Wintertime Redfish Tactics That Work!

Tips for locating warm water – Tricks for beating the breeze

Techniques to keep you tight!

For a myriad of reasons, in recent years redfish have become one of, if not the most, popular saltwater target for fly-rodders. Usually hungry and cooperative, juveniles to adults will rarely hesitate inhaling a well presented fly. This cooperative behavior, coupled with their tenacity and dogged fighting ability, make redfish the perfect inshore gamefish. However, there’s one characteristic that really solidifies their reputation as the perfect shallow water mark; their tolerance of cold water.

When arctic blasts send water temperatures in the shallows plunging, many fly-fishermen’s favorite tropical species will be absent. Bonefish and permit have already fled to deeper water off the reefs. Tarpon are seeking refuge in the most remote Everglades back bays, and snook are practically in a state of comatose. Yet redfish, the stalwart of the flats, will still be prowling the same pot holes and edges where they are always found, happily gorging in the midst of a gale force cold spell. Nevertheless, some alteration of tactics will be required to insure success for the wintertime fly-fisherman.

While redfish are well adapted to deal with chilly water temperatures, they, like most anglers, would in fact prefer warmer, more comfortable surroundings. And taking into consideration that redfish are not highly migratory, the surest way to locate them is to find the warmest water in the same haunts where they’re found during other times of year. Sounds easy right? So how do you do that?

Well, remember that water in the backcountry will warm at different rates based on several factors. Still water, which is barely moving, will warm quicker than water that is whipped to froth by the wind. Since we know this, look for calm areas on the lee side of islands and shorelines where the water temperature may be a full two or three degrees warmer than the surrounding open flats. These calm expanses will also provide the additional benefit of increased casting ability.

Bottom features also play a role in warming trends. Dark bottoms carpeted with grass retain the sun’s radiated heat more so than light, sandy bottoms which have a tendency to reflect the sun’s energy. Any suspended particulate in the water will also absorb energy, warming the murky water quicker than crystal clear water. Though if the shallows are too cloudy, it may foil any attempts to sight fish, leaving you casting to wakes and pushes in the hopes of yielding results in these less than optimum conditions.  

Keep in mind the flooding tide will always be the chilliest. As the incoming water rushes across the flats it will have a chance to retain heat and slowly warm, resulting in the warmest water falling off the flats. Find this ‘falling’ water and you’ll find redfish.

It comes as no surprise to any of us that winter cold fronts are usually accompanied by high winds, often in excess of 20 knots. This stiff breeze becomes the biggest obstacle for fly-fishermen to overcome, though there are some basic tactics that can be employed to compensate for the blustery conditions. Contending with the wind is a subject all its own worthy of many articles, some of which have appeared in this magazine, but even a few simple tricks will improve your overall success.

The most effective way to counter a stiff breeze is to throw a tight loop. A wide loop won’t travel as far, plus the lack of distance will be exacerbated by the windy conditions. Second only to a tight loop in its effectiveness for slicing through the breeze is the double haul. A double haul will provide the angler more line speed, allowing the line to travel further. The casting technique will also help larger flies to properly roll over.   

When casting with the wind, gauge the wind’s exact direction to better time your casts. In this situation your back cast will need to be much more forceful than your forward cast, and the same will be true of your hauls. It’s standard practice when doing the double haul to make the haul on the back cast shorter than the haul on the forward cast. However, when the back cast is going into the wind, more velocity is needed to speed the line through the wind, and as such the haul on the back cast will need to be longer than the forward cast. The opposite is true when casting into the wind.

While a six or seven weight fly rod is usually more than adequate for subduing the majority of reds found in most of Florida’s estuarine environments, these rods and light lines are ill equipped for coping with high winds, even in the hands of the most capable casters. Stepping up the rod size will help cut through the wind to make good presentations. Eight, nine, or even ten weight rods will not be as sporting, but sizing up may be the difference between success and wind knotted failure.

Many anglers in the face of stiff breezes will overload the rod. That is, they’ll use a line that is one size heaver than the rod (ie.8 weight rod casting a 9 weight line), thinking that the heaver line will cut through the wind more effectively than lighter line. While overloading a stiff rod may be a remedy for windy days, on faster action rods a larger line weight will cause the rod to flex more than it should, producing larger loops and limiting the line’s ability to cut through the breeze, therefore shortening the overall distance of the cast. While overloading may help an expert caster, the tactic will often decrease distance for most.

When out on a flat, it’s important to keep in mind the wind will be stronger higher off the water. As such, a side arm cast will help keep the line in the zone of lighter breezes than if the line were cast over head and higher aloft. Casting lower to the water will also help conceal the fly rod’s motion and decrease the odds of spooking fish. 

When fly-fishing for redfish under most conditions, an eleven or twelve foot leader is the norm. However, when throwing in the breeze, shortening the leader to nine feet will help the fly roll over. You’ll inevitably increase the chance of spooking fish with the fly line, but the risk will be offset by the windy conditions which do a great job at masking much of the give away. Another option is to remove the bite tippet. This is only advisable if you’re sure that redfish will be the only takers on the flats, just take the time to inspect the 10lb. to 12lb.class tippet after each fish.

While they can be aggressive, redfish do require an accurate presentation to entice a strike. This can made difficult by cross winds during a cast and one must adjust according to the prevailing conditions. False casting offers an advantage in these situations because it will allow you to gauge how much impact the wind is having on your fly. If you miss the cast and the fish is not spooked, merely pick up the fly and shoot again. 

Fly selection is another key factor that will affect casting performance. Redfish are not known for their selectiveness when it comes to fly patterns and will readily devour just about any fly they can fit in their mouths. Regardless, some perennial favorites do not lend themselves to casting into the wind very well. Large profile flies with flat bodies such as a seaducer or deceiver create more drag and act as sails catching the wind, reducing overall casting distance. On the other hand, compact flies will cut down on drag and roll over much more easily in stiff breezes so you may want to stick with small, low profile patterns. 

Winter brings a halt to the steady rains and as such water levels fall in many of the estuaries that redfish call home. As a result, much of the redfishing is done in extremely skinny water with the angler often stalking tailing fish in water less than a foot deep. Tailing fish are rooting in the mud for prey items buried beneath the muddy substrate. As they mud out these infauna prey items they often become engrossed in the task and are usually very approachable, so long as anglers stay quiet. It is possible to come up on tailing redfish while they are so oblivious to the approaching angler that they will not spook until the boat is practically poled over top of them. With their eyes turned downward, it becomes important to select a fly that will sink to the fish’s eye level. Depending on the current and bottom, the type of fly will have to be adjusted. In slack water something with bead eyes will sink well enough to grab attention, whereas in areas with moving water, lead eyes will help get the fly where it needs to be. On occasion, if redfish are ferociously grubbing on the bottom, they will sometimes ignore even a perfectly presented fly. If you find naturally colored patterns are going unnoticed, it may be time to pull out something with a little extra attractant. Good flies for these situations would be shiny gold spoon type flies or a kwan fly with a chartreuse tail. 

While you’re out prowling you may stumble upon redfish foraging in grassy shallows where the grass is actually touching the surface of the water, further obscuring the fly. This high grass makes it next to impossible to strip the fly without picking up blades of grass. In these situations a top water fly will do well so long as it lands softly. The gurgler or hells bay hopper fit the bill nicely. They’re easy to cast, land softly and can be worked in any number of ways. Winter is also when you’ll find redfish foraging in large pods. In these situations when multiple fish are feeding, a competitive instinct is triggered that works to the angler’s advantage. Yet, despite their offensive tendencies, some tact still needs to be used in the presentation.

If you’re fortunate enough to spot a school of reds approaching from head on, cast to either side of the lead fish and start stripping. If the lead fish refuses, more often than not another will come along and grab the offering. Another, equally effective tactic is to cast in front of the school, letting your fly sink to the bottom. After a few fish pass, begin stripping. This method again plays on the fishes’ competitive instincts and will often cause a full-on race to the fly. A longer leader is advantageous when employing this tactic as it will give you more time to let the fly rest before the lead fish notices the fly line.

When casting to the flanks, it’s unwise to land the fly into the middle of the school since it may spoke a few individuals. Instead, pinpoint a fish on the outskirts of the school and cast to that particular target. If he’s interested, body language will tip off the other fish to the possibility of an imminent meal, again inducing the competitive response. 

Regardless how cooperative reds may usually be, on occasion these fish can be snobby, but consider the following…During the winter months bonefish will refuse, more often than not, even a perfectly placed fly much to the consternation of the fly-fisherman, and will absolutely refuse to tolerate water that is too cold. Permit are even more discriminating than even the most particular of bonefish, and snook will usually spook at the slightest noise or vibration long before the first false cast is ever made. But redfish, the hardiest of our inshore targets, will always be found on the flats when other fish have long since fled. They may lack the glamour and prestige of other denizens, but they easily make up for it with grit. For that, winter fly-fishermen should be truly grateful.     

About the Author:

Capt. Matt Urich caught his first fish off the Sanibel Island Fishing Pier at the age of two and hasn’t been right ever since. After taking time off from fishing to earn his Bachelors degree in Geology, he decided to make his passion his career. Capt. Matt has traveled the world to pursue the most prized game fish, and considers sight fishing the ultimate form of angling. He loves poling the flats and putting his anglers on fish, but prefers to be on the pointy end of the boat. He currently resides in Tavernier in the Florida Keys, and fishes the Florida Keys, Biscayne Bay and the Everglades. Capt. Matt Urich can be reached by calling 305-853-7074, 305-712-0336 or by visiting www.FlatsFishingAdventure.com