Before calling it a day, Capt. Keith “Herk” Bergeron wanted to run into the marsh and make a few casts for redfish.
“Really, all you have to do is find marsh and look for clear water, and fish points and cuts,” he said. “But the best tactic this month is to fish along the deeper canals at drains and cuts.
“The fish seem extra-spooky right now — that is, any noise at all tends to spook them. So I try to approach as silently as possible, and I tell everyone to move quietly in the boat. If you slam a hatch or splash an anchor, they’re gone.”
He said live bait is the best way to go.
“For bait, I like to use the biggest cocohoe minnow I can find, and fish it right against the bank,” Bergeron said. “I only use a 1-foot leader under a popping cork, and I emphasize that you have to get that bait against the grass.
“If you are 4 feet off the bank, you are out of the strike zone.”
Our first and second stops failed to produce a single bite, but as we trolled slowly toward the cut that was to be our third stop, Bergeron’s first cast resulted in a hook-up.
The bite was typical in this shallow water. First, your cork slowly moves sideways because it can’t go straight down in the shallow water. As the fish commits to swallowing the bait your cork will dip below the surface, and that’s when you set the hook.
Reds have hard mouths, so put some yank into the hook-set.
Bergeron said that, whether you fish with braid or mono, you don’t have to boat the fish in a frenzy.
“Unless the fish is trying to get into some structure, like pilings, you shouldn’t horse it in,” he said. “Take your time, let it fight and enjoy the battle. That’s what you came for.”
