Captains Corner, Ed Walker

The Tampa Bay Times

By Ed Walker

Fall is best known for its migratory species such as kingfish, Spanish mackerel, cobia and bonito. A lesser-known passer-by is the spawning redfish. Each year from mid-October into November huge “bull reds” appear offshore of the large estuaries such as Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor. These fish are much larger than those found on the flats inshore. Most are 20 pounds or more and some can weigh 35-40 pounds. Biologists are not sure exactly where they come from, but they do know that they come here to spawn every year. Tagging and acoustic telemetry has shown that the same fish return year after year.

Most of the time these aggregations, which can hold over 1000 fish, settle in 2 to 5 miles offshore. They spawn there and the fertilized eggs drift up into the Bays and produce the inshore reds most of us are familiar with.

To an angler there is nothing more exciting than a thousand frothing redfish feeding on the surface. They will eat literally anything and put up great battles on any tackle. We once witnessed a cormorant get dragged down into a redfish feeding blitz. You never quite know when or where you might run into them. They will roam around a wide area for a few weeks. Periodically they will all come to the top turning the water and orange red color and crashing baitfish. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time its not hard to get a hook-up on every rod you put out. So, keep an eye open. There have been numerous reports lately. You might just stumble upon the opportunity of a lifetime.