Red drum are one of the most popular species for cold water fishing in southeastern coastal NC because they stay inshore all winter and put up a great fight. As Thanksgiving arrives and the water gets colder, redfish school up very tight in large bunches and roam inside waters looking for small fish or crabs to eat.
For loads of information on red drum and other Carolina saltwater fish see my new book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolinas.
Inshore red drum respond well to many of the soft bait lures that are available now, especially those with scent, and will also hit natural bait if you have it. As long as live bait is available live shrimp and finger mullet are great choices for these fish. They will also hit cut mullet and cut shrimp, especially if it is fresh and not previously frozen.
Live bait is harder to come by as the water gets colder, but today's anglers aren't daunted due to the many scented soft baits popular today. Many tackle companies like Gulp, DOA, Fishbites and others market synthetic soft baits in a variety of colors, scents and shapes that are perfect for redfish in the winter.
Red drum fishing in cold water after Thanksgiving means fishing slow. So whether you are using imitation shrimp, pogey, or crab soft baits, or longer flukes or minnows, the key is going to be to fish very slowly. You should cast your soft bait out on a jig head and allow it to sit on the bottom for a while before you begin slowly working it back to you.
Sometimes if the current is moving well you won't even have to work your soft bait at all, just hold into it as it is swept into range for redfish. Red drum often stack up outside of small creeks as the tide starts lowering. They also love to visit bridge and dock pilings when the current is really rolling.
On days when the sun gets up into the sky dark banks warm more quickly and redfish school up there as the tide is moving to feed. You should look for dark banks on low tide and fish them as the tide is rising. You can often see redfish ‘tailing’ in these areas as they root the bottom for food.
The primary food redfish find on these dark banks are the fiddler crabs which burrow holes in the sand and try to hide from fish on higher tides. If you have any of the soft baits that imitate fiddle crabs or small blue crabs you can cast them on a led jig head in these areas and work them very slowly to induce redfish to bite.
When they are feeding but not on the flats or in marsh grass cold water redfish will frequent hard structure like bridge, dock and pier pilings. These are great areas to look for red drum if you have struck out elsewhere. You want to fish these structures when the tide is really moving and redfish are looking for stray minnows, crabs, or ghost shrimp.
When fishing structure cast your lure as close to it as you can get. Use darker colors on dark days and brighter lures when the sun is out. Work your lure slowly back to the boat with frequent pauses. Remember, really cold water makes even redfish lethargic so when fishing for them slow down your retrieve as the days get colder and speed it up just a little during warm spells.
With redfish schooled up some enterprising local anglers even have success fly fishing for them. Local guides can offer you fly fishing trips that can be surprisingly successful targeting red drum, which will put up a better fight on a fly rod than any freshwater trout out of the mountains.
In addition to the redfish the speckled trout bite is currently strong, and they are another fish that will be us throughout the cold months. The good trout bite is encouraging as it appears last winter’s bitter cold did not harm them as much as wa feared. As long as temperatures don’t plunge that low again specks will be active along with the red drum.
Right now the water is still warm enough that redfish will be aggressive. This is a great time to go out and try for them whether you like live baits or lures. They are abundant inshore right now so you can’t miss, but don’t worry if you do because they’ll be here all winter long.
For a ton of free information and articles about red drum and other Carolina fishing check out my blog A Dash of Salty.
Comments