How To Sight Fish Redfish On The Flats With DEAD SHRIMP

It’s sight fishing time!

There’s just something special about sneaking up on a fish, pitching a bait to them, and then watching them smash it…

In this video, I’m going to show you how I’ve been sight casting lots of nice redfish with fresh dead shrimp.

Fresh dead shrimp are cheaper than live shrimp, more effective than frozen shrimp, and I even had a fish turn it’s nose up multiple times to my lure, then finally eat the shrimp when I pitched it to him.

Check out the video below to see how you can catch fish this way, too.

Sight Fishing Redfish With Shrimp [VIDEO]

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Gear used:

• Rods:
  • 7’10 Century Weapon Fast Action
  • 7’6 All Star Inshore Series MH
• Reels:
  • 3000 Shimano Stradic FL
  • 3000 Shimano Stradic Ci4+
• Mainline: 10 lb. PowerPro
• Leader: 20 lb. Berkley Vanish
• Jig Head: Mission Fishin jig head

What Type Of Shrimp To Use

When it comes to shrimp (or any natural bait), here’s a saying to remember: “fresh is best!”

In this video, I was using fresh dead shrimp.

These are shrimp that die in the livewells at bait shops overnight.

They put them in baggies the next morning and sell them for cheaper than the live shrimp.

Note that these aren’t frozen shrimp.

There are fresh dead shrimp and I fish them just like I would a shrimp lure.

Live shrimp also work well, but I try to avoid frozen shrimp when I can.

How To Rig Shrimp

When I’m rigging shrimp, I first pinch off the tail.

This allows for extra scent to get dispersed into the water, as well as making it easier to rig.

Once the tail is off, I’ll put the hook through the hole where the tail used to be and then bring it out of the top of the shrimp.

As far as the jig head goes, I like to use a jig head with a flat bottom, like these Mission Fishin jig heads.

The flat bottom allows the shrimp to sit upright when it’s resting on the bottom in the water, which makes it look more natural.

How To Sight Fish For Redfish

The first rule of sight fishing is to move slowly and be quiet.

If you spook them off, you have virtually no chance of catching them.

The next rule of sight fishing is to always have a rig ready to pitch to the fish.

You might only see them for a few seconds, so have that shrimp hooked up and ready to go.

And finally, if you see a fish you need to anticipate where they’re going and cast accordingly.

You don’t want to bonk them on the head, but you also don’t want to cast so far ahead of them that they’ll never see your bait.

Conclusion

Sight fishing for redfish is my favorite way to fish, and using a fresh shrimp is an excellent choice of bait.

You don’t need to work it any specific way, you just need to get it in front of the fish’s face and let them find it themselves.

Have any questions about sight fishing for redfish with shrimp?

Let me know down in the comments.

And if you know someone who wants to get better at sight fishing for redfish, please TAG or SHARE this with them!

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Related articles:

• HOW TO CATCH BIG REDFISH, TROUT, & SNOOK IN CLEAR, SHALLOW WATER
• HOW TO SEE (AND CATCH!) MORE FISH WHEN SIGHT FISHING
• HOW TO HOOK SHRIMP ON A JIG HEAD (EASIEST WAY TO CATCH FISH)