When most people think of spinners they think of freshwater fishing, but I haven’t met a knowledgeable redfish angler yet that doesn’t have a few in their box. Let’s take a look at what kind of spinners you should use for redfish and when to use them.
There are an endless number of different kinds of spinner baits out there, but redfish aren’t picky eaters. First things first, it has to be heavy duty. If you throw spinners for reds long enough, you’ll end up hooking a big one on it and the last thing you want to do is bend out a hook or break the wire. Not to mention the fact that most spinners are made for bass, and pound for pound a redfish would beat a bass until it went back to its bed crying for mommy. Your second key factor is gold blades. It’s likely due to the conditions that spinnerbaits are good for (we’ll get into that later) but without a doubt gold is the color to use. Silver is a close second. Painted spinners still send out a vibration, but you lose that all-so-important flash. Underspin jigheads, traditional spinnerbaits, and in-line spinners will all get a hungry redfish’s attention.
There’s nothing worse than getting to your favorite spot and finding muddy water, except getting to the next one and finding the same thing. Muddy water can ruin the day for any redfish angler… if they don’t have a spinner in the box. It’s a common misconception that redfish won’t hang out or feed in muddy water. Sure they’d prefer it nice and clean, but when a whole bay or river is mucked up they don’t have anywhere to escape to. In this situation an unscented soft plastic will usually only get bit if you put it right on their nose, and that usually has a good chance of spooking them. Add in some flash so they have a better chance of seeing your lure before it’s right on top of them, and some vibration so they can feel it coming. If you want to increase your odds even further, add on a scented trailer. The more ways the fish can detect your bait, the better.