Winter Reds Series

Lesson 2

Lesson 2:

 What type of bait/lures to use during the winter for reds?

• Live Bait: Love it or hate it, live bait is simply the only thing reds want sometimes. Redfish can be picky during the colder winter days. Not always, but often they can be less aggressive, lazy, and unwilling to chase something down. Live bait allows you to pitch out something that does not have to be reeled in, and therefore the reds do not have to chase to eat it. They  can snag it when and if they are wanting to eat. It will touch all of their predatory senses of smell, color, and movement. 

• Shrimp lure: Take your pick here for there are plenty. My personal favorite happens to be the Vudu Shrimp series. They are great when presenting to a picky redfish during the winter. They are amazing at staying straight horizontally, even when retrieved very slowly. Normally shrimp lures like to fall over when brought in slowly. Not the Vudu. I like to retrieve my shrimp very slowly. Oftentimes not even jerking them up and down, but more dragging them slowly with my rod and then reeling in the slack. You will feel a few soft taps.

• Soft Plastic Paddle Tails: Again, there are plenty to choose from. My personal choice is the Z-Man Series. Color can change based on the location you are fishing and water clarity. My favorite that seems to work no matter where I am is the white pearl. Another color I love that works in the dirtier water in NE Florida is the black and gold. Both colors will get eaten up by the reds. When fishing with these lures in the winter, fish them very slowly and lethargically. If you feel you are going slow enough you can probably still slow down. Pop it slowly off the bottom and reel in the slack. 

• Suspending Twitch Baits: These are not my favorite to use in the winter, but they can work. And to be honest sometimes I get bored using the same things over and over again. Especially when I am moving it so slowly. Suspending twitch bates give you a fun variety in the winter, but you have to use them only in a specific way. If the weather is super cold it can be very hard to use, so you might want to save them for the warmer winter days. Twitch them slowly back and forth, but only a couple of times. Do not steadily retrieve them. After twitching, let the lure sit and use the name suspending to your advantage. The lure will jerk and then sit resembling a lethargic bait fish. 

Pro tip for winter fishing: Do not set the hook right away. Everything is slower in the winter, including the reds’ bite. Let them take some nibbles and then pull the rod back firm, but slower than a jerk. This is especially true when using soft plastic shrimp and paddle tails.