Captain’s Corner for October 24 Dave Zalewski 397-8815

Huge schools of bull redfish in the 20 to 30 pound range have caused us to strop on our way offshore to target barracuda, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and grouper. These schools of redfish have taken up residence from 2 to 4 miles offshore from Redington Beach to Pass-a- Grille and are willing to strike almost any live or artificial bait presented to them. There are several indicators in locating the fish aside from the obvious churning of the water when they are attacking a school of baitfish. If you are lucky enough to spot 2 or three frigate birds above some terns diving into the water you can be assured that the redfish are below the terns. One frigate bird above the terns is usually an indicator that bonita are below.

Tactics:

We have been using a gold King spoon 30 feet behind a #2 planer and a medium spoon behind a # 1 planer . These fish are so powerful that use of a small spoon or plug will result in straightened hooks. We also have a large shallow running plug rigged on a medium spinning outfit at the ready. Once the fish are located double hookups on the planer equipped rods are common. We have seen as many as a dozen other fish pursuing the hooked fish and casting the plug to them has resulted in epic battles on the lighter tackle.

These fish are well over the redfish slot limit and must be carefully released. Because of their size, it is best to keep the fish in the water while removing the hook and photographing them.