THIS Is The Best Lure To Search For Schooling Redfish
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
What is your go-to lure to search for schooling redfish???
It is early but redfish are slowly starting to school up on the flats.
In this video, I’ll share my favorite searchbait for schooling redfish as well as how I like to retrieve it.
Learn more right here!!
The Best Lure To Search For Schooling Redfish [VIDEO]
Get the Strike King KVD Wake Bait
Personally, I find it hard to come across anything better than a feeding school of feisty redfish.
When redfish are actively feeding, they’ll strike just about anything.
But the problem is losing a school of fish after you hook into a fish from the school.
This situation happened to me on a few of my most recent outings.
Most notably in Virginia, I was able to pluck off a redfish from a school using the F.R.E.D. Paddletail lure.
As I was fighting that fish, I was also trying to keep an eye on the entire school of fish.
Fishing in a kayak and by myself is hard to do and I usually end up losing sight of the school.
Maintain Visual Contact
You want to have eyes on the school of fish as much as possible.
If you are out fishing with a friend or a second angler is with you, definitely have them keep a visual on the school and follow where it goes.
I don’t have that luxury when I am out fishing alone.
So after I reeled in and released the fish I was fighting, I had to relocate the school.
Usually, after you startle the school by hooking into a fish, they drop down in the water a bit to avoid getting up to close to the surface.
Which makes it even harder to maintain eye contact with the school.
I needed an effective search bait to find those redfish again.
1) Strike King KVD Wake Bait
The Strike King KVD Wake Bait wobbles side-to-side in the water and gives off huge vibrations to call fish in from far away.
All I did was start fan-casting the entire area around me.
Eventually, I swam the Wake Bait right over the school again and a few fish from the school just could not resist taking a swipe at it.
I was able to find the school again and catch a few more fish out of it.
2) Moonwalker
A walk-the-dog style topwater lure is also an excellent search bait.
And for me, nothing comes close to the Salt Strong Moonwalker.
The side-to-side action of this lure combined with internal rattles provides an excellent presentation.
When Should You Use Either Lure?
If I know the exact direction the fish are heading and I know where I need to cast, I prefer to use the Moonwalker.
The slower retrieve and action of the Moonwalker stays in an area longer and you can fish it slower to pinpoint exactly where those fish are.
However, if I completely lose sight of a school of redfish or the school disperses, that is when I toss out the Strike King KVD Wake Bait.
You want something that can quickly find fish and cover lots of ground.
Conclusion
It is certainly a challenge to catch more than one redfish from a school but with the right lures and tactics, you can pluck a few off of a school!!
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation and then found luck using a different lure than the ones I mentioned?
If so, please go ahead and share that lure with us down in the comments section!!
Get the Strike King KVD Wake Bait
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Quick question… I ordered the Wake bait and suggestions were the size #2 single replacement hook. Is this the correct replacement hook for this bait?
Thanks!!
Awesome video Pat. You were fishing at my back door and recognized pier right away. The information on the flats was excellent. I had been concentrating closer to inlets at both ends of Topsail island and had not figured the reds would be in warmer water. Fresh oxygenated water evidently travels further than I had anticipated. Thanks for the info and hope to see you out there sometime.
Thanks Pat. Good info.
Pat do you think that you could talk Strike King into making a single hook version of the wakebait as you have with the moonwalker. It’s kinda pricey otherwise. They could market it as a saltwater model.
Pat, have you ever tried a Big-O as a wake bait? What’s the difference? Thanks.
I used to use those back in the day bass fishing.
There’s two main differences between a true wake bait and a square bill crank bait like the Big O.
The first is the running depth. A wake bait, because of the angle of its bill, will run right at the surface no matter how fast you retrieve it. The square bill will run at two to three foot at normal speeds. In order to run it at the surface, you would have to reel it extremely slow.
The second is the clacker inside. The wake bait is really loud whereas the square bill might have some rattles but is nowhere near as loud.
In the right situations you can catch inshore fish with the Big O they just run a little deeper.
Hope this helps.
Good stuff. For me, the best search bait for reds is a Johnson gold spoon. It puts out great flash and vibrations, is weedless, and you can cast it a country mile
Thanks Andrew! When the wind is really going I think you’d be hard pressed to beat that spoon! Great input!
Great video, thank you. Where in VA where you in that video?
Those were caught around the Poquoson/Plum Tree Island area. Great spot!
Excellent info that can put fish on the hook Pat, thanks for sharing !!
Appreciate it Sir!
What is the rod and reel specs for the Star rod and bg mq?
Thanks for the question Donald
The rod I was using for the flounder was a Star VPR 7’6″ 6-12lb line rating and the reel was a BG MQ 2500 with 10 pound braid and 20 pound leader.
The red was caught on a Star Seagis 7’6″ 6-14lb line rating with a BG MQ 2500 10 pound braid and 20 pound leader.
Both of these set ups work great for slot sized fish but I was a little out gunned with the big red although I made it work.
Hope this helps!
You mention SK KVD Wake Bait,but no mention of what color for Trout Redfish or Snook you might recommend to use in different color waters. My area is Bokellia , Pineisland FL SW FL area. Sounds like an interesting lure to use.
Thanks
It’s definitely a good search bait! For color I stick with the basics, my preference now is the “Shizzle” color that we have in the shop.