Tampa Redfish Fishing

With as much coastline as Florida has, you can be sure that fishing is a favorite pastime. The venerable redfish is one of the most sought after fish to swim in Florida’s shallow coastal waters, for both the table and the trophy wall. Not only are they delicious, they also get quite large and can put up an exciting fight.

Meet the Redfish

Red Drum, Poisson Rouge, Channel Bass, Puppy Drum, Bull Red, Spottail Bass. These are all names for the same fish: Sciaenops ocellatus. This fish ranges along just about the entire Gulf Coast and along the Atlantic coast all the way to Massachusetts, so it’s no surprise that it has a lot of names. As you might expect, Puppy Drum generally refers to smaller fish while Bull Red is usually reserved for the big ones.

The fish itself is a coppery red or brown color, with one or more prominent spots at the base of its tail. The average weight for a three-year-old redfish is 6 to 8 pounds, but they get much bigger. The largest recorded redfish was 94 pounds, so it’s not uncommon to hook one that’s 30 pounds or more.

If you do get a big Bull Red, however, be sure to have your camera handy. Redfish were once viewed as a rough fish, meaning that they weren’t very desirable as food. The larger ones still are, and most of the redfish that wind up in the kitchen are young fish. The redfish has a somewhat protected status, so if you aren’t going to get that monster stuffed it’s best for everyone if you release it.

Tampa’s Redfish Paradise

In Tampa, the inshore fishing is just as good as heading offshore to the deep water. Redfish stay fairly close to the coast; they like brackish water just fine and are even occasionally found in fresh water. Tampa Bay, with its numerous inlets and estuaries, offers excellent redfish habitat.

The first step is getting to where the redfish are. The flats are the place to be during warmer weather, especially near river and canal mouths. There’s lots of food for them here, and the reds will get into surprisingly shallow water – sometimes only a few inches. They’re usually bottom-feeders, but they’ll even bust baits or flies on the topwater if you can find them in the shallows.

When you’re hunting reds, look for sandy bottoms or oyster beds. They’ll get right up on the grass, too. Remember that they’re very easily spooked, and keep noise to a minimum. You shouldn’t get too close to the school either, so use a rod that enables long casts – 7 or 8 feet. As for the line, you want a good combination of strength and casting ability. A 20 to 40 pound test braided line with a fluorocarbon leader pounds should suffice, but large redfish can also be caught on surprisingly weak monofilament.

Redfish normally eat crustaceans, mollusks and other fish. Shrimp is probably the most frequently used redfish bait; a crab or a live croaker will work well too. Your best bet is to match what the fish are eating in the immediate area. Of course, you can also get some good redfish bites on artificial lures that look like their natural prey.

Spring may be the best time to catch Tampa’s reds; this is when they start heading for shallower water and forming big schools. Summer and winter are also good, but fall is when you’ll find the largest schools of fish. The big adults head inshore to join the others, and they all start getting ready to spawn. Tampa is full of skilled fishermen; some of them are pros while others simply do it for fun, but most of them can easily put you on the fish.