Went out in search of reds today

[Rik]

And caught one little trout.

Some days are like that.......

[Manning]

I too went out in search of reds today. I had not caught a red in 6 weeks or more. I have been catching some quality trout, a few pompano and a snook or two, but no reds. So as I drove to the launch this morning I decided to concentrate on reds. When I got to the flat where I intended to looks for reds I found that the water was a little low so I worked the edge by the channel and caught a few trout. Once the tide came in I worked my way up on the flat and a little while later I found the mullet. I made a cast into the fluttering mullet with me MirroLure Lil John on a 1/16th jig. It was immediately picked up by a red. Felt like a good sized fish and then I got a glimpse of it's big tail. I knew this was the fish I came for. After a fun fight I boated this very fat over slot red. Mission accomplished.

[fishshooter99]

Beautiful red Manning. Unfortunately I find that I have more days like RIK had than the one Manning had. I am planning to make the little drive 500 miles south from Atlanta to Anna Maria in a couple of weeks. I only get to make it down 3 or 4 times per year. I will mostly be fishing the Palma Sola, Perico Bayou area. On the advice of you and several others I ordered some lil John's and 16th ounce jig heads. While I mostly fish top water, it's hard to argue with the success I see you guys having with those funky little dart baits. My gotos over the past year have been Super Spook jr and various paddle tail softs. I have NEVER caught a red on a spoon, though I have tried a bunch (just not my lure).
Again thanks for sharing a great picture of a great fish.

[DaveR]

Nice one Steveo

[Heywood]

Oh we had a shot at some, at least I did. We waited until there was enough light to move into this cove, and once in there I saw what I was looking for. A redfish with its back completely out of water. Just as I got ready to make a cast, BOOM another red about 3 feet away busted some bait and spooked the one I was after, along with a couple more I didn't see.

And that was it for the rest of the morning. Didn't see anything else and had no blowups on the top water.