Redfishing with Live Shrimp Tips and Techniques
The best way to catch redfish is with live shrimp either under a popping cork or fished on the bottom with a knocker rig set up. You will also need a decent 3500 series reel; a medium heavy rod and at least a 20 pound fluorocarbon leader to maximize your catch.
Redfish are one of the most popular inshore species of saltwater fish that there are. Fishermen all over the southern states of the United States of America love to target this tasty and hard fighting fish.
The hands down, best live bait to catch redfish is live shrimp. There are many anglers that might want to argue with me about this statement, but they would be wrong.
There is just no better way to catch redfish than with a live shrimp or fresh dead shrimp. The redfish navigate through their underwater world using a highly evolved sense of smell and they love the smell of shrimp. Believe it. They will not say no to a well presented live shrimp if you can get it in their strike zone.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats, mangroves, oyster bars and just about everywhere else in Florida for more than 40 years. Redfish are one of my favorite species to target.
In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about catching redfish in different ecosystems using live shrimp.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more redfish with live shrimp.
The best way to catch redfish is with live shrimp either under a popping cork or fished on the bottom with a knocker rig set up. You will also need a decent 3500 series reel; a medium heavy rod and at least a 20 pound fluorocarbon leader to maximize your catch.
Redfish are one of the most popular inshore species of saltwater fish that there are. Fishermen all over the southern states of the United States of America love to target this tasty and hard fighting fish.
The hands down, best live bait to catch redfish is live shrimp. There are many anglers that might want to argue with me about this statement, but they would be wrong.
There is just no better way to catch redfish than with a live shrimp or fresh dead shrimp. The redfish navigate through their underwater world using a highly evolved sense of smell and they love the smell of shrimp. Believe it. They will not say no to a well presented live shrimp if you can get it in their strike zone.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats, mangroves, oyster bars and just about everywhere else in Florida for more than 40 years. Redfish are one of my favorite species to target.
In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about catching redfish in different ecosystems using live shrimp.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more redfish with live shrimp.
Redfishing with Live Shrimp around Oyster Bars
Redfish and oyster bars go together like chicken wings and college football. If you are ever searching for redfish and come across an oyster bar, make sure to check it out even if it is really small.
Redfish love to root around in the oyster clumps for shrimp, crabs, snails and small fish. They have a very evolved sense of smell and 4 nostrils to help them figure out where all of the tasty little creatures that they love to eat are hiding.
They can often be seen tailing as they jam their faces into the oysters trying to eat a prey item. Their tails are often all of the way out of the water as they are vertical in the water column searching for food. A well placed live shrimp will almost always be accepted by a tailing redfish.
You just have to get it close enough for the redfish to smell it without spooking it. They are often very spooky when they are tailing in shallow water for food items. I have found that you can cast as far away as 5 or 6 feet from a tailing redfish as long as your cast is up current from the fish.
They will definitely be able to smell the shrimp if you are up current and that close to the fish. If you cast your shrimp down current from the fish then you will have to get a lot closer to them. This opens up the possibility of spooking the fish. This leads me to my #1 Pro Tip.
PRO TIP #1- Cast your live shrimp up current from a tailing redfish to maximize your hook up ratios.
There are two very effective ways to fish with a live shrimp for redfish around oyster bars. You can use a hook with a split shot or a hook underneath a popping cork. Those are probably your two best choices for fishing around oyster bars. Each one of those techniques has their advantages and disadvantages.
There is not a simpler set up to use than a hook and split shot for catching redfish. You tie your hook on and add a split shot to the line 6 inches or so away from the hook. That simple set up has caught me many hundreds of redfish over the years.
The major disadvantage to using this set up is snags. There is not any underwater ecosystem that will cost your more hooks inshore than an oyster bar. There are just too many places to get your hook stuck in those oyster clumps. You can lose 50 hooks over a long weekend of catching redfish around oyster bars.
I also wrote another article about how to catch a redfish on this website. You can read that article by clicking right here.
So how do you avoid losing so many hooks around an oyster bar? The answer is to add a popping cork to your set up. You can set the cork distance so that it floats within 12 inches or less of the bottom to keep it right in the redfish strike zone but out of the hook snagging oyster clumps.
This can be a very stealthy way to catch a spooky redfish that is rooting around on an oyster bar. It is a silent presentation because you can pitch our live shrimp under a popping cork up current and let the tide bring it to the redfish.
The redfish is sniffing around the oysters when all of a sudden they smell and then see a delicious live shrimp floating by them. This is not only a silent presentation because you casted it well away from the redfish but it is very natural to see a shrimp moving with the tide. The redfish will think that it is his lucky day when the shrimp flows by his position.
Make sure to use a circle hook when you are fishing with live shrimp for redfish. They are voracious feeders and if you are using a J hook they will often swallow it. You don't want to kill any undersized redfish because you didn't set the hook quickly enough.
The circle hook will minimize the times that you inadvertently kill a redfish that eats your hook. The circle hook will end up in the corner of the redfish's mouth instead of down their throat. When the redfish picks up your shrimp, you simply reel down on the fish and the hook will get stuck in the side of their mouths.
There is nothing wrong with using a J hook if you can get your hook set before the fish swallows it. It is just a lot easier to use a circle hook for that situation.
WANT TO CATCH REDFISH? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
Watch the video below to learn how to use a popping cork to catch redfish.
Redfishing with Live Shrimp around Mangroves
Redfish love to cruise the mangrove roots during the higher parts of the tide. The roots of the red mangrove tree are a great place to find crabs, shrimp, and small fish that like to hide from predators there.
The redfish know that these prey items are there and they can be found deep within the roots during the higher water levels. A live shrimp with a small split shot is all that you need to catch a ton of redfish around the mangroves.
The redfish will move into and out of the tidal creeks and mangrove lined shorelines of all sorts with the tides. You can either sight fish if the water is clear or just stake out a good looking spot and wait for the redfish to come to you.
The key to maximizing your redfish catch is to get your baits as close to the mangroves as you can. The redfish will hug the mangrove roots within 24 inches or so. This means that you must get your live shrimp within 24 inches of the mangrove roots to maximize your catch.
The closer, the better and there are lots of other fish that you can catch at the same time. There are mangrove snappers, sheepshead, snook, speckled trout, black drum, flounder and of course redfish. Everything loves to eat shrimp.
Mangroves are a great spot to target redfish. Don't forget to fish those mangrove roots during the higher parts of the tide. Mangroves don't grow very well past Florida to the north but they can be found in some of the Gulf states too. It doesn't matter where you live. If you find some mangroves, then its time to catch a redfish.
Redfishing with Live Shrimp on the Grass Flats
Grass flats are another super fertile ecosystem for catching all sorts of fish including redfish. The redfish love to root around in the grass for shrimp, crabs and small fish. There are often huge schools of redfish cruising the grass flats but they can often be spooky.
You can see the schools on the flats when they are cruising the shallows. They will make a V wake as they swim in search of some food. They will eat a well placed shrimp that is in front of the school.
Smell is the best way to catch these fish because often they will spook if you move your bait as they approach it. Don't worry because they will definitely smell the shrimp as they swim near it.
I also wrote another article that covers in great detail the best baits and lures for catching redfish. You can read that article by clicking right here.
If you can't see the schools of redfish, then you will want to focus on the sandy potholes. The sandy potholes that are in every grass flat are great places to find fish. They like to ambush shrimp, crabs and small fish that are swept over the sandy potholes with the tide.
I like to use a weighted live shrimp to target redfish in potholes the best. You can use that simple setup or put your live shrimp under a popping cork so that it floats just above the bottom. Either way will work just fine and you will also catch a lot of speckled trout when you are using the popping cork too.
You will want to try and hit as many of the potholes as you can. I like to let the tide bring me to them as I usually start in water that is 3 or 4 feet deep. On the next drift, I like to move a little deeper and so on and so forth until I figure out what depth the fish are in.
Once you figure out where most of the fish are, then you will want to focus on that water depth as the tide moves in or out one the grass flats where you are fishing. The key to being successful on the grass flats is to cover a lot of water to find feeding fish.
Just like in any body of water there are dead zones with no fish activity. You must avoid those dead zones and find out where the fish are. Diving birds, bait schools, moving water, predatory activity and seeing the fish are all great ways to find feeding fish.
You will find that around 80 percent of all of the fish on the grass flats will be in roughly the same area. Maybe the water temperature is just right or the right type of bait is in the area; maybe the current is just right...….. You just never know so keep moving until you figure out where all of the fish are.
Redfishing with Live Shrimp on Mud Flats
Mud flats are another great place to find redfish. I like to find a mud flat with a deeper cut between two flats that will funnel the redfish to you as the tide moves in. The redfish are very spooky when they are in the shallow water of a mud flat.
All that you need to do is pitch a live shrimp into the channel and wait for the redfish to hit the flats. Redfish are one of the first fish to hit that mud flats when the tide changes from dead low.
They will belly swim over the mud flats with half of their bodies exposed to get at crabs, shrimp and small fish that are trapped in the small puddles of the mud flats. The redfish can be seen as they search for food with the rising tide.
I like to stake out a choke point between two mud flats at dead low tide and wait for the redfish to come to me. You often only have about an hour or so before the sharks and other redfish predators will have enough water to hit the mud flats too.
You can catch a dozen monster redfish in an hour of fishing so it is worth it if you can find the right ambush point. The sharks and the dolphins will come in and scare all of the redfish away as the tide comes in.
Watch the video below and catch more redfish around mud flats and oyster bars.
Mud flats are another great place to find redfish. I like to find a mud flat with a deeper cut between two flats that will funnel the redfish to you as the tide moves in. The redfish are very spooky when they are in the shallow water of a mud flat.
All that you need to do is pitch a live shrimp into the channel and wait for the redfish to hit the flats. Redfish are one of the first fish to hit that mud flats when the tide changes from dead low.
They will belly swim over the mud flats with half of their bodies exposed to get at crabs, shrimp and small fish that are trapped in the small puddles of the mud flats. The redfish can be seen as they search for food with the rising tide.
I like to stake out a choke point between two mud flats at dead low tide and wait for the redfish to come to me. You often only have about an hour or so before the sharks and other redfish predators will have enough water to hit the mud flats too.
You can catch a dozen monster redfish in an hour of fishing so it is worth it if you can find the right ambush point. The sharks and the dolphins will come in and scare all of the redfish away as the tide comes in.
Watch the video below and catch more redfish around mud flats and oyster bars.
Redfishing with Live Shrimp around Docks
Docks are another great place to target redfish. Docks are like a mini ecosystem because the pilings will grow sponges, barnacles, oysters, mussels, aquatic plants and lots more. Those creatures will attract small shrimp, crabs and small fish.
The redfish and other predators know this and will come to the dock pilings looking for some food. The good news is that there will also be mangrove snappers, sheepshead, speckled trout, snook, flounder, black drum and of course redfish.
The techniques that are the best are the shrimp with a split shot or heavier weight and a shrimp under a popping cork. If the redfish are spooky, then you can float your shrimp under the docks from up current. This is much more stealthy than casting directly to the dock.
You can also go with a shrimp on a jig head and work it on the bottom around the pilings. All of these techniques work just fine and a hungry redfish won't ignore any of them.
Pro Tip #2- Make sure to fish the entire dock from the shallow end to the deep end. You can catch redfish in a foot of water or 20 feet of water around dock pilings.
Be very careful on your approach to a dock when when tide is low. The redfish are scary and any splash or sudden movements might scare them away. Try and make a very long cast to your first spot when you approach it.
Redfishing with Live Shrimp in Inlets
Redfish like to look for food in and around inlets. The inlets force the water from the mud flats, rivers, grass flats and everywhere else through a small opening into the sea.
This is a perfect place for predators like a redfish to wait for food to be delivered right to them on the outgoing tides. The outgoing tide is usually dirty and the redfish won't see your line or hooks very well either. The outgoing tide is best for pitching lures in the inlets for redfish too.
The redfish will wait for crabs, shrimp and small fish to be brought to them by the current. you can usually find them very near the rocks or sea walls of the inlets in some sort of eddy or behind some underwater object out of the current.
One of the drawbacks of fishing in inlets for redfish is the super strong current. You won't be able to get away with just a split shot. You might need to go with a 1 to 3 ounce sinker instead.
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