There’s nothing better than watching a big redfish hunt down a soft plastic or explode on a popper. While redfish aren’t particularly picky fish, there are still certain lures that will produce more bites and land more fish than others—especially if you know when to use them.
- SOFT PLASTICS At the end of the day, if you cast just about any soft plastic in front of a big redfish that’s actively feeding, it’s probably going to smash it. And there’s nothing more annoying than trying to set the hook then pulling up a jighead with the tail pulled down. This is when full-body swim baits with internal weights shine. Baits like the Zman Mulletron and Berkley Cullshad are great because they can get short striked over and over, and will continue to swim perfectly fine. You’ll end up having more hookups purely because the fish will come back and hit again, or the redfish next door will eat the lure as it shoots out its neighbors mouth.
- TOPWATE PLUGS There’s nothing more exciting than throwing topwater plugs for giant redfish, but it has to be the right time and place. Low light situations with lots of bait present are a great time to throw a popper, as the fish are usually fired up and attracted to any kind of loud noise. It’s also effective to throw topwater when the fish are very spread out and tend to be cruising around rather than sitting and ambushing. They are great search-baits, and generally will at least get checked out if there are any fish around.
- TWITCH BAITS Twitch baits are another favorite bait to cast for big redfish, especially over shallow flats. They sink slowly, tend to cast a mile, and for whatever reason seem to get absolutely inhaled compared to many other baits. A favorite for casting at bulls is the MirrOlure MR 27. This is another great search bait for when you don’t know exactly where the fish are. Whatever twitch bait you end up throwing, look for those with a lot of flash and rattles to make a lot of noise. Also make sure to switch out the treble hooks for singles. Trebles aren’t good for the fish and it’s downright scary trying to deal with an angry bull red with trebles flying around at the side of the boat.