Topwater Fishing For Redfish
Other than a fly a topwater is one of my favorite lures to catch a red fish on. The sheer excitement and explosiveness of a redfish hitting a topwater is something I think all anglers can agree on, it just doesn’t get old. In this article I’m going to go over what topwaters I like, when I like to use them and what I am looking for in terms of areas to target with these lures. If you are not a topwater fan for some reason I hope that this article will get you thinking about using them and using them often.
I will first start off with when to use a topwater for redfish because there are times of year that they can definitely be a less productive lure than others. Redfish for the most part like a topwater when the water is warmer, think late spring, summer and early fall. When it’s cold out or when the water is cooler the redfish tend to not love a topwater and this is probably partially due to the lack baitfish like finger mullet but also in the winter redfish become lethargic and generally like a much less abrasive bait. This is not always the case though and speaking from experience occasionally a winter school will turn on to a topwater especially on a warmer day. If a winter school looks really fired up and they are flashing and feeding it’s never a bad idea to try but for the most part I would say avoid it unless they seems really fired up. Spring time is when baitfish slowly start to show up and the fish are ready to eat and ready to eat aggressively. They have spent all winter eating small meals so when something large and loud makes its way into their feeding zone they are likely to pounce. Generally in the spring the redfish are still pretty schooled up so I mainly use it as a sightfishing tool and less of a search bait. Where I live (Wilmington NC) the water is generally still quite clear in the Spring so finding these schools and casting to them is fairly easy and the need to pole around searching for long periods are rarely the case unless a school has moved. I have had days in the Spring where I cannot get a school to eat anything other than a topwater and there is nothing better than casting a topwater to a school of 200 redfish and watching 10 redfish separate from the school to try and eat it. The benefit of a topwater in the spring is sometimes they want an aggressive bait and I promise you it can save the day and also it can provide some of the best topwater action you’ll see all year. Summer time is when I do not leave the ramp without at least one topwater tied on. It has proven time and time again to be on of the best search baits money can buy and there are many reasons why. One of the biggest reasons is how far you can cast them. In the summertime redfish spread out and are either in very small groups swimming alone, occasionally you can find a big school but it’s not very common. Being able to cover as much ground as possible with long casts is a very beneficial thing. Also redfish love a topwater in the summer, it mimics an injured baitfish extremely well and most topwaters come with a metal ball our multiple metal balls in them that when worked properly, in a “walking the dog” type manner, can draw fish into them just by the sound. The one caveat to Summer and topwater fishing for redfish is that typically it’s an early morning or late afternoon deal. When the sun gets high in the sky and the water heats up the fish can get lethargic and don’t want to go chasing an aggressive bait, similar to winter. On that note redfish will get lethargic when the water is either very cold or very hot. All in all early morning and late afternoon topwater fishing in the summer can be very productive. Fall is very similar to Summer especially early Fall but you can sometimes get away throwing a topwater throughout the day. As that water is still warm but not getting overly warm so Redfish are more prone to want to eat one for the majority of the day, especially on overcast days.
Ok, we got the seasons that are best for using a topwater to catch Redfish, let’s dive into what I’m looking for as far as areas to target with this lure. Ambush points are the name of the game. Anywhere a redfish can hide and pop out to eat a bait is what you are looking for so this includes areas such as grass points, oyster beds, sparse grass edges, rocks, pilings etc. Where I am typically using a topwater the most is around grass points and sparse grass edges for my specific area here in North Carolina. On a high tide redfish like to wiggle their way in and out of grassy areas, especially sparse grassy areas and they love to sit just far enough in the grass that they can ambush unsuspecting bait swimming by. These are great areas to target and should be fruitful on the right tide and during the right time of year. The other type of structure I look for constantly is grass points. Redfish like to sit on one side of a point and just like those sparse grass areas they like to sit out of sight behind the point and snag bait as it swims by. Anytime I have my trolling motor down and I’m working as area with a top water I can assure you that any I point I see I am throwing just past the point and working my topwater towards me right across that point. By no means will every point have a redfish sitting on it but when covering a lot of ground it’s a productive thing to look for and to cover with a lure. The last piece of this is tide, my absolute favorite time to topwater for redfish is an early morning high tide in the summer. You can definitely catch them on topwater on a low tide but I have found that redfish like a topwater a bit more when they have a decent amount of water to attack the topwater in. If it’s shallow enough that the redfish are backing or have their tails of out the water it might just be slightly too shallow for a topwater, not saying it won’t work but in a scenario like that I’ll probably be throwing something like a soft plastic with a gentle presentation.
The last piece of this is what type of topwaters to use for redfish and how do you work it. For redfish I am throwing a walk the dog type of topwater 95% of the time. This type of topwater when fished correctly provides a very rhythmic knocking noise that redfish seem to not be able to resist. My go to topwaters include the Heddon One Knocker, Rapala Skitterwalk, Mirrolure Top Dog and the Mirrolure She Dog. I play around with all sorts of colors as I feel color is not a huge thing to concentrate on as I don’t think it plays a massive role but that said I do have my confidence colors and those include Pink, Gold, Black, Orange, Chartreuse, Bone White and any combination of those colors on a topwater. Depending on the color of the water will generally determine what color I pick up. If the water is really clear I will gravitate to a natural color or a Pink. If the water is very tanic or muddy I will go for something like an Orange/Gold or something with a lot of vibrance. As far as how to work a topwater, well that can take a small amount of practice as it’s a bit like patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time but you want to “walk the dog” with these lures and that is essentially a constant retrieve and a slight twitch in the rod to make the topwater wiggle back and forth smoothly. You will know if you are doing it right if you can hear that little ball inside the topwater clacking back and forth at a consistent timing and pace. As far as how fast to work a topwater, I think that depends. Some days it seems like redfish want it very fast and other days quite slow and for this reason until I catch my first fish I am constantly changing my pace every time I recast. Once I get a blow up or come tight I try and remember what my cadence was on the retrieve when it got hit and I use that cadence the rest of the morning or afternoon. If I fail to get a bite again though with that cadence after about 30 minutes I’ll start switching it up again.
In conclusion Top Waters are great fun and also a fantastic lure to use for Redfish at the right times. Get out there and have some fun and if you are looking to book a trip to get in on this action or if you have any questions on Topwater fishing for redfish feel free to e-mail or call me any time.
Happy Fishing!
Capt. Cameron Pappas
(910) 547.9353
