A note from Captain Bailey Short:

“Wes had booked his trip with me sometime in 2022 for his first attempt at targeting redfish on fly in Louisiana. It being early October the dates are always in demand due to the massive potential for good fishing that time of year. Of course as we left the dock that morning the weather was beautiful and our odds of getting into some fish were high. I had been fishing some schools of Jacks and Reds mixed together and prepared Wes on the ride out for what we might run into. Right away first thing in the morning we found a foaming school of jacks destroying everything in their path. As we neared the mayhem Wes said to me “Are you serious?!” Shortly after he was hooked into a big Jack Crevalle and his day was made. 

Being that we are in Louisiana we went for a little lagniappe and found some large redfish mudding through a school of shrimp on a shallow flat. The fish had been feeding so hard the flat was muddied up pretty good and only an occasional floating red blob would tip off their location. After a little while of trailing this group of fish, we spotted a deep copper giant lazily floating about 30 feet from the boat, 11 o’clock. Wes made the shot and shortly after we were watching one of the bigger fish I’ve hooked into this season charge her way off the mud flat towards the creek channel for deeper water. 

As it always goes with first timers somehow, Wes boated what I told him would probably be his biggest Redfish ever, a high 30 pound range fish that also stretched across both his knees with plenty of fish on either end. When we unhooked the fish, she had bits and pieces of shrimp carapace lodged into the roof of her mouth. I never get over how brutal these big fish are and it is just so cool to me. 

Redfish Tips

If you’re planning a trip to Louisiana some tips I can leave you with: Practice casting heavy flies and practice with a heavy rod (10-12wt) I like to throw large flies and poppers and the larger rods are perfect for big game hunting. 

Work on your short game! In Louisiana the shots are usually not far, but they are quick and accuracy dependent! Don’t scoff at a 20 ft shot, when you have 5-8 seconds to do it and get one cast to make the correct placement, It pays to get your routine down when tackling the close shots.”

This week’s Angler Story of the Week from Captain Bailey Short. Find Bailey on Instagram at @captbaileyshort. 

Check out the articles below:

Ole Red: A Redfish Angler Story

Costa Films Presents: Hooked On: Redfish