FEATURE: Redfish School

REDFISH ARE THE ULTIMATE symbol of nearshore fishing along the Gulf Coast.

Whether it’s pursuing tailing reds with fly gear in the marsh, monster bulls in the surf, or drifting for them over seagrass flats, this species is a vital part of Gulf fishing culture.

Let’s take a minute to get educated on all things redfish.

Redfish Size

The state record redfish was caught by angler Artie Longron in 2000. It weighed 59.50 pounds and was caught in the Gulf of Mexico out of Sabine Pass.

Over the last 15 years, more anglers are reporting catching bull redfish (over slot size) in our bay systems and this is reflected in the records. Over half of our main bay system records were broken since 2008.

 

Sabine Lake: 35.44 pounds, by Brian Poirier in 2004

Galveston Bay: 44 pounds, by Russell Jana, 2010

Matagorda Bay: 41.50 pounds, caught by Candance Kern (on a fly!) in 2019

San Antonio Bay: 28 pounds, by Tracy Dews, 1998.

Aransas Bay: 35 pounds, by Daniel Markey in 2006

Corpus Christi Bay: 22.09 pounds, caught by Filip Spence in 2008

Baffin Bay: 27.99 pounds, by Ismael Pena in 2020

Upper Laguna Madre: 39.13, caught by Dr. E. Stanton Shoemaker (on a fly!) in 2008

Lower Laguna Madre: 33.60, caught by Carlos Hernandez in 2006

 

Everything Isn’t Always Bigger In Texas

According to officials with North Carolina Environmental Quality, North Carolina is famous for its trophy-sized red drum that can weigh in excess of 40 pounds. 

“They are traditionally caught in the surf and sound between Oregon Inlet and Cape Lookout. In 1984, a giant red drum weighing 94 pounds, 2 ounces was caught off Hatteras Island. It broke both the state and all-tackle world record, and it remains the International Game Fish Association All-Tackle world record for red drum today” 

“North Carolina waters also produced 18 of the current IGFA Line Class (Conventional Tackle) world records, one IGFA Tippet Class (Fly Tackle) world record, and one IGFA Junior and Smallfry world record.”

A 94-pound redfish! That’s amazing!

Cool Cousins

According to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) officials, redfish are related to black drum, spotted seatrout, weakfish, mullets, and croakers, most of which also make drumming sounds. 

“Scientists believe that the black spot near their tail helps fool predators into attacking the red drum’s tail instead of their head, allowing the red drum to escape.”

Redfish School Year Classes

When asked if redfish will ever become more plentiful in our marshes than they are now, LSU Ag Center officials had a very in-depth answer.

“Not likely. Even though redfish live as long as 40 years, the number of redfish in inside waters depends on the success of the last three spawns before the year in question. Redfish spawn from late August through October. At one year old, they will range from 10 to 17 inches long, averaging 14 inches. At 2 years old they will range from 18 to 24 inches, and weigh 3 to 6 pounds.” 

“At 3 years old, they will range in size from 20 to 28 inches, weighing 4 to 9 pounds. Then they leave. Even though a few larger fish remain inshore, after age three, redfish show substantial movement to offshore waters where they ultimately join the schools of spawning “bull” redfish. Even if we had 10 great spawning year classes in a row, inshore fishermen will catch fish mostly from the last three, and only keep fish from two-year classes, since the fish from the last spawn will average under the legal size.”

Life History Of Young Reds

Young red drum feed on small crabs, shrimp, and marine worms. As they grow older, they feed on larger crabs, shrimp, small fish, and sometimes their cousins, the Atlantic croaker according to TPWD officials.  

“They generally are bottom feeders but will feed in the water column when the opportunity arises. A phenomenon called “tailing” occurs when the red drum feed in shallow water with its head down in the grass and the tail exposed to the air. Predators include humans, birds, larger fish, and turtles.”

Great White Food

Seasonal Distribution and Historic Trends in Abundance of White Sharks in the Western North Atlantic published by PLOS One shows gives an interesting tidbit about redfish.

It details redfish are among the items preferred by the Gulf’s great whites.

“Analysis of white shark stomach contents from this region are extremely limited, however, documented prey items include dolphins, sharks, red drum, sea turtles, and squid.”

Pogie Boat Bycatch

The bycatch of redfish in pogie (menhaden) boats in Louisiana where they are allowed to fish much closer to the shore than in Texas is a major controversy east of Sabine Lake.

When asked why pogie boats operating close to shore is such a problem, CCA-Louisiana officials said the following.

“The way pogie is fished, and its occurrence within some of the most fertile waters for a variety of fish, there is a significant bycatch resulting in harm to many of Louisiana’s favorite recreational fish-approximately 135,000 pounds of trout and redfish specifically each year – and harm to forage for many of our most iconic Louisiana birds and wildlife like Brown Pelicans.” 

“According to the industry, bycatch by percentage is relatively low in comparison to other commercial fisheries, representing 2-3% of the total catch. But even at 2-3%, you are still talking about 20-30 million pounds of bycatch—our drum, redfish, speckled trout, crabs, shrimp, and more killed each year.”

In each issue, we give you information via our hot spots, hot spots focus, and often in columns on how and where to catch redfish.

We hope you enjoyed this issue’s educational journey through “Redfish School” to learn more about their life and conservation.

 

 

—story by CHESTER MOORE

 

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