Put Some Respect On Their Name

I have no idea how it happens, it seems like only a few weeks ago summer was so far away and we were in the midst of a mini-winter as successive cool fronts continued to remind us how nice 60-degree weather with zero humidity could be. All that is but a distant memory now as we have flipped the calendar and summer isn’t but a few weeks away.

Welcome back the sweltering heat and humidity so thick you need to breathe through a snorkel just to cope with everyday tasks. Gone are the mornings where you wake up to the repetitive snapping of the flags as the big south winds keep them starched at attention from dawn until dusk. Summer will usher in those days when you beg for a breeze or anything else that will provide relief from ever-climbing temperatures and cloudless blue skies.

As the seasons change, so does the focus for many anglers all along the coast. During the winter and spring months the vast majority of ink in most fishing publications is dedicated to the pursuit of big speckled trout. Under normal circumstances those months from November thru March or April will produce the lion’s share of bragging-sized trout so it only stands to reason that all the attention is focused on that subject and species. As the calendar and seasons both change, the focus now turns toward the “second class citizen” of the salt – the redfish.

I have no problem professing my affinity for the redfish because I truly believe they have more to offer than just about any other fish that roams the Texas saltwater. I love chasing trout, don’t get that confused or twisted. A big, speckled trout has a certain feel to it that is difficult to describe; perhaps because they are rare and highly-coveted. A solid redfish, not even a giant bull or anything like that, on the other hand, is a sensory overload that is very often underappreciated until it runs off with about half the line on your reel just to show you it can.

Redfish deserve a little more respect in my estimation because of what they bring to the table, so to speak. Perhaps my “man crush” on the redfish comes from the fact that unlike speckled trout you can watch redfish do “redfish things” and that is a treat for any angler.

Seeing these fish cruise around in shallow water, forage for food, swim in schools, lay around and be lethargic, or just plain disappear in broad daylight is absolutely mesmerizing to me. Learning to read their body language and adjusting to their variables is a visual puzzle that once it’s solved provides endless enjoyment for all to partake in. It’s truly such a feeling to watch these fish, figure out what they want, and then see them do exactly what you had hoped they would.

On the other hand redfish can frustrate you to the point where even a cold beer or good whiskey can’t soothe the sting. I have had days where the redfish have just completely refused to cooperate in the slightest, which in turn has caused me to question my sanity. Imagine if you can, making countless perfect casts and watching fish after fish swim up to the bait as if they may inhale the offering, only to inspect it and turn away in such a rush that they leave a hole in the water that takes almost a minute to fill back up.

It doesn’t matter what you do some days; they just refuse to cooperate. On days that the redfish don’t want to play all that you can do is learn from the experience, slap a Band Aid on your pride, and get after them again because they may change their attitude overnight and eat anything you throw at them on the next day out. This process is what keeps many redfish enthusiasts coming back for more.

Do not be fooled by the derogatory nicknames and phrases that many who worship at the Church of Speckled Trout will hurl at the common red drum, A.K.A. redfish, because they are nothing more than thinly veiled insults from those who are merely jealous. Yes, I said it, they are indeed jealous of the fact the redfish can check virtually every box on the anglers dream list.

Redfish will grow very large, eat topwater plugs, eat flies, devour live bait, test your drag system and certainly your stamina. Perhaps the only thing they will not do is jump and that’s a bit overrated in the grand scheme of things. Don’t you think?

The redfish is a magnificent eating machine that has more personalities than your crazy ex-girlfriend. These fish can turn from finicky to ferocious at the drop of a hat for absolutely no apparent reason. Redfish are the reason I keep my hair cut so short because it makes it much more difficult to pull it out when they refuse to play nice.

The coming weeks will offer some excellent opportunities to focus on redfish here in both the Sabine and Calcasieu estuaries. The brown shrimp should begin to show up in both the marshes and the open lakes, and you can just about bank on the fact the redfish will not be far behind. Packs of perfect slot-sized fish will run the shorelines destroying the brown shrimp every chance they get.

Virtually any marsh drain on a tide change is an excellent place to start looking for redfish. Search baits like topwater plugs and rattling corks are fantastic offerings to start off with. Many anglers will also use swimbaits or the tried and true gold spoon to look for willing participants as they cover as much water as possible in the least amount of time. Once fish are located a slower approach such as a lightly-weighted soft plastic will usually improve both numbers and odds.

In Texas the speckled trout is the inshore glamour fish while the redfish will always be the bridesmaid or runner-up in many anglers’ eyes. That sentiment usually holds true until the trout quit biting and the redfish start cooperating. That’s all it takes, a few solid bites on a slow day for a self-professed died in the wool big trout chaser to become a fan of the redfish again. I don’t blame them one bit, in fact I rejoice every time it happens because invariably that angler takes just a minute to relive that vicious strike and feeling that they get when their drag begins to scream and they realize there is nothing they can do to stop that fish except hang on.

It’s moments like that when the redfish finally gets its due. Scenarios that will play out for many anglers this month and beyond as the populations of redfish in our waterways continues to thrive. If you decide to take advantage of this fantastic pattern for these fish, mindful to release them carefully after a long fight and keep only what you can eat because these fish truly deserve our respect.