By Captain Ron Presley

The Yamaha four-stroke powered the 22-foot Pathfinder smoothly and efficiently away from the dock and into the open water of the Banana River near Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. The fall mullet run was on and the anticipation of good fishing that accompanies this time of year was high on the Florida Space Coast.

Recent days on the water had produced numerous redfish that show up in large numbers during the mullet run. Most of the fish we had been catching were outside the slot limit of 18 to 27 inches and were returned unharmed to the water.

After running full-bore for as long as we could the Pathfinder came down off plane and settled in the calm but murky water just short of the posted manatee zone. The MotorGuide trolling motor was used to move across a shallow flat to an area that had previously held the target fish of the morning. Then an anchor was set at each end of the boat to position it so that our casts could be made in the same direction as the light southeasterly wind that was blowing.

The area included a drop off from the flat into slightly deeper water. The reds had been present cruising the edge of the drop off and often coming up on the flat itself. The next step was to bait up with some chunks of mullet, make long casts, and wait for a brawny red to come by and eat.

It wasn’t long until the morning’s plan began to work. The bail was open as line slowly spiraled off the Shimano Stradic spinning reel and sunk gently away from the boat. First, the line pulled straight away and then slightly to the left as the fish taste tested and then began to crush the piece of cut mullet while swimming along the rocky edge of the river.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity I closed the bail by hand and began to reel expecting the red Daiichi circle hook to do its job. As the rod bent with the heavy weight of the red I gave two small but solid hook sets to close the deal. The only thing left was to bring the big redfish to the boat, take a photo, resuscitate, and then release the oversized red to fight again another day.

Many anglers enjoy catching red fish on artificial bait, and I am one of them. There is just something about the challenge of fooling the fish. First, there is an art to choosing the lure that imitates the natural food of the fish. Then, choices have to be made with respect to size of the bait, color of the bait, and the actual presentation.

Usually, when you do it all right you have a successful fishing trip. However, sometimes those finicky reds just won’t cooperate. After all, before artificial baits the fish didn’t see anything but natural bait, and the lure manufacturers are continually trying to make the artificials look like mullet, shrimp, crabs, or other natural baits.

My personal favorite response when the red fish are indifferent to an artificial lure is to chunk up a ladyfish or a mullet and see if that will change their attitude about eating. Be sure to keep your knife sharp to make this process easier. Other baitfish will work as well, but I prefer ladyfish first and mullet second. I have also caught reds on cut pinfish and jack creavalle. We are appealing to the fish’s sense of smell. Once the fish are attracted to the smell they will follow it and eventually find your baited hook.

If I have a 12 to 14 inch ladyfish I want to “steak” it into pieces about 1 to 1-1/2 inches long. You will end up with seven or eight baits, including the head. Of course, this depends on the size of the bait you are cutting up. What ever you do, do not throw out the head. The first bait I choose when chunkin’ is the head, then, I use the rest of the baitfish.

There is something about those heads that really turn on the reds. When using a head I normally run the hook through the bottom lip and up through and out the top of the head where the bait is fairly tough. Hooked this way, a head will stay on well when casting. On the other chunks, run a circle hook through a fleshy part of the cut-bait, being sure that the hook exits through the remaining skin.

Fishing methods are never fool poof, but the method of chunkin’ is simple and easy for anyone to use. It is adaptable to shallow water or deep, and if there are redfish anywhere in the near vicinity of where you are fishing, they will pick up on the scent of the cut bait and follow it up, resulting in a bite.

f you don’t get a bite in 30 or 40 minutes, move to a different location. By following these simple guidelines, you should be able to hook up to some great redfish action. Get out there on the water and do some “catchin.’” After all, isn’t that what it’s all about!

Captain Ron Presley
Inshore Fishing Adventures
www.inshorefishingadventures.com