The Great Tampa Bay Redfish Bonanza

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The Great Tampa Bay Redfish Bonanza
By CAPT. MEL BERMAN, Florida Fishing Weekly

“You can soak your greenback, but keep an eye on that rod with the cut bait,” urged Capt. Tim Whitfield. Locals call it “dead-sticking” -- where a chunk of ladyfish, pinfish or almost any kind of cut bait is cast out, letting it lay on the bottom where a foraging redfish can find it and eat it. “Remember, if you move that bait, you won’t catch a thing,” cautioned Capt. Tim. It’s been some three years since so much of our Tampa Bay abundance was decimated. Most of us thought it would take years, possibly decades to recover from the crushing, almost never ending red tide of 2005.

Yet, here we are in 2008 and the bay area has not only returned to its pre-red tide glory, but many will tell you that it’s better than ever.

Among the most remarkable success stories has been the encouraging resurgence of redfish. Not only are there amazing numbers of these challenging drum family members, but most are too big to keep. Now that’s a problem most of us don’t really mind. And the fact of the matter is that, amongst all these oversize reds, are also several slot size dinner fish.

In just about every Tampa Bay venue where there are oyster bars and mangroves, impressive numbers of reds have set up shop, foraging for crustaceans and small baitfish.

“Look for the mullet schools in these prime locations because they stir up all sorts of critters as they cruise and jump through the area, ringing the dinner bell for the hungry reds,” said Capt. Tim. He also urges approaching reds quietly. “These are our bonefish, and most of the time, they can be just as spooky.”

As with the bones, using a push pole would be the ideal way to move in on them. However, you can use a quiet electric trolling motor if you don’t vary the speed. “Say you’re moving in on some reds and you’re on electric motor setting is 5. Don’t change your setting until you turn it off,” advised Capt. Tim.

Though redfish schools will typically be hanging along the mangroves, they often school up and move out onto the flats on lower tides, seeking shelter in large sandy potholes. “In that situation it is even more critical that you approach them very quietly, making long casts into their path of travel. Topwater plugs and spoons are ideals baits for this scenario,” said Capt. Tim.

Another good redfishing technique is one that I learned on a few trips with the famous Watts brothers. On those outings, Greg and Brian demonstrated what they call their “drag and drop” method. You spot the school of reds, cast your bait beyond them, drag it across the water’s surface, and then let it drop down in front of the foraging redfish.

A low, outgoing tide can be most productive. This motivates redfish to move out from under the mangroves and into the deeper troughs along the edges and in the aforementioned potholes. There they become a sort of captive audience for any good lure or bait presentation.

“In that situation, it’s almost like fishing for speckled trout. Set up a drift and start tossing your good “locating lures” like spoons, spinner baits and topwaters. Then once you find the reds, anchor down and start chumming and fish with live bait, or toss your favorite artificials,” said Capt. Tim.

Once anchored on a redfish school, you can select from a wide variety of baits. My first choice would be a small gold spoon. Many others do well casting jigs, jerkworms or plugs – or anything that resembles a minnow or small mullet.

One of the most productive setups would be either a live shrimp or any of the many shrimp imitations under a cork. Just gently slurp that cork, which gets the red’s attention and then, when the bait begins dropping, that’s when they usually strike. Live small white bait and pinfish also can be very productive under a cork.

Since reds or so scent oriented, the new “smelly baits” appear to be an ideal choice. You can work them slowly along the bottom to trigger a reaction strike or, as described earlier, you could dead-stick the bait, letting it sit there until a redfish picks it up.

Straight out from the main ramp is Bunces Pass, which not only has excellent water flow, but also features some very productive troughs and spoil islands just inside the pass. Not only are there many hungry reds nearby, but also impressive numbers of snook, trout, snapper as well.

Recently, Capt. Tim and I were working a line of mangroves on the opposite side of the main Ft. Desoto Park ramp and campground. The majority of reds were hooked dead-sticking cut mullet, pinfish and greenbacks. This tactic also works well at the numerous other Ft. Desoto fishing locations.

Nearby, on the eastern edge of Mullet Key, can be excellent redfishing locations. It is also a great deal of fun to scout out and find some spots on your own in this very pristine fishing venue. And if you’d like some suggestions, just drop into the main Ft. Desoto administration building where the helpful park staff can provide some good “what’s biting and where” information.

A quick run through the Ft. Desoto Bridge and into Boca Ciega Bay, you can find many other productive locations. This includes Jackass Key on the west side of the bay, “The Cow and Calf” spoil islands in the middle, Tarpon, Whale and Indian Keys along the Intracoastal Waterways. All should be holding numerous schools of reds.

On the other side of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge are also acres of oyster bars, sandy holes and other ideal redfish habitats. One of the most popular is along the area known as “The Clam Bar,’ just through to the east side of the small bridge along the approach to the Skyway.

So this is definitely our year of the reds. As FWC scientist Ron Taylor reminds us, “most species go through ‘boom and bust’ cycles.” Happily, 2008 just happens to be a great boom year for the redfish here in Tampa Bay.