Species guide

Redfish Fishing: Gear and Setups

The signature inshore fish of the Gulf and South Atlantic. Shallow water, oyster and grass mean the leader does more work here than the line does.

By Mo McCarran

Also known as Red drum, channel bass, spottail bass, puppy drum (small fish).

Build a redfish setup Redfish hook sizes by bait and presentation

Redfish setups by technique

Starting setups for the common ways to fish for redfish, before you pick a bait. Adjust for your water, cover and presentation in the Setup Builder.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Recommended redfish setups by technique
Technique	Rod	Reel	Main line	Leader	Hook
Spinning	7'–7'6" Medium Heavy power · Moderate action	2500–4000 Spinning reel	15–30 lb Braided line	20–30 lb Fluorocarbon	2/0–4/0 Circle hook
Baitcasting	7'–7'6" Medium Heavy power · Moderate action	150–200 Baitcasting reel	20–40 lb Braided line	25–40 lb Fluorocarbon	3/0–5/0 Circle hook
Fly fishing	8'–9' 8–9 weight	7/8–9/10 Matched to rod weight	WF 8–9 floating Weight-forward	0X–.013 9 ft tapered · about 13–20 lb	1/0–3/0 Fly hook

Redfish rigs: popping cork, gold spoon and cut bait for bull reds

Three common redfish presentations: live shrimp under a cork on the flats, spoons for covering shallow grass, and natural bait on the bottom for the big fish at passes and on the beach.

Popping cork with live shrimp

A live shrimp hung under a popping cork over grass and shell. Jerking the rod tip down and back makes the cork pop, and the sound draws fish to the bait. Vary the pause between pops.

Leader: About 18 inches to 4 feet of fluorocarbon, longer in deeper water
Hook: #1 or 1/0 for a shrimp; a circle hook of the same size reduces deep hooking
Bait: Live shrimp through the top of the head or the tail; small finger mullet also work

With a circle hook, do not set the hook: just come tight and keep the pressure on.

Gold spoon

A shallow-running gold, copper or silver spoon cast over flats and grass. In the surf, heavier spoons and slow-sinking plugs do the same job.

Size: 1/4–1/2 oz on the flats

Cut mullet or crab on the bottom

Bull reds, the big fish at passes and along the beach, are best caught with natural bait fished on the bottom.

Bait: Cut mullet, live mullet 6 to 8 inches, or blue crab
Rig: Single- or double-drop bottom rig

Where to find redfish

From Texas around the Gulf and up the Atlantic coast through the Mid-Atlantic. They live shallow: grass flats, oyster bars, marsh drains on a falling tide, and the sand troughs of the beach. Bigger fish stage near passes and along the beach in late summer and fall.

How they feed

Bottom feeders that root nose-down for crabs and shrimp, which is why you see them tailing in skinny water. They find food by smell as much as sight, so cut and live bait works in dirty water where a lure will not.

Typical size

Most inshore trips produce fish somewhere between about 18 and 28 inches and 3 to 8 pounds. Bull reds over 30 inches and 20 pounds are the spawning class, found near passes and along the beach. Each state sets its own slot within that spread, so the fish you may keep is narrower than the fish you will catch.

Through the year

Marshes and flats hold fish through the warm months, with the best sight fishing on clear, low water. Late summer and fall bring big schools of bull reds to passes, jetties and the beach, which is the best surf fishing of the year in much of the range.

Angler supporting a red drum horizontally over open water, showing the fish's copper sides and tail spot. — A red drum, commonly called redfish.

What to put on the end of the line

Pick a bait or lure to get its hook size.

Live or fresh shrimp

Besides the popping cork, shrimp are free-lined on a small weight so they swim freely.

Hook size for this

Blue crab or crab chunk

With cut and live mullet, one of the three best baits for bull reds.

Hook size for this

Cut bait

For redfish, fresh cut mullet, one of the best baits for bull reds on a bottom rig.

Hook size for this

Soft paddle-tail swimbait

Soft-bodied jigs are a common redfish lure, and shad tails also work as bucktail trailers.

Hook size for this

Bucktail jig

In the surf, bring it all the way back through the wash: fish often follow a jig and strike late.

Hook size for this

Topwater lure

Walking plugs and poppers over shallow grass.

Hook size for this

Casting or trolling spoon

A favorite on Texas flats in gold, copper or silver; see the gold spoon rig above for weights.

Hook size for this

Common redfish mistakes

Leader too light for oysters

A redfish will not break 15 pound fluorocarbon, but an oyster bar will part it in seconds. Twenty to thirty pound leader is the floor around shell.

Casting on top of them

Fish in a foot of water feel a lure land. Lead them by several feet and let the bait come to the fish.

Setting the hook on a circle

Reds often take a bait and turn. Reel steadily until the rod loads instead of swinging.

Sources for the rigs and bait notes

Take Me Fishing — How to fish live shrimp or minnows under a popping cork (2019) An 18 to 30 inch fluorocarbon leader, #1 or 1/0 hooks with circle hooks preferred, where to hook a shrimp, and how to pop the cork.
Take Me Fishing — Fishing rigs Sliding-sinker, three-way and popping-cork rigs, including a 3 to 4 foot leader under a popping cork.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department — Red drum Live shrimp under a popping cork or free-lined, 1/4 to 1/2 oz gold, copper or silver spoons on the flats, and cut mullet, live mullet or blue crab on bottom rigs for bull reds.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — Red drum (redfish) Live shrimp under a popping cork, and soft-bodied jigs, spoons and topwater plugs for redfish.
Take Me Fishing — 12 tips for fishing a bucktail in the surf (2019) Round or bullet heads, red head and white body for daytime stripers, curl-tail or shad-tail trailers, a slow retrieve along the bottom, and thin line.

Sources were checked on October 5, 2026.

Redfish water is kayak water

A foot of water over grass and shell is where a kayak beats every other boat, and where sight fishing from a standing position pays off. It is also where a propeller drive has to come up and a fin drive kicks back against the bottom. The fishing kayak guide explains shallow-water limits by drive type, and the finder can filter for marsh and inshore use.

Regulations

Redfish cannot be harvested in federal waters at all: they have been under a federal moratorium in the exclusive economic zone since the late 1980s, so this is a state-waters fishery. States manage it with slot limits, and those differ enough between neighboring states to matter — Florida runs 18 to 27 inches with bag limits that vary by region and at least one region closed to harvest entirely, while Texas runs a different slot and issues tags that allow one oversized fish per license year. Check the agency for the water you are on. Last checked August 2026.

Build a complete redfish setup

Answer five short questions and get a complete setup: rod length, power and action, reel size, main line, leader and hook, each with the reasoning behind it.

Build my setup

Next steps

Fishing Knot FinderKnots for tying braid to a fluorocarbon leader.
Split Shot and Sinker Size ChartPyramid and bank sinkers for bottom rigs on the beach.

Related species

Behavior and habitat here describe the species across its US range; local fish can differ. How we build recommendations. Image sources and credits.