Redfish Sight Fishing - Fly Or Spin

What to expect on your trip? My primary focus is sight fishing, that is seeing an individual fish and presenting a fly/lure to the fish, most fishing will take place in 3 feet of water or less. This style of fishing requires stealth, so I am often on the back of the boat atop the poling platform, quietly pushing us along as you stand on the bow at the ready. I am usually the first to spot a fish due to my high vantage point, so I will communicate with you to establish the location of the fish using a clock bearing and a distance. You will hear something like “3 o’clock, 30 feet from the boat, he’s heading away from us”. Once spotted, you will then present your fly/lure to the fish, hopefully resulting in an explosive eat! Depending on the time of year, expect to leave the dock between 6am and 8am. We will leave earlier during the summer months and later during the winter. From there, a 30 to 45 minute run out into the marsh will put us in prime redfish territory. What is sight fishing? Traditionally, fishing involves a lot of casting and covering water. If you cover enough water, you will eventually put your fly/lure/bait in front of a hungry fish and he will bite. Sight fishing is a bit of a departure from that and is more akin to hunting than fishing. When sight fishing, one quietly moves through the water actively looking for and stalking fish. Once a fish is spotted, the fly/lure is presented to the fish with an accurate cast, hopefully resulting in an eat. Redfish make a great sight fishing quarry due to their preference for prowling shallow water environments and reveal themselves in a variety of exciting ways. They can “Tail”, which happens when they tip down to feed off the bottom and their caudal fin breaks the surface of the water - a clear sign of a happily feeding fish. They can “Crawl”, navigating water so shallow that their backs and dorsal fins can clearly be seen above the surface as they swim along. Some less obvious signs of the presence of redfish include “Pushes”, a bull nosed wake steadily proceeding down the shoreline, as well as “Busting Bait”, when the water erupts along a shoreline as some poor shrimp transitions to the spirit world. My personal favorite however occurs during the late summer and into the fall when massive Bull Reds school up. These schools can readily be identified as dozens of fish boil the water in a feeding frenzy, breaching the surface chasing shrimp and attracting a flock of diving birds overhead. Do we have to sight fish? Absolutely not. While sight fishing is my passion, I understand it’s not for everybody. I am happy to fish using methods you feel comfortable with - whether that is slinging gold spoons or shrimp under a popping cork. Catching fish is fun regardless of the methods and I’ll be happy to show you a good time.