[rottal]

Ok, ill go ahead and toss tis question out there....

any of you guys have any experience with Redfish patterns? ive got the usual stuff...clousers, red whistlers, crabs, spoon flies....does anyone have any ideas (and pics) or anything else? i know saltwater topics arent real hot here, but im trying to put together some new stuff for a trip next month to Louisianna...or however it is you spell it.......

my maine goal is dont want to spend a lot of time tying crazy stuff i wont ever fish, just some good basic stand by type patterns...weedless, as the areas i will be fishing are pretty thick with vegetation. most of the patterns i have now were for areas like florida and the carolinas where weeds werent quite as bad.

well let me know if anyone has any ideas, im open to anything new....

 

[hooknline]

Never been ocean fishing. But if theres no basketball on tv, i watch out and oln all day lol. They look like they have a lot of fun catching those things. Does a redfish have more fight than a wiper?

 

[rottal]

They fight very hard---- but more of a bulldog-type fight...no real long runs like other saltwater species, but they are persistant and can take awhile to get in...a very strong fish indeed. especially the big ones, ive seen redfish in the surf in S.C. that were over 50 lbs. the ones you usually encounter on the flats or tidal rivers are usually smaller..avaraging around 6 lbs or so, but up to 30 on occasion. redfish are perhaps my favorite saltwater fish (along with snook...)

i like them because of the habitat they are found in varies so much, ive caught them on everything from topwater stuff to drifting live crabs in the rivers...my favorite way to catch them is sight fishing to them in skinny water...a blast.

 

[Bronco]

Salt water is my favorite fishing , especially in shore, just stuck here in colorado for a while until I can move back to florida. Reds are some of the most aggressive fish on the flats, thing is finding them.-But if you do, you will hook them. Clousers, spoon flies probally being the best for fly fishing and crab patterns. Bring a spinning rod and use bait for the best action. you should get trout to looking for the reds. the closer you get to the gulf also the bigger the reds get. There are some huge reds down there where the rivers, canals dump in. Reds are also considered the best eating.

 

[Guest]

I have a lot of redfish experience, because I lived down in Texas. I generally used spinning tackle including Mirr-oLure topwaters and the red and white p[attern swimmers. Also Johnson Sprite gold spoons will do the trick. Live bait is easy..shrimp, mullet, etc. To answer your fly question I'm not too sure, but my uncle uses this fly thing that is basically a hook and siome epoxy shaped into a clear spoonish looking thing.

here's a pic...

and they fight way better than a wiper or any other freshwater fish ive had the joy of catching.

 

[epic]

I watch that CITGO In Search Of Fly Water all the time at work and the guy(one of the hosts) loves fly fishing for Redfish, He even caught a world record Redfish while fishing the flats in Louisiana. Here is a link to their show I would start my search there.

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/s/f_fea_redfish_20lb-tippet_record_CBowman.html

 

[rottal]

Thats a big red for sure....he was fishing near Venice, LA...which ironically enough is the area i will be heading in June....cool....i keep hearing nothing but good things about that area...

 

[epic]

Yeah if you can find a schedule of the show they usually rerun alot, you should watch it. This is one of my favorite shows to watch at work, and the blonde host is hot which is always a plus. Hot blonde in tiny red bikini fly fishing, who says sex doesnt sell.

 

[rottal]

sorry ePiC, that sex stuff doesnt interest me. im more into fishing.

ahem...uh, yeah, right....ESPN you say? who cares about stupid redfish, ill be looking for the bikini....

 

[davidmcnicholas]

This probably isn't the response you were looking for, but I think it will help you. There is a fly shop in Costa Mesa California called His & Her's Fly Shop. The owners name is Frank Selby. He is one of the original pioneers of saltwater fly fishing and has originated many saltwater patterns. There is also a professional tyer their on premise her name is Grace, this fly shop ties 90% of all their own flies. Between the 2 of them they will be able to tell you what to use. Also, they will tie up custom orders and mail them to you on any type of fly any size. Again, they are very well known for salt water flies. If you want the phone number let me know I will get it.

 

[Bronco]

I remember that host years ago at the sportsmen show. She was promoting a lodge in africa. Me and my buddy tried to get her to discount the trip, but she only upped the price because she said we kind of scared her. Oh well our dreams of fishing for those tiger fish with a swim suit model as our guide never panned out.

 

[Cajun]

I just woke this post up from the dead!

Rottal, had you caught any Red's on this trip? I'm going to Louisiana in June and I'm in the same boat you were before going. Which flies worked best?

 

[rottal]

Wow, talk about digging up a post from the dead lol

To answer your question we did get into quite a few decent fish. I think good presentation was more key that the actual pattern, but as per our guides suggestion we fished epoxy spoon flies more than anything else...a size 4 or 6 with a gold body with blue, red, and silver flakes on the back. I messed around with several colors, but the more tradional gold or red seemed to produce as much as anything else. if you tie up any make sure you add a hard mono weed guard, you will most likely be fishing the backwater bays and the weeds will be thick. dont forget to keep your rod tip low and keep stripping after you see the fish take, using a tradition hook set wont work too well when fishing like this. In june you wont see any of the huge bull reds that are usually around in the fall down in southern lousianna, but you should see plenty of fish in the 8-10 lb range. I bet you will have a good trip, id like to get back there myself. I would also suggest taking a light spinning rod and assorted plugs/spoons just incase the wind is up or you are fishing two guys in one boat, we took turns on the bow with the flyrods and the guy in back threw spinning gear. are you being guided and what areas are you planning on fishing?

 

[Cajun]

Thanks for the info and advise. I have about 10 epoxy gold spoons I tied plus a bunch of the other stuff like deceivers, shrimp patterns, and clousers. I'm going in the Leville area which is West of where you were. I grew up down there and know the area very well. My bother and I are going in his boat. I used to fish them with live bait and spinning tackle a lot but fly fishing for them is very new to me. I didn't start fly fishing until I moved here in 2000. I can assure you, I'll have a spinning rod in the boat with 50 live cockahoe minnows. ;D From researching on the internet, it sounds like the gold spoon is the best fly. It is all shallow salt water marsh in the area we plan on going. I'll tie up some more spoons and add glitter to the epoxy like you mentioned. Thanks for the info.

 

[rottal]

Well if you are from down there and have fished for them as much as it sounds there probably isnt much i can tell you about finding them. I guess the only other thing would be if your brother doesnt already have one, fish from a platform. getting up off the surface of the water a few feet will really enhance your ability to spot them and to also get you more distance with your casts. also try to get your hands on a stripping basket, its hard to keep excess flyline from tangling up on your feet and stuff in the boat. if you check the internet im sure you can find some tips on making something that will work out of a spare belt and basket or large plastic wash basin or something similiar.

Good luck, and be sure to take plenty of pics and let us know how you do

 

[Troutdawg]

Size #4 Decievers and Clousers!!

 

[Cajun]

Well if you are from down there and have fished for them as much as it sounds there probably isnt much i can tell you about finding them.  I guess the only other thing would be if your brother doesnt already have one, fish from a platform.  getting up off the surface of the water a few feet will really enhance your ability to spot them and to also get you more distance with your casts.   also try to get your hands on a stripping basket, its hard to keep excess flyline from tangling up on your feet and stuff in the boat.  if you check the internet im sure you can find some tips on making something that will work out of a spare belt and basket or large plastic wash basin or something similiar.

Good luck, and be sure to take plenty of pics and let us know how you do   

I think you just brought up two very good points. He doen't have a platform, but his boat is an aluminum flat bottoms so I could stand up on the bench seat. With the edges of the floor boars and everything else, I'll look into a stripping basket. I'll only get 2 days, 3 if I'm lucky to fish while I'm there so I'm trying to be prepared. I caught plenty reds on spinning tackle but I want to catch some bad with the fly rod. If I can figure out how to post pictures, I'll post one from last time I was down there fishing with live minnows.

 

[Cajun]

Here is a picture of a Red I caught and you can see the marsh and type water we were and will be fishing.

 

[rottal]

Nice red...looks like the area ive fished down there too, lots of good ponds where the fish move in and out of during tide. you gotta love LA....

 

[Cajun]

That popping cork is actually a Lucky13 with the hooks taken off. Best popping cork I ever used. Sometime the reds come up and nail it instead of the live minnow. If you leave the hooks on, it gets tangled. I used to keep an extra rod with one on with the hooks because I have come accross reds that would repeatly hit it and not the minnow.