Equipment for Redfish

I'm going down to Pointe-Au-Chien in South Louisiana to fly fish for the first time. We'll be in the canals about a mile or 2 from the coast. I have only fly fished for trout, so that's the equipment I have. I went last year with traditional tackle and caught fish anywhere from 5 to 8 pounds. I have a 5 wt rod/reel. My question is: can I get away with not buying new equipment? I was thinking of putting heavier fly line on the same rod. Will this work?

Also, what are some of the best flies that I can tie for reds and speckled trout? Keep in mind that I'm on a very tight budget for this trip, so if you know of flies that can be tied with cheap or every-day materials, that would be best.

Thanks in advance!
Eric

I grew up in Houma, near Point Au Chien. You more than likely be tangling with reds up to 30" - which will easily murder your 5wt. I don't think I could even turn a small red (<20") with my 5wt. You need at least an 8wt IMO, if only because of all the aquatic vegitation. I fish down there with a 10wt that I lovingly refer to as "El Woppo", because I'm fairly convinced that it could turn a freight train if I needed it to. It will also be windy down there this time of year, even in the canals, and heavier weights will make your casting much easier.

I use a 20 LB flouro leader with no tippet, and I usually keep it 7-9 feet long. Those reds are brutal on the oyster beds, and I've had too many tippets cut to trust them anymore. The reds don't seem to notice the flouro.

My best flies on the central LA coast are:

como spoons (spoon flies)
lafleur"s charlie
chartruese-white clousers
swimp


Check out www.laflyfish.com and www.redchaser.com for patterns and more info on flyfishing the LA coast. Laflyfish is my favorite site, and it is an invaluable source of info for someone like yourself. Good luck!

I fish for reds in the Tampa area and I understand the Louisianna reds are a little larger. Minimum size rod I use is a 6wt Scott Heliply, which is a very tough rod. Most of the time I use an 8wt. A decent size red will trash a 5wt in short order. You would be better off getting a heavier rod (7 to 9wt), or using conventional tackle.

I use a 9 foot 9wt. with at least 150 yds. of backing for all my inshore saltwater fishing. I don't think I would use anything less than an 8wt. The high wind and strength of saltwater fish might overwhelm smaller outfits if I were to try and use them.

Like Otter, Ive also spent some time in Point Au Chen.

However, I'd first ask how "stiff" is your 5 wt.? If it's a very fast action rod, you'l probably be fine, but don't come down with your favorite trout rod. I once hooked a 12 lb. red with my 5 wt. Sage RPL, and my buddy almost fell off the platform laughing at me, when I couldn't turn that fish. While I did eventually "boat" him, he almost spooled me first.

Eighteen years ago, when I first started fishing for reds, we all used 9X9's... 9ft. - 9 wt.s. Neither of my 9 wt.s have been out of of the case in years. My son and I reguarly use fast action 6 wt.s in that marsh without any problems. Just keep to smaller flies, which work better anyway, and you'll be fine with a 6 or 7 wt.

Actually I have a "new" TFO 7 wt. that will be my primary rod this years... Not because I need the extra "backbone", but just becauseI love the way it cast!!

Do check out www.laflyfish.com and www.redchaser.com , but also check out Capt. Danny Ayo's website, http://www.flyfishlouisiana.com/index.htm and learn to make his spoonfly!!! I have caught many reds with that spoonfly and consister to be among the very best, if not THE best. Capt. Danny spent hundreds of hours perfecting that spoonfly, and he has very good explaination on how it "flutters" and how to tie it. Don't cast flies that wn't "flutter"with a short strip!!!

Your spoon flies don't have to be that large, I typically use fluttering spoons in 4's or even 6's without any problems. Do stay away from larger flies, because you'll be sight casting to large fish in very shallow water and they often spook when a large or weighty object is cast in their direction!

In Louisiana's stained waters, I have never found leaders to be that critical and usually just use a straight 6-7 ft. leader of 12 - 15 lb. high quality mono. While you can "get by" with a lower poundage, the weeds and oysters will just cost ya' too much... in lost fish or time in replacing your "roughed up" leaders.

This time of year the winds can be tricky, but come on down and have fun!

Bowfin47

I appreciate the replies. I had forgotten about the oyster beds, so that answered my question of whether I should use light line. As for the rod...I think I might be to "borrow" one from a friend, so I don't trash my trout rig...I'm such a great friend, hehe.

I'll definitely check out the spoons, but I do have a question about the fishing part. Last year, and I've been only once, we didn't do any sight fishing. We stayed at Barry's Marina and threw our baits where Barry told us to. We had a great time doing it, but we were in the faster moving waters most of the time and the fish were about 4-5 feet deep. This was in April. Is sight fishing more of a Summer thing?

Also, we used live cocahoes and frozen shrimp for bait (the cocahoes were better). I've seen a few cocahoe patterns online as well as a few "redfish" patterns...here's one site, http://www.geocities.com/clinscott_pfl/bwhgpage3.html.

Should I worry with tying any of these? Or should I just stick to the spoons?

Thanks so much for your help!
Eric

Something else to consider that I don't see mentioned above is the kind of hardware you have on your rod. Most trout rods are built with wood spacers and nickel silver hardware on the reel seat. Saltwater would quickly corrode that setup, so a graphite or anodized aluminum reel seat is the typical saltwater hardware. You also want a rod with good strength in the butt section, since that is where you should be playing most redfish, especially the big bruisers in Louisiana.

Eric,

Redfish can certainly be caught on a 5 weight, but it isn't good for the fish, and definitely poses a risk to the rod if you hook a big moe, especially if it's grassy. The danger to the fish is particularly true if you go in the warmer months when the water is hot, those fish get stressed quickly so you want to be able to get them to the boat. I'd go with an 8wt, wt forward floating line and a 7 - 9 foot leader. I tie my own leaders and usually just do a butt of 50#, one or two shorter sections of slightly lighter material, then a tipped of 15#. That let's me lean into the fish and get them to the boat quickly.

I don't know what kind of boat you will be fishing out of, but if it draft's shallow enough get into the marsh ponds where you can sight cast to tailing fish, it's a great way to fly fish. You can sight fish down there pretty much year round.

Spoon flies are deadly for redfish, and you can make them cheap, go to Hobby lobby, buys some 28 gauge beading wire, some epoxy and glitter and follow the directions at http://www.redchaser.com/suspededspoon.htm, they look like this

http://www.redchaser.com/images/spoonfeed1.jpg

Here are some other patterns to emulate. Notice the lead eyes on almost all of them? Redfish have a mouth on the bottom of their head for a reason, the prefer to feed down. Even when fishing water only 8 inches deep, I put weight on most of my flies to put it where they are feeding.

Shwimp
http://www.redchaser.com/images/varigatedshwimp2.jpg

Weighted Seaducer

http://www.redchaser.com/images/lacedeepdeucer2.jpg

Redchaser Whistler

http://www.redchaser.com/images/RedChaserRon.jpg

Tight Lines,

Ron
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