Bassy Reds: Using Largemouth Tactics To Tempt Marsh Marauders
By: John N. Felsher
Years ago, many anglers refused to believe redfish, or red drum, would hit lures. When bass anglers fishing in coastal systems began catching redfish on almost anything they threw, many freshwater enthusiasts turned their attention to redfish, also called channel bass. Even some bass legends like Roland Martin entered redfish tournaments.
“Fishing for redfish is a lot like fishing for bass,” remarked Lonnie Stanley, a five-time Bassmaster Classic veteran and legendary lure designer with Stanley Jigs in Huntington, Texas. “I’ve never seen anything in my bass tackle box that a redfish wouldn’t hit. If a bass will hit it, a redfish will hit it. The strikes are so violent that it’s really fun to catch reds on artificials.”
Redfish can live in fresh water. Largemouth bass can tolerate some salinity. In coastal areas, bass and redfish share many waters and frequently attack the same prey, often at the same time. Where the two environments mix, both species feast upon the bounty from two worlds, eating such things as shrimp, crawfish, crabs, minnows, mullets, shad, sunfish, croakers, and anything else they can gulp down. Since both species prey upon the same forage, they naturally strike the same lures that mimic those forage species.
Capt. Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service admires a redfish he caught on a topwater bait while fishing at Calcasieu Lake south of Lake Charles, La. (Photo by John N. Felsher)
“Any predatory fish is opportunistic,” explained Jason Gamble with Red Sky Fish Company (redskyfishing.com) in Mobile, Ala. “A new thing that I’ve been doing that’s more of a largemouth tactic is pitching a plastic crawfish for redfish. I throw a Matrix Craw paired with a Goldeneye Jighead. I pick a spot apart by pitching crawfish to cover almost like pitching a jig to lily pads for bass. It’s more of a vertical presentation, but I can swim a crawfish through the water as well. With the claws, it looks like a crab -- and redfish love to eat crabs.”
Spinnerbaits don’t look like crabs, or anything a bass or redfish should eat, but the whirling blades reflect sunlight, creating flash like baitfish. Wobbling blades flickering in the water also resemble the rounded rear swimming fins on crabs. A big red likes nothing better than crunching a juicy crab!
Generally preferred by bass anglers, a safety-pin spinner employs a bent “arm” that suspends one or more blades over a skirted head. Although traditionally used for bass, redfish like this one often hit them too. (Photo by John N. Felsher)
Among the most versatile lures around, spinnerbaits can attract fish from top to bottom and make excellent search baits. Anglers can buzz them across the surface, wake them just underwater, run them through mid-depths, or roll them just off the bottom. Generally preferred by bass anglers, a safety-pin spinner employs a bent “arm” that suspends one or more blades over a skirted head. An in-line spinnerbait uses a straight wire extending from the head with a blade rotating around it. For redfish, use rounded Colorado blades, which cause the most vibrations in the water.
“I usually use a single gold Colorado blade, but redfish also hit willow-leaf or tandem willow-leaf spinnerbaits,” suggested Charlie Thomason, a redfish pro and guide with Bayou Charters (captaincharlie.com) in Hopedale, La. “When I’m fishing dirty water, I like something that gives out considerable vibrations or has a little thump to it. I reel about five times and take a quick pause because redfish often follow baits. That pause triggers the strike instinct. I like in-line spinnerbaits when fishing open or clear water.”
Many saltwater anglers use “beetle” spinners, also known as “harness” spinners. A beetle spinner resembles a safety-pin spinnerbait, but it consists of a wire harness hooked to a jighead. Anglers tip jigheads with soft-plastic shrimp or minnow trailers. Since the components separate, anglers can easily reconfigure baits.
Sometimes, redfish feed in such thin water that anglers see them “tailing” with their spotted tails, dorsal fins or backs protruding from the surface. Many anglers sight-fish for tailing reds. Although built to slurp crabs, mussels and other succulent delicacies off the bottom, redfish readily smash topwater baits with great savagery. A redfish might instinctively hit any topwater bait that would tempt a bass. In salt water, use baits with much sturdier hardware.
Capt. Mike Gallo of Angling Adventures of Louisiana shows off a big redfish that hit a spinnerbait in the Biloxi Marsh south of Lake Borgne, La. (Photo by John N. Felsher)
Mullets habitually swim near the surface and even stick their noses above the water to slurp food floating on top. Redfish commonly devour mullets. Big walk-the-dog baits move across the surface with scintillating side-to-side motions like crippled mullets. Some excellent walking topwater enticements include the MirrOlure Top Dog family of baits as well as Excalibur Super Spooks, Rapala Skitter Walks and similar lures.
“I walk baits with a repetitive twitch motion with a snap of the wrist so they zigzag from side to side,” elaborated Mark Wright with Legends of the Lower Marsh Charters (legendsofthelowermarsh.com) in Pass Christian, Miss. “Every bait has a different timing based upon its size, shape and other factors. A redfish strikes more out of reaction to the action than homing in on a specific color. In low-light conditions, I throw black. On bright days, I throw white.”
Just a different form of spinnerbait, but fished on top, buzzbaits also make excellent search baits as they patter across the surface. When fishing around weedy cover, a redfish might explode on a buzzbait like it would a surface lure, engulfing vegetation and all.
Redfish will hit many traditional bass baits, such as this Yumdinger soft-plastic stick bait. (Photo by John N. Felsher)
Crankbaits resemble shad, menhaden or other small fish. Anglers typically use crankbaits in deeper water, but some anglers wake them just below the surface along marshy shorelines. Many anglers throw crankbaits around such cover as bridge pilings, or over oyster reefs, weed beds and sandbars.
“Crankbaits are really good when fishing around rocky jetties and when reds are schooling in deep, open water,” recommended Shane Dubose, a professional redfish angler from Texas. “I like to run a crankbait as deep as I can around jetties and riprap. I run it about six to eight inches off the bottom along the rocky edge without hitting the bottom. I bump the rocks and then let the bait wiggle a little to float over the rocks.”
This list barely scratches the surface of what a redfish might hit. Anglers can also use jigs and craws, Texas-rigged worms, swimbaits and many other lure types. Essentially, if a largemouth bass might hit it, a redfish probably will too!
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