Crushing GIANT Bull Redfish On Popping Corks [Fishing Report]
- By: Evan Jacobs
- on
It’s THIS EASY to catch giant bull redfish on popping corks!!
The redfish up in North Carolina are built differently this time of year.
They’re big, bad, and hungry.
Check out all the action below!!
GIANT Bull Redfish On Popping Corks [VIDEO]
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These big bull redfish are so common in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound where I was fishing a few weeks ago.
During the summer months, these fish move through the inlet to the river in order to spawn.
Moving into fall and winter, the bull reds have to replenish the calories lost and pack on enough to make it through winter.
More often than not, the bull redfish are feeding close to the surface where larger bait is.
One of the best techniques for catching these giants is the tried and true popping cork!
Popping corks can be rigged with live bait or artificial lures and mimic the sound of bait or predatory fish hitting the surface.
The objective is to spark reaction bites from competitive fish in the area.
When it comes to fishing artificial lures underneath popping corks, I like to rig them on the Z-Man DieZel Eye Jighead.
Lures like paddletails, jerk shads, and artificial shrimp are deadly underneath a cork.
Casting The Popping Cork
The idea is to cast the popping cork out in the middle of a bait school that appears distressed on the surface.
Then, once you pop the cork and create attention to it, redfish will be triggered to eat your bait.
Furthermore, you want to make sure you give the cork enough resting time between each “pop”.
Working the cork every 2-3 seconds probably isn’t the best approach.
Every 6-7 seconds is best.
It is better to create erratic, less frequent pops than constantly popping the cork.
Make sure you’re focused and paying attention to the rod.
These fish will sometimes slam the lure and take off before you can react fast enough.
Conclusion
This was one of the BEST fishing trips I’ve ever had!
Popping corks and live bait or lures is a quick and easy method for hooking into one of these giants.
Remember, less is more when it comes to popping the cork itself!!
Do you have any additional questions about this trip or targeting bull redfish with popping corks in general?
Let me know down below!!
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Finding The Fish Help
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Well of coarse you can catch bull redfish probably on just about anything where your at considering the world record redfish a 94 pound beast was caught in north Carolina but here in northeast fl jacksonville area where I live and fish its very doubtfully the guides who take people here to catch bull reds in the fall would probably think you were crazy telling them about this technique no about 98 percent of the bulls caught in my neck of the woods so to speak are all caught fishing the jetties with about a quarter blue crab on about a number 8 ought kahle hook with about 8 to 10 ounces of lead depending on the current and depth on a fishfinder rig strait on the bottom but that’s here and although I have caught 2 bull reds in my life they were not on bait the biggest one was a 57 incher about 35 to 40lbs on a power mullet soft stick bait that before I saw it move I thought it was a log because it was only in about 4 ft of water and you could tell it came from the ocean because unlike most reds it was silver and not the pretty golden bronze color the slot reds are the second was about a 54 incher about the same weight and it was caught on a chasebaits flick prawn plastic shrimp in a very natural realistic color called jelly prawn and she was bronze colored I don’t fish bait I never had the confidence needed to be successful with it dead or alive and to me its alot of work gathering bait or expensive to buy and messy to no im a lure angler all the way but thanks for the info and all you do for saltstrong👍😉
WOW! Now those were beautiful Reds! Thanks for the experience!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed!
How do you tie you popping cork with artificial?
You want to tie your main line to the plastic bead side of the popping cork on the far end of the swivel. For this type of rig, I normally just use a standard uni knot and that seems to get the job done just fine. Then tie your leader line, I recommend at least 40 pound fluorocarbon or monofilament line to the other end of the cork where the other swivel is. Tie the other end of the leader line to a nice quality jig head and rig a soft-plastic of choice on the jig head. I recommend at least a 5 inch paddle-tail or jerk shad to the jig head. Use uni knots for both ends. Hope this helps!
Awesome report and great redfish!!!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed!