My first real attempt with artificials for Reds and BlackDrum

Hey guys,
I can pretty much catch them with live shrimp, but I want to get better at artificials for reds, trout, and blacks. I'm down there tomorrow and want to know what you'd use.

I'll swing by Academy to get some and will document it on my youtube channel.

Thanks for your help!
Tim

Tim I'm no pro but there's basically soft plastics and hardbaits. The soft plastics I would definitely get gulp shrimp (you can throw this on a jig head or under a popping cork) and I like DSL Chicken of the C color. Trout Support Grasswalker is also a great redfish bait but not sure if you'll find those at Academy. Depending on where you'll be Tackle Town in Rockport has them or you can order them here. You really don't need more than that. If you're fishing in 2 foot of water a 1/8 oz jig head will work. If you want to fishing deeper channels a 1/4 oz should do unless the current is ripping. Hardbaits the super spook jr is a solid topwater bait. The Strike Pro Hunchback is good and so is the Yo-Zuri Pins Minnow Floating Diver Shallow Diving Crankbait in silver/black. If the water is murky it never hurts to have a Rat-L-Trap on hand. A shop along the coast light Tackle Town is actually going to have a better selection than maybe an Academy (unless you go to the one in CC).

Honestly it's more about finding the fish than it is the lure. But there are times when the right lure can coax them into biting when they aren't.

Best of luck!

Hard to go wrong with a paddle tail like a DSL or Saltwater Assassin on a 1/8 ounce jig head. A silver or gold spoon wouldn’t be a bad idea either. If you can work a walk the dog style topwater, that’s a good thing to have in the box.

Doesn’t Tobin and most all the guides repeatedly say it’s much more about finding the fish than what you throw at them?

Sometimes, going from live to artificial you might have to vary your presentation. Seems like some regular bait users tend to work arties awfully fast at times or not at all.

Jerry,
Awesome advice. I was late getting out of Austin so didn’t make an Academy run. I have a few bass lures and down south plastics. I’ll try as you stated above. Thank you for your advice.
Tim

Agreed. It is about finding them, and have some of Tobins recommended lures. I’m basically going to do some basic bass lures like the top waters and really want to catch one on a spoon.... thanks for the great advice. Tim

OK, so I tried artificials this weekend. I tried DOA shrimp, down south plastic lures (3 sizes), crank bait, spoons. My son and his girlfriend were on board and I let them use live shrimp. Although I managed to catch 1 on the down south; the rest of the limit and all the black drum were caught on live shrimp. I'm still convinced that if I can learn to use lures, it'll be a good thing. But man, was it tough....

https://texasfishingforum.com/forum...ockport-fishing-report-8-17#Post13252530

Tim

The best way to learn to use artificials is to leave the bait bucket at home. Good job putting the girlfriend on fish though. Looks like a great trip!

I always try to build on whatever worked. So you got the one red on artificial. How exactly did you make the particular presentation that worked?

Presentation can make a huge difference. Just a little slower retrieve or longer pause might make all the difference. I’ve seen this play out many times.

I remember back to 1982 when I had very little experience fishing saltwater with lures. I went on a wade with a couple of experienced lure users, that day fishing gold spoons, and all of us wading the Greens bayou area side by side. They caught 5 fish for every one I got. That day, it was my presentation that was just off. I didn’t understand how to vary it up until I got it right.

More recently, I’ve been fishing off a boat in a tidal river several times where two out of three people were experienced and the one wasn’t. Who do you think caught the fish? Same water, same lures, subtly different presentations made the difference.

The best people I’ve ever fished with, all artificial lure users, are good at finding fish and they are good at understanding how to fish the water column to find the payoff zone.

Black drum can be caught on plastics, but not as easy as redfish, trout, and flounder. I can count the times I've caught black drum on artificials. DSLs, chickenboys, 1/8-1/4 oz jighead, and maybe some Pro-Cure if you like. Target structure, depth changes, marsh drains, but most important, find the bait. Now figure out how they want it ie: depth, presentation, and retrieve speed.

I just started fishing salt bout 5 years ago, primarily in Baffin Bay. Before that I fished solely for largemouth bass. Coming from that background chunking hardware wasn't anything new. A lot of what I learned as a bass fisherman applies to salt. Build confidence in a lure is your first step. I would suggest you wait till fall when live bait isn't as abundant as it is now in the bay. Fish won't have so many options then and you can start building confidence in the artificial baits you are using. Top water bait is a must, I like she dogs. Paddle tail is another, down south lures chicken on the chain is a great all around lure. I would suggest wading, it gets you into the element. You feel the bottom, the water temp, more stealthier of an approach and it slows you down so you can cover the water thoroughly. As you build confidence in lures you can start adding more, I have personally fell in love with trout support lures recently and having a blast using them. It's all about the confidence!

Black drum are tough on lures because of how they feed. For the others, I always try a good 3/4 oz. Johnson gold spoon to start inshore. It is good for redfish, trout, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, and my favorite, jack crevalle. As mentioned above, Mirrolure She Dogs are great top water lures, especially for redfish. But nothing beats a live mullet or shrimp for the big boys.

Yep, that's a good policy. Then you're forced to stick with it to learn it. One day, I'm going cold turkey!
Tim

Yep, I'm also a largemouth bass fisherman, so I get the presentation aspect. I wished I had an experienced lure user on board to learn something new. Thanks for your input.
Tim

Agreed. I actually bought some pro-cure and squeezed some onto the lures. Still not alot of luck changing presentation depth, color, and speed. Thanks for your comments.
Tim

That's actually a really good point to wait until the fall. I'd track a school of reds, have the inexperienced person throw in a live shrimp, and hook up right away; try for 10 minutes to catch them on artificials... It must be the time of year where live shrimp just plain ole out fishes artificials; at least for me.....
Thanks for your comments.
Tim

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.