Cooler Weather Brings the Best Sight-Fishing on the Panhandle

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When the late summer heat starts to fade and the north winds bring a crispness to the air, redfish start to go into their fall pattern. The redfish switch from generally deeper waters where they feed primarily on finfish, to the shallow flats where they hunt and ambush their prey which becomes more shrimp, crab and other crustaceans. This is one of my favorite times of the year. With the redfish feeding shallower, opportunities open up for incredible sight fishing on fly or light spinning tackle.

Along Florida’s northern Gulf Coast, October through late February are my favorite months to target them. I was born and raised in the Florida Panhandle and grew up fishing inshore and offshore for everything that swims; however, there has always been something special to me about seeing a fish before casting to it and then enticing it to eat. For me, winter redfishing is the ultimate adrenaline rush.

By Panhandle, of course, we’re talking about that relatively narrow Gulf Coast strip of Florida which runs from the St. Joe Peninsula west to the Alabama state line. This compact region boasts a collection of outstanding estuaries that all host excellent redfish fisheries. That includes St. Joe Bay, St. Andrew Bay (Panama City and Panama City Beach), Choctawhatchee Bay (Destin and Fort Walton), Pensacola and Escambia bays, and other associated waterways: Santa Rosa Sound, West and East bays in Panama City. It’s all fishy, and depending on rainfall and river flows, the water is frequently clear enough for classic sight fishing.

Start With Redfish Basics

Let’s talk about some of the basics, starting with weather. If you plan on sight fishing redfish—in the Panhandle or pretty much anywhere in Florida—you are constantly watching the weather, waiting for those beautiful bluebird sky days with light and variable winds, cool air and no clouds. Being able to see redfish from farther away will up your odds of catching them. It’s all about seeing them before they see you. That being said, I have also modified my technical poling skiff with a custom aluminum casting platform on the bow for my angler to get extra height off the water which makes it that much easier to see farther ahead and spot the target. The sooner you can present your fly or lure to a redfish that is up on the flat feeding, in sometimes inches of water, the better.

With most of my days being spent fly fishing for redfish, I try to limit my anglers to a maximum of three “false casts” before laying the fly down. Redfish have great vision and other senses. It is very easy to spook a redfish off of a flat, especially the ones that are extremely shallow. Fly line passing over them, flies or lures landing too hard on the surface near them, sounds on the skiff such as feet stepping or bumping something—eliminating these disturbances gives you a huge advantage. Stealth really comes into play when you are poling inches of water searching for a fish that is also trying to be sneaky because he is hunting his prey as well.

Fly presentation is just as important. Too close and you’ll spook the fish. Too far away and the fish won’t see it. It’s the fine medium of getting it close enough that it is within the fish’s line of vision without the fish hearing it land. Even then, sometimes one redfish will be lethargic and want a slow retrieve where the next fish may want the exact opposite and want the thrill of the chase. It is up to the angler to read and react to the way the fish in front of him or her is reacting to seeing the fly. Same goes for soft baits or other sight-fishing lures.

Colors for Reds

Choice of colors and patterns can be crucial as well. Over sandy flats that predominate in the Florida Panhandle bays and along the Gulf side beaches, I like to throw flies with white or tan fibers to mimic a ghost shrimp or light-colored crustacean. Over grass flats I prefer dark oranges, copper and even a hint of dark blue or purple to imitate a baby blue crab or fiddler.

Once all of this comes together perfectly, you’ve got a recipe for a bite and still, there’s plenty of room for error even after the bite. One common mistake I see is anglers too focused on watching the bite and reacting according to what they see and not what they feel.

With fly fishing, one hiccup that can occur is the angler will pull the rod to the side and “trout set” the rod upon excitement of seeing the fish eat or attempt to eat their fly. I always try to remind my anglers with me to point the rod right at the fish and strip in fly line until they can feel the resistance of the fish through their rod them strip set the fish and let him run then you can move your rod accordingly.

As for spinning rod fishing, with a light jig or soft plastic, lightly keep jigging it until you feel the fish hit, then set the hook. Try not to only focus on what you see or you will find yourself prematurely setting the hook when you see the fish opening its mouth to feed.

Once the fish is hooked, it’s generally pretty smooth sailing from there as long as you keep tension whether it be fly line or mono or braid. Enjoy the fight and the satisfaction of it all coming together. Occasionally they do come off, but it’s not very common. The redfish’s rubbery mouth holds on the hook pretty well.

Communication between the caster and the person on the poling platform is essential. It’s up to the person poling—the guide—to quickly and effectively relay where a fish is to the angler, as it can be a game of seconds. I prefer to use the clock system; assuming the bow is 12 o’clock, the majority of fish will be seen from the angler’s ten to two o’clock. Once this is established, I try to give a distance such as “11 o’clock at 30 feet.” This gives a reference on where the angler needs to be looking. Once I know they see the fish, I will usually confirm to them which way the fish is facing to give them information on which side their fly or lure needs to be on the fish.

There are so many variables that come into play when sight fishing redfish in the winter season you will learn something with every outing. That is just one of many things I find so intriguing about it and a reason why I love it. Get out and enjoy it!

Also in Redfish Roundup

Read more about red fishing in Florida.

• Northeast: Flood-Tide Angling for Quality Redfish in Spartina Marshes
• Keys: How to Find Redfish (Surprises, Too)
• East: Chasing Big Redfish in the Indian River Lagoon

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• This article was featured as part of "Redfish Roundup" in the October issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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