I also tried a gold spoon, with no luck. changed presentation to flutter, jerk, smooth, etc... I"ll keep trying though. Thanks for your comment.
Tim

I've finally finished the video. I didn't get alot of my artificial attempts on film. But as many of you noted; I needed to fully dedicate my time to the plastics; but the urge was too strong..... It was a trip to get a newbie on fish, so live shrimp got the top priority for Brooke.

I'll get better this fall, I mean it this time Enjoy the video. Tim

Years ago we decided I wanted to get better with artificials in the bay. i was just tired of spending the time and money to round up bait in the morning. We were wading from shore and it always killed a half hour or more. Like others said, just leave the bait bucket at home. I started off with what a lot of guys are recommending here, gold spoons, top waters, etc. It also forced me to get better at reading the water and focusing on good structure and bait. I found I enjoy it a lot more then just soaking shrimp under a popping cork. Do we always slay them? No. But we enjoy our time fishing. We've also learned to try different things to tailor the bait and presentation to the water color and conditions. My go-to lure is a Chicken Boy Bubba Clucker, either in Hoochie Mamma or Johnny Goldfish color, on an appropriately sized jig head. You can find those at the Academy Stores in Austin, at least the one on 183 and Oak Knoll. Swim that with a twitch just fast enough to keep it off the bottom for reds and some trout. My favorite Gulp is the New Penny/Chartruse Mantis Shrimp. Swim that slower, bumping the bottom, for flounder.

Good advice, thank you! I'm also a bass fisherman, so I get it about the presentation. I also have to consider most of my friends on board don't fish alot, some never at all. Livebait just works so so well for that specific scenario. But for my own learning, I'll definitely continue working on it. I'm up the street from that Academy, and I'll give it a try. Thanks, Tim

No rocket science here, but i’ll remind you of a trout fishing concept that really has yet to fail, “Match the hatch”. If you know the reds are feeding on shrimp, throw patterns that are colored like shrimp. Look everyone gets all obsessed with these wacky colors which I’m sure have their days. But i’d just tell you not to over think it and go with the natural color of the bait the fish are feeding on with the exception of having a chartreuse tail for stained water. Also, shape matters from a lure action standpoint in that something with a strait tail will look more like a shrimp and something with a paddle tail will be like a bait fish. Finally, make sure your rod has enough action for life likeness in your lure. If you’re just using stiff bait rods, your lures won’t have much life to them and might as well be dead.

Skunked Again is going to have to just tear up the fish on Arties or risk having to wade through umpteen million posts, including mine, with suggestions on what to do. It’s fun to be an armchair quarterback.



Looks like from the video y’all were fishing pretty deep. I think it’s harder to make artificial lures work out in the inshore saltwater the deeper the fish are, that’s been my experience anyway. I fish some deep spots, over 8-10 feet at times, but the fish are usually up in the water column some or the fish are coming up off the bottom some to chase a lure. The Current and the wind moving the line will try to mess with the presentation the deeper you go.

It’s all in good spirit, the suggestions and I think everyone just enjoys attempting to work out what to try. That’s a big part of the fun for me, now that I know the fish are there, how do I get them to respond in a positive way?

Your post makes a lot of sense. I’ve never thought of the lure presentation in deeper water. That must be the difference that I’ve experienced. Thanks, tim

I am also wanting to learn arties but I think as hot as it is right now and my reluctance to get out and wade are gonna keep me throwing the net for mullet and minhadden. I do have an odd story on arties. I was at PA on the S Jetty with my new curado baitcaster. Still learning how to cast it w/o backlash. Nobody was catching anything so I just tied on a jig head and 3" stubby plastic thing. So I'm practicing casting into the channel wind at my back. Finally getting casting w/o backlash and all of a sudden, whaaaaaat, I got a fish. A small red. So it can be done.

Regarding bass lures, I hear that reds like ratl traps. But you need to find them, reds that is. I've also had good luck with Bass Assassin plastic, bass and specs and of course Gulps although gulps are a cross between stink bait and plastic.

A couple of pieces of advice....

1. Talk tp Tobin at Troutsupport. Get the shallow redfish and trout limits DVDs if not the whole set. You really have to know what to look for on the water. These extremely informative videos tell you so much. Call him.

2. Avoid the temptation of casting directly at the fish or school of fish you're targeting. Try to predict where they're going so as not to spook them. Take your time and make a quality cast. It's kinda like bow hunting.

3. Redfish can be and are extremely aggressive a lot of the time. If they're feeding, the most important thing about the lure is that they can see it and that the hook is sharp. Keep a tighter drag to ensure quality hooksets and keep pressure on them. If you have a loose drag, get ready for a long stalemate. When they start to give up, take their soul.

4. Call Tobin at Troutsupport. Seriously. You're welcome. Good luck.

When I've caught reds before on bait its like all of a sudden there is something heavy on the line, no bumps, no jerks like with trashfish and I really don't need a big hookset except for pulling up slack to make line tight and the fight is on. Is the redfish pickup with lures different? More agressive? Those Trousupport videos are good. I"m not a fly fisherman but I can see where they have an advantage just dropping that fliy at the right spot just so the red notices it.

With specs I've had success just dangling a long plastic worm under a popping cork like with live shrimp.

On a walk the dog style top water lure, redfish can crush one in violence or simply suck it in. I like to work in some pauses of various lengths in the cadence and that's typically when the redfish will hit, on the pause, but not always. Sometimes, they will follow a top water, you'll see the fish's wake, but not commit. If I see them do that, I'll give the lure a little twitch with a long pause. Walk the dog Top waters, Skitterwalks, Heddon's super spooks and SSjr. are great searching lures in my experience. They allow for great coverage and can be worked over reef that might snag a subsurface lure. They often work well in sandy or muddy water and can work in deeper water than you might think.

I spent many trips basically fishing only skitterwalks no matter where or when (all inshore saltwater), or the season, time of day, just to get a feel for when they could be effective. Sometimes, I'd be fishing along side friends using other lures or otherwise know the fish were present by the bait sign or actually seeing the fish. They are a lot more effective than maybe what I thought going into the experience and probably work in more situations than many give them credit for. Varying up the cadence counts for a lot too.

I used the skitterwalks so much I got burned out and couldn't use one for a long time. I got over it and used one on my sole kayak trip this summer in a windy, shell infested marsh lake and had 6 nice fish get on a skitterwalk, but only got one mid slot to hand. A topwater was the only practical or the best practical way to fish this spot as the structure was mostly invisible, in spite of being close to the surface in many places. Bait activity and an occasional redfish shoulder showed the way. My fishing buddy had no trouble stringing his three redfish fishing the same spot, also using a skitterwalk.