Sea of Red

In Texas, wise coastal anglers expect the weather conditions to run the gamut from calm and sedate to stormy, windy and rainy. At times, the weather patterns can become quite unpredictable, and markedly different from day to day. During the worst stretches of time, conditions render the surf not worth fishing for weeks on end. During the best, the surf zone becomes a kind of paradise, unlike any other on earth.

Through all this upheaval and uncertainty, one constant reigns supreme, in the form of a fish: the red drum. Many consider the red drum, or redfish as it's known to most, as the true state fish of Texas. Redfish are found in the surf and the bays, around the jetties, in the channels, also in the marshes and back-lakes and even in some freshwater reservoirs. The iconic dot adorning the tail of the redfish serves as a symbolic reminder of its consistent presence from one end of the state to the other throughout all the months on the calendar.

Red drum are effective predators and mighty gamefish. As an angler who fishes primarily in the surf, I encounter them quite often. Depending on time of the year, the waters fronting the beach can hold giant schools of slot-sized specimens or an invading horde of over-sized bulls. Often, while I have baits out waiting for sharks to bite, I target redfish on relatively light tackle. More often than not, when mullet are present in the breakers, the reds are around, too.

As part of my regular routine, I try to get younger anglers hooked up with these strong, aggressive creatures. When I have kids on my charters, I make a point to have at least a rod or two deployed with live mullet, hoping for bites from reds. To see a youngster smile as they fight and land a 40" bruiser is priceless. More times than I can count, I've had clients remind me of the giant redfish I helped their kid catch.

Here in the Lone Star State, we're fortunate to have a healthy fishery for this species. Wherever they're found, reds prowl around looking for food, regardless of the conditions. Even when gusty winds whistle and send anglers on to other pursuits, redfish take advantage of the roiling water and feed. The turbidity created by strong winds and heavy currents provides these predators an advantage over the species they prey upon.

Reds can be targeted in the surf in a variety of different ways. In the warmer half of the year, mid-sized slot redfish are often abundant in the surf. When this happens, a few main methods work best for targeting them. Artificial lures like gold spoons work great when the water's calm and clear, and schools of the reds are visible. The size of the spoon doesn't seem to matter much, as long as it's presented close in front of the fish. Soft plastics work well in this scenario too, especially Saltwater Assassins on quarter-ounce heads. Lots of color patterns will work, but I generally use ones with at least some chartreuse in the mix.

While these artificial lures and topwaters do work effectively at times, live finger mullet often produce more bites and require less effort to use, compared with making repeated casts with the plugs. If the mullet are running thick, catching them in a cast net is often easy. For keeper reds, mullet about five or six inches long rigged on double-drop leaders with 9/0 circle hooks work best.

Of course, other predators will attack and eat these little baitfish too. Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and big speckled trout will all readily take live mullet. In order to sharpen the focus on the reds and diminish the threat of other fish taking them first, cutting the tail off the live mullet often does the trick. The reds seem to like the movements of the wounded mullet and/or the scent trail produced by the bleeding tail.

On the Upper Coast, the massive over-sized bulls move in with a vengeance sometime in October or November, but my best days catching numbers of these brutes have all happened in December. The mature breeders often measure more than 45 inches in length, some approaching the 50-inch mark. When schools of these trophy-sized fish move into the surf, they come with a purpose, often picking up anything they find, from dead shrimp to whole, live whiting.

Typically, these monsters are difficult to target in the surf with lures, but around the jetties, large swimbaits and other lures which mimic fish garner vicious strikes from them at times. Mature reds absolutely love large mullet, often preferring ones of a size our laws don't allow keeping and using for bait at times. In these situations, using a hefty chunk of fresh whiting normally works just about as well as the mullet.

During the cooler months, on days when the surf is blown out, I'll take my kayak onto the back side of the barrier islands to target reds with lures. Cold weather often makes the action for these fish fast and furious. When temperatures drop low enough to temporarily stun the mullet, the reds have easy pickings. These times provide me a welcome change from the hot days soaking baits and waiting for sharks to bite; I enjoy paddling around in the shallows on mostly deserted flats, tossing lures, often at redfish I can clearly see.

Red drum are highly efficient predators, capable of surviving in many places, and through many natural disasters. A few decades ago, when Paul Prudhomme and other Cajun chefs began making blackened redfish popular in restaurants, a dangerous trend to target and harvest big schools of mature bulls in the Gulf developed. Thanks to the efforts of CCA and other conservation organizations, the state elevated the status of the species to a sport fish, and put laws related to catching and keeping them into play. As an angler who's proud to call Texas my home, I'm grateful these fish were saved, so they could thrive in our waters to this day; I think of the redfish as the most iconic fish in our great state.