and lure color… but the retrieve is just as important!
Awesome podcast, gentlemen! Really appreciated the science-backed approaches especially about the vision and metabolism topics as a marine biologist that studies fish visual ecology and their energetics. You guys nailed everything so I simply wanted to expand a little further on those areas. First, temperature and DO2 are the top two controlling factors that dictate how fish expend energy as you mentioned. Some other things that modulate their energy levels also include salinity, light levels (circadian rhythm and seasonality), and CO2 levels (hot topic in the scientific community right now). Second, Caleb is 100% correct how fish see color completely different than humans. Specifically, most of our inshore fishes are dichromats meaning they only possess two different color pigments in their retinas they are sensitive to. In most cases, its usually blue and green. The general rule of thumb is one pigment to match the water color they reside in and the other to contrast prey items or potential predators. Hope this helps and always happy to chat more about this.
I’ll be traveling up to Emerald Isle, NC in two weeks with the fam and planning on doing lots of inshore kayak fishing and some surf fishing so I will definitely be putting the info from this podcast to use!! Thanks guys!
Wow! Thanks for expanding on some of these details a bit more for us Aaron! I love learning the nitty gritty of these fish!
Wow! Excellent seasonal information. Greatly appreciated. Will be down in that area next fall and will fish the recommendations.
Thanks Bill! Can’t wait to see what you catch when you come down!
Great Info!! Thanks Guys!!
Absolutely Jesse! Thanks so much for tuning in!
Awesome info;
Thanks so much Ralph! Fish biology is one of our favorite topics! Not only do you become a better fisherman from it, you learn some pretty cool stuff about the fish we love to target!