How To Sight Cast For Redfish (Or Any Inshore Species!)
- By: Richard Thomas
- on
If you’re still struggling, here’s how to sight cast for redfish!!
Sight casting is so cool because you get to see the fish you want to catch and then do all you can to present the lure properly and trigger a strike.
But that can be a challenge especially when targeting finicky fall redfish.
Learn more about sight casting here!
How To Sight Cast For Redfish [VIDEO]
Get the Gold Digger 2.0 Paddletail
Direction & Speed Of The Fish
The first thing you have to observe is in what direction the fish is swimming and how fast.
Those are incredibly important details that many forget to take into account.
Don’t cast immediately at a fish when you see it.
You risk spooking the fish or missing its path completely by rushing your cast.
Additionally, if the fish is moving at a very slow pace, then you will want to cast out in front of the fish earlier so your presentation appears natural in the water.
If the fish is moving faster, you still want to lead the fish with your lure, however, I’ve noticed the faster-moving fish are more reactionary to their surroundings.
One or a small school of fish swimming quickly indicates they are aggressively hunting down bait.
Again, having an idea of the direction and speed of the fish will show you where you should cast and get you on more fish in less time.
Lures & Retrieves
The behavior of the fish around you determines what lure you will use as well as how fast you retrieve it.
As I mentioned above, the quicker-moving fish are in an aggressive hunt mode which means you don’t have to be overly concerned about spooking them with your presentation.
With that in mind, you should use a paddletail-style lure.
My personal favorite is our Gold Digger 2.0 paddletail.
This lure won’t create lots of splashing and commotion when it hits the water and it puts off vibration to trigger strikes.
These fish will respond to anything trying to flee from their path.
Moreover, the fish that move quickly are used to scattering schools of bait and crabs so if something catches their eye that they can eat, they’ll aggressively strike it.
On the other hand, when fish are more lethargic or slowly moving about, I’ll reach for a jerk shad presentation.
Our 5-inch Slam Shady Jerk Shad imitates anything from a wounded baitfish to a bouncing shrimp or even crab.
Jerk shads make even LESS sound when they hit the water when compared to paddletails and are best for the slower, more deliberate fish.
Simply cast this lure out and let it sink to the bottom.
As the fish approaches your lure and the two are about to intercept, give the lure a quick couple of taps but the direction is important.
Try and twitch the rod so that the lure jerks away from the fish’s mouth.
If your lure darts back at the fish’s head, nine times out of ten, that fish is going to get spooked and bolt.
In nature, that doesn’t happen and it will definitely scare off predators.
The biggest takeaway when it comes to retrieves is finesse over power.
A lot of times, all it takes is a small bump or twitch of the rod to trigger a strike.
Conclusion
The entire objective is for your presentation to appear like a fleeing shrimp or baitfish but it is still an easy meal.
If you get your timing right and intercept the fish in its ‘Dinner Plate’, then you will definitely find success!
Sight fishing opportunities are going to pop up more and more over the next few weeks!
Get the Gold Digger 2.0 Paddletail
What other questions do you have about how to sight cast for redfish?
Let me know in the comments section below this article!!
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Thanks Richard. You keep showing me that I am making mistakes ie to fast of a retrieve and to long of a twitch distance. SS 2.0, gold diggers and bombers , all juiced make up 95% of all my artificial on the IR and Mosquito lagoon. Thanks for your help
No problem Terry! Sometimes less is definitely more with sight casting
Yea everytime I think I see the telltale sign of a red moving in the water it always seems to late for me to throw anything at it because most of the time it’s gone before I get the chance I have caught a few reds that I saw before I cast to them but very few but I’ll keep my eyes open for more I know its a whole lot easier for guts and gals in central and South fl to sight fish because of the water being much clearer but I know here in northeast FL it can be done though thanks for the info and all you do👍😉
It’s definitely more of a reaction throw in the waters we fish Steven! I’ve missed much more just due to timing, by the time you see them many times it’s too late in our waters.