Where redfish live across the Gulf, how the fishery changes from the Texas flats to the Louisiana marsh, and what it means for your gear.
The one fish the whole coast shares
Redfish are the constant from the Lower Laguna to the Panhandle. Almost every port on this coast has a redfish fishery, which is why they turn up on more Gulf Coast boats than anything else that swims.
The same fish, three different games
On the Texas flats it is sight casting in clear shallow water. In the Louisiana marsh it is bigger fish in dirtier water with heavier tackle. On the Florida side it is bars, oyster and mangrove edges. Same species, completely different day.
Sight fishing is a standing-in-the-sun sport
Hunting individual fish means hours upright on a platform or a bow with no shade and a lot of reflected glare. That is the specific condition a hooded UPF shirt is built for, and the reason guides wear one every day rather than on the hot ones.
Fall is when it peaks
Bull reds school up in the fall almost everywhere on the coast. It is also when people stop thinking about sun because the air is cooler, which is exactly when a long day out gets you.
