| If you like sport fishing, you surely will like to fish for | | | | and tackle. Use a light medium action rod because |
| redfish. This feisty species is one of the best fighters | | | | you could end up doing a lot of casting before you |
| in the inshore spectrum and, cooked correctly, a | | | | finally lure your trophy specimen onto the hook, and |
| great addition to the barbeque menu. Even some | | | | use the lightest line you feel comfortable with. Just |
| restaurants have adopted the fish as a specialty. For | | | | remember to set the drag accurately (the pro's will |
| example, at the famous Redfish Seafood Grill and Bar | | | | actually use a scale and set it to sixty percent of |
| on Bourbon Street, New Orleans, they headline, "At | | | | nominal breaking strain). |
| Redfish, we serve up a parade of award-winning | | | | The right time is easy, fish the feeding grounds on |
| French Quarter specialties, including classics like | | | | the flats and oyster bars on the rising tide and till just |
| Blackened Redfish, Crawfish Etouffee and | | | | after the tide turns and fish the hiding places in the |
| Jambalaya." | | | | troughs and sloughs on the ebb. The most reliable |
| Young redfish, or red drum as they are often called, | | | | spots are on the edge of the mangroves close to |
| feed in the shallows on clams, crabs, mussels and | | | | deep water. This gives the combination of a great |
| shrimp. When the fish are about four years old and | | | | feeding spot with an easy escape route when |
| about 30 inches in length, they leave the shallows to | | | | threatened. |
| join the near offshore populations. A 30 inch | | | | As far as bait is concerned, if you are fishing for the |
| specimen will weigh around ten pounds. They can live | | | | pan, use live bait. Greenbacks, pinfish, or even a |
| for twenty years and have attained weights up to | | | | succulent shrimp will certainly catch more fish than |
| sixty pounds (Florida record fifty one pounds eight | | | | any lure, but for sport and satisfaction nothing can |
| ounces). | | | | beat the feeling of hooking that twenty five inch |
| The fish gets its common name from the copper | | | | express train on a little gold spoon or shiny plug. Toss |
| bronze large scales on their bodies which are darker | | | | your bait or lure as close to the mangroves as you |
| in cloudy water and lighter in clear waters but the | | | | dare, let it sink for a few seconds, then retrieve |
| most distinguishing feature is a dark spot at the top | | | | slowly. When the strike comes, you will know all |
| of the base of the tail. For the fisherman, however, | | | | about it, and the fish will do all the work of setting |
| the most recognizable feature is the tail disturbing the | | | | the hook. Your job will be to get the fish away from |
| water in the calm shallows and frequently breaking | | | | the mangroves and then to enjoy the fight of your |
| the surface. The sight of a dozen or more redfish | | | | life. This is when the challenge of light tackle fishing |
| "tailing" as this foraging behavior is called is enough to | | | | will tax your skill and fill your psyche with pride. |
| set the adrenaline coursing through the veins of the | | | | Happy fishing, and look out for the recipe coming |
| most hardened sportsman. | | | | soon! Just remember, if you are not going to eat the |
| Catching redfish is like all fishing. You just have to be | | | | fish, release it unharmed. Always respect your local |
| in the right place at the right time with the right bait | | | | fishing regulations. |