Top 3 Mistakes When Fishing For Schooling Bull Redfish
- By: Wyatt Parcel
- on
How should you approach a school of redfish without scaring them off?
What are the biggest mistakes an angler can make when trying to find schools of redfish?
Redfish are a finicky species but if you are using the right approach, you can have fun plucking big fish from schools!
Learn more here!
Top 3 Mistakes When Fishing For Schooling Bull Redfish [VIDEO]
Click here to join the Insider Club
Click here to check out Captain Caleb’s YouTube Channel
Learn more about Captain Caleb here
Equipment Used:
- TFO Professional Series S – 7’6 M Fast
- Slam Shady
- DOA Paddletail
- Seaguar Fluorocarbon 20lb
- Daiwa Fuego 2500
- PowerPro 10lb
Whether you are approaching a school of redfish or even trout, it is a good rule of thumb to keep these three common mistakes in mind.
Approaching The School From The Wrong Direction
This is usually the most common mistake when trying to fish schools.
Anglers will try to approach the school from an upwind position and this hinders your casting distance and creates a hull slap on your boat.
That sound of the hull slap will often break the school of fish up.
Casting In The Wrong Location
Anglers tend to cast directly into ripples or the mud where they see fish and this can either spook fish or it means you are too late.
Fish will have most likely moved along before you are able to cast directly into a school.
Trolling Motor Speeds
Typically, the speed to focus on when trolling for schooling redfish is nothing above 3.
Make sure you are not bumping the bottom and you aren’t buzzing water on the surface.
A very common mistake amongst boaters fishing schools of redfish is cavitating.
For example, two anglers can be up at the front of the boat fishing, and then one decides to move to the back of the boat to fish.
The boat will then cavitate and possibly spook a school of redfish.
Conclusion
Bottom line, get upwind of the schooling redfish and set your trolling motor low while remaining in place to avoid cavitating.
Aim your casts for the outliers of the school of fish near the edges, leading the pack, or the fish bringing up the rear.
If you cast directly in the middle of a school, you risk scaring them off and all the fish will disappear.
If you have any more questions on catching schooling redfish, please ask me down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about schooling redfish, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
P.S. Want access to our best fishing spots and tips, plus discounts to our online tackle store? Click here to join us in the Insider Club!
Related Articles:
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Is there any data to support positioning of the larger fish in a school such as leading the pack or trailing behind at the rear of the pack?
Great question!! I’d like to ask Caleb for his input on this, but in my experience and in reviewing most drone footage, it’s pretty random. I do see a consistent amount of large fish in the middle of the school, but that’s also generally where the most fish are. I’ll get back to you with Caleb’s thoughts on this as well!
Short and too the point. The video showed a good clip of what it looked like the trolling motor spooking the school looked like. They are certainly sensitive to sound and movement. Great Info.
Yep! The motor definitely can spook fish off very easily if it bumps shell or the blades breach the water and cause a ton of splashing… even if the speed changes too quickly, those fish will pick up on it and spook. Fishing these schools takes a lot of patience and strategy!
Thank You Capt Caleb! Solid tips!
I’ve been a Youtube fan for some time! My Corky Guru!
Welcome aboard the SaltStrong Crew!
A Great new assett – And I love the additional Texas Connection!
We’re so excited to have Capt. Caleb sharing some killer tips as well! Thanks for tuning in Neal!!