What is the best jig head size for redfish, speckled trout and flounder?

The best jig head size for redfish, speckled trout and flounder depends upon the size of the lure that you are fishing with; the water depth and the strength of the current where you are fishing at. You may also have to increase the size of the jig head and the length of the shank for longer lures because you want the hook to protrude right about the center of the lure.

If the hook is too far back, then it will impede the lures performance. This is especially true with a paddle tail type of lure.

You want the paddle tail to swim naturally with lots of tail movement. An improper jig head hook placement will minimize the action and effect the fall of the lure in the water column. Quite often speckled trout, redfish and flounders will hit the lure as it is falling or right when it hits the bottom.

I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats and oyster bars all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will teach you the best jig head sizes for redfish, speckled trout and flounder in various scenarios.

Let's get started.

Watch the video below and catch more speckled trout with a 1/8 ounce jig head with a 3 inch paddle tail.

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Best Jig Head Size for Redfish, Speckled Trout and Flounder on the Grass Flats

Most of the grass flats that I am fishing on are from 2 to 6 feet deep. There is usually very little current, at least not enough to make me use heavy jig heads.

In this scenario a 1/8 ounce jig head is my go to size. I like to choose a jig head with a wide gap between the shank and the barb because that inevitably leads to more hook ups. I like the Strike King Redfish Magic jig heads the best. They do not bend out and there is plenty of gap between the shank and the hook point.

* I am not sponsored by Strike King. I just like their jigs the best.

Speckled Trout:

The key to catching speckled trout on the flats with jig heads is the fall of the lure through the water column. You can catch speckled trout on the bottom but 90 percent of the time they are feeding in the middle and upper part of the water column.

Speckled trout usually hit your jig on the fall. This means that your falling jig head must look natural and have lots of movement to entice the trout to eat it. If you have the wrong sized jig head, then your jig won't look right to the fish.

If you have too much weight it will fall straight down too quickly and very unnaturally. With the right jig head weight you jig will flutter through the water column at a slight angle. This is what speckled trout want to eat.

If your are fishing in deeper grass flats from 6 feet to 15 feet, then you might want to step up your jig head size to 1/4 ounce go get it down in the water column better.

Learn how to catch a speckled trout here.

Flounder:

Flounder are a different story for jig head sizes. Flounder are bottom oriented fish. Their entire adult life is spent within 18 inches or so of the bottom. If you want to catch a flounder, then you will need your jig to get to within 18 inches of the bottom.

Even the hungriest flounder is uncomfortable swimming more than a couple of feet off of the bottom. You have to keep your jig in the strike zone of the fish. Keep it slow and low.

Flounder love the sandy potholes that are on every grass flat that I have ever seen. They will bury in the sand facing into the current waiting for the tide to bring them something tasty. Something tasty like your jig.

You want to basically drag your jig on the bottom when fishing for flounder. Make it hop in the water column about 12 inches off of the bottom and then let it sink to the bottom again. Pause for 10 seconds or so then reel the jig a few more feet and repeat the process.

Getting your jig to stay put on the bottom usually requires you to increase the weight of the jig. If I am fishing in 6 feet or less, then 1/8 can work but usually I will go to a 1/4 ounce jig head size.

If the grass flats are 6 to 15 feet deep then the 1/4 or a 1/2 ounce jig head size might be the ticket to becoming the flounder pounder of the grass flat on that day.

Learn how to catch a flounder here.

Watch the video below and catch more flounder with jig heads and paddle tails.

WANT TO CATCH REDFISH, SNOOK, TROUT AND TARPON?  BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!


Redfish:

Redfish are like flounder in that they love to hang out near the bottom. Redfish spend their lives looking down in the grass, mud, oyster bars, mangrove roots...... searching for shrimp, crabs and fish to eat.

Their strike zones are similar to a flounder's. You will want to keep your jig within a few feet of the bottom if you want to catch a bunch of redfish. You will want to use the same rules for jig head size as you did with the flounders too. ie. 1/8 ounce to a 1/4 ounce in less than 6 feet of water and 1/4 to 1/2 ounce jig heads for water deeper than 6 feet.

You don't need to fish your jig as slowly as you did with the flounder. Redfish are ravenous and will swim quickly after a potential prey item once they know it is there. A normal retrieval speed works fine for redfish.

​Learn how to catch a redfish here.

I like to bounce it on the bottom or swim in near the bottom with a twitch, twitch every few feet. You definitely want to keep your jig near the bottom 3 feet of the water column. Bouncing on the bottom in those sandy potholes can yield you quite a few redfish in a good day's fishing.

Around the boundaries of the grass flats is another great place to target redfish with your various jig head and lure set ups. Every grass flat ends and there is usually a channel or mangroves or a mudflat.....

This is a perfect place to bounce your jig on the bottom for some big redfish. If it is a channel, then it is probably deep. This means that you will have to increase your jig head size to get it to the bottom where the fish are. You may need a 1/4 or a 1/2 ounce jig head for this scenario.

Watch the video below for using a jig under a popping cork for shallow water redfish.

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Best Jig Head Size for Redfish, Speckled Trout and Flounder around Deep Docks and Bridges

When you are fishing around deep docks and bridges you will have to increase the size of your jig heads to get your lure to the bottom for redfish and flounder. Your line has friction with the water so the deeper that you have to go the more friction will be on your line.

When you add some current to the equation then you will really have problems getting your jig to the bottom unless you increase the weight. You will need to have all different sizes of jig heads in your tackle box if you plan on fishing many different water depth and current scenarios.

I use a 1/8 ounce the most because I am usually fishing in water that is less than 6 feet deep. BUT I keep 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce and even a few 1 ounce jig heads around for fishing deep docks and bridges.

Maybe the flats are full of other fishermen or there is no action there. You move to the mangroves and the same thing is going on. I go fishing with a plan A, plan B and plan C in mind because you just never know what is going to happen out on the water.

Bad weather might come and force you to quit or fish under a bridge. My point is that things don't always work out the way that you want them to so be prepared to change your strategies.

Speckled Trout:

Speckled trout will be wherever the bait is. You can catch a ton of speckled trout around the deep ends of docks and around bridges. The best jig head size is usually still the 1/8 ounce or 1/4 ounce because they are usually in the upper parts of the water column.

My favorite way to fish the deep ends of docks is to let the current take me right past them. Whichever way the current is moving just drift and pitch your jigs as you drift past the various docks.

The thing about dock fishing is that you have to fish a bunch of them to find fish usually. You might have to hit 40 or 50 docks until you find the ones that are holding all of the fish. Once you find fish, toss out that anchor.

There is no sense in leaving feeding fish to go find feeding fish. That is a mistake that I see anglers making all of the time. They will finally start catching fish and move to find better fish.

The bigger and better fish are around you will just have to get them to bite. There is a reason that feeding fish are in the area. You can bet various species and big ones and little ones are in the area. Keep pitching your jigs until you find some good ones.

Redfish:

You will probably need to increase your jig head size to 1/4 ounce or 1/2 ounce to fish the deep docks. You really want to bounce your jig off of the bottom for reds. I think that shrimp and crabs make a poof of mud and sand as they try to dig away from predators.

This is my theory on why you will get a hit as soon as your jig hits the bottom so often. The redfish think that the poof of sand that your jig makes when it hits the bottom is a shrimp or crab trying to hide from them. Pitch your jig and let it fall to the bottom and then work your jig magic.

Try various retrieval speeds and note which one is getting all of the bites. I usually start slow and speed things up when the water is warm. When the water is cold I will start slow and then slow things up even more. Cold fish are lazy fish and they won't try very hard to chase a jig in cold water.

Around bridges you will have to go to 1/2 ounce or even 1 ounce of weight to get your jig to the bottom. It is imperative to fish that bottom 3 feet for redfish. Get that jig down deep as quickly as you can so you can cover a lot of bottom.

Bridges usually have a lot of current so cast up current and work the jig back to you with the current. Most of the fish will be facing into the current anyways.

Flounder:

You have to go heavy to keep your jig on the bottom in deep water. It is as simple as that. AND if you want to catch flounder you have to work your jig slowly and deliberately on the bottom 18 inches of the water column. 

A 1 ounce jig head works great for this. You can just add a skirt or a piece of shrimp or piece of squid or a large plastic lure........ to the big jig heads and catch a lot of flounder. They are not very picky.

I pour my own 1 ounce jig heads because that is a good size to have for deep water and you will lose a lot of jigs bouncing on the bottom. There are plenty of snags where the flounder are hanging out down deep so bring plenty of jig heads.

Learn more about DIY jig heads of various sizes here. 


Conclusion:

My favorite and most productive way to fish is with jigs. You need to have the right size of jig head if you want your lure to perform well and catch a bunch of fish.

My go to inshore jig head and lure combination is a 1/8 ounce jig head and a DOA CAL 3 inch shad with a paddle tail. That combination catches just about every inshore fish that there is.

An assortment of jig head sizes ranging from 1/4 ounce up to 1 ounce will just about cover every water depth and current strength scenario that you will have to deal with inshore (unless you fish the inlets).

​If you like to fish the inlets, then you will need jig head sizes of 1 1/2 to 2 ounces. The currents are just too strong in the inlets for smaller jig head sizes.

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