Redfish on Topwater

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Here is a little video I put together from May 5th, 2012. Had a little top water action. The footage isn't the greatest but I hope there is enough for you to enjoy.

 

Kirk

 

[Peterjay 0]

That's a fun video Kirk - thanks for posting it. I hope to get in on some of the redfish fun before the season ends. Hey, what're you guys doing catching sheepshead on poppers? I though they hung around bridge pilings, etc. and ate barnacles and stuff like that. I've never caught one, but they're reasonably plentiful in Virginia, and they're supposed to be good to eat. Is it that unusual to see them in channels or on the flats? Can they really bite a hook clean in half? Man, I really feel like a rookie again. Gotta admit, it's fun to be learning about new species, etc.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Hey Peter, glad you liked the video, thanks.

Sheepshead - well, we weren't really targeting them with poppers but there were so many on the flats (we saw probably twenty sheepshead for every redfish) we had to throw at them just for target practice.

While we have our fair share of barnacle munching sheeps in the deeper lakes and bayous along bridge piers and dock pilings, the shallow marsh is loaded with them as well as black drum. In the shallow ponds, they root around like redfish and permit munching on thumbnail sized crabs and shrimp, which our estuary is filthy rich with. I've also seen them along the bank nibbling little black snails off of flooded spartina grass.

They can be quite finicky but are very catchable, they are often referred to as the poor man's permit. I have never had one nor have heard of one biting a hook in half although I had heard the same rumors and feared the same when I first started fishing the salt.

I've caught them on my spoon fly, bendbacks, and poppers. They are very spooky and a challenge to throw to, I should have filmed some of those shots - maybe next time.

 

Kirk

[Peterjay 0]

Thanks for the info Kirk - the marshes you guys were fishing are a dead ringer for the marshes near our house. Can't wait to do some exploring - what's out there is anybody's guess, since hardly anybody there fishes the flats unless they're drifting for flounder. What I do know is that there are lots of crabs, especially fiddlers. Oysters and clams too. I'd take a guess that anything that eats that kind of stuff is apt to show up there. Gonna be fun finding out. BTW - I am DEFINITELY gonna make some of those N.O. pralines once we get this move over and done with.

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

Wow! That does look like a load of fun! The Rabid Dog seems to be working an absolute treat. Quality is fine, i was transported to the boat within about 10 seconds

 

I found it interesting how the Redfish were not too concerned about flies and line splashing down around them and in fact after a miss were likely to have another go if you plonked the presentation near their face.

 

Are you using a sharkskin line, that sound is very similar to a buddy of mine, zzzt, zzzzzt, pause pause, zzzzzzzt.

[agn54 0]

Awesome video. As Jam noticed, those fish are not spooky at all. Looks like tons of fun and the fly is incredible.

 

As for sheepshead, at times we get them thick n our grass flats but they are really tough to catch because the water is usually gin clear. They sit in the sand holes like trout or reds, sometimes 2 or 3 on top of each other. I have only cast at them with artificials with no luck, live shrimp may provide different results. In any case, I have had some of my best days with the reds when the sheepies are thick on the flats. My guess is that there is a run or arrival of a lot of crabs or shrimp which they both feed on since the sheepies are only in thick like that on occasion, usually in the fall. I have never heard of them biting through a hook but have had them straighten one out. Nothing quite as frustrating as seeing a big sheepie surface, turn sideways and then pop off only to see your hook in a straight line.

[Peterjay 0]

Thanks Andy - that's good information. Sheepshead on a fly sound like quite a challenge. Hey, you guys might get a kick out of the video I posted in the fly fishing section. I found it while I was reading up on sheepshead. Looks like we salty types aren't the only ones who chase drum with a fly rod.

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

Mike/AGN, we fished an area that hasn't been discovered by the guides yet and the fish were very forgiving, not the case all the time.

However, there was a day a couple decades ago when all of the marsh in southeast Louisiana had forgiving redfish. Back in the early 1990's, Captain "Bubby" Rodriguez started Big Red Guides and Outfitters. He was the first ever flyfishing only for redfish guide in Louisiana. He soon hired a partner, Capt. Mark Brockhoeft, and soon after had a great showing on ESPN Outdoors and business skyrocketed. He and Mark were booked 7 days a week for every week of the year. Bubby asked me and another young feller to guide part time for him to give him and Mark a day off here and there.

Bubby's clients soon spread the word as did the TV show about how plentiful and forgiving Louisiana redfish are, and soon a few local fishermen became guides. Then with their success, word spread even more and guides from nearby Florida began setting up shop. Now, there are local guides and ones with Florida license plates fishing the same areas, fortunately we have a ton of fish as I can count at least four seperate areas that now have any where from four to fifteen guide boats running at each location!! They all catch fish but the fish in many of those areas can be a little spookier with the added pressure. Then you have bow-fishing that is still legal and some areas have bowfishermen in the ponds at night; those fish can be extra spooky in the daytime.

AGN, have you tried throwing to the sheepshead? Do they follow the fly and then turn off?

Mike, I think that is a sharkskin line. A friend from Key West sent me some of his "old" lines (after a year, they replace their lines from fishing two hundred days a year) and I think that one on my 7wt is that sharkskin.

Kirk

[Boone Fisher 0]

Great video, Ive been going out to the mosquito laggon lately. Only using bait casters though, Ive never been salt water fly fishing only trout in NC. Looks like Im missing out.