North Carolina Outer Banks reds call for a long toss to "the zone," located 100 yards from the beach.

Redfish are the most widely distributed, if not the most popular shallow-water gamefish in Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic coastal waters. They are targeted in many ways. For example, sight fishing for reds over grassy, muddy tidal flats has exploded in popularity throughout Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Otherwise, you’ll catch reds in those same waters by tossing jigs, spoons and plugs around oyster bars, or in backcountry bays, creeks and rivers, or perhaps by pitching live baits around inlet jetties.

But let’s not forget about the beach. Lots of reds, and the biggest bruisers at that, are caught where the surf meets the sand.

“But where would I start?” you may ask, gazing out at that immense ocean. Some surf fishermen fish for potluck. Bait a hook, toss it out, and come what may. But many serious surf casters are specialists who target pompano and bluefish in the winter, or perhaps snook, tarpon or stripers in the summer. Redfishing calls for a little specialization, too. Otherwise, you may end up hooking everything but reds.

The key to beach redfishing is choosing the right type of beach. An endless beach may all look the same to you at the surface, but take a peek underwater, and you’ll discover that the surf floor presents more and less desirable topographic features from a redfish’s point of view. It’s not much different than identifying inshore hotspots for seatrout, snook, striped bass and other species.

Rigged out and ready to make a day of it.

Though redfish will migrate, they normally don’t make the long treks typical of coastal pelagics such as mackerel and blues. Reds live primarily in estuarine waters until old enough to head offshore to spawn. Therefore, they tend to migrate latitudinally. For that reason your chances of finding redfish in the surf soar around inlets and passes.

Beaches with rocky outcroppings attract redfish, as do sections of beach with shell bottom, or assorted grasses. Man-made objects create outstanding beach structure that attracts reds, particularly in and around inlets. Jetties, piers, riprap and reinforced sea walls all can be top surf fishing sites. Jetties that extend from shore create “jams” where bait schools are held up from continuing along the beach. Of course, the structures are mini ecosystems, too. Algae and barnacles grow on jetty rocks, providing forage for crabs and small fish, all of which are eaten by redfish. Scoured-out holes around jetties hold big reds, and often school-sized fish can be caught on the outside of jetty arms, where current is slower.

High tide ushers smaller reds into the wast zone, where they eat jigs, plugs and flies.

The farther you get from an inlet or pass, the more attentive you must be to other shoreline features. It’s a pretty good bet that a stretch of beach that’s unlike the surrounding beach will attract and hold redfish. A point jutting out from a beach provides a break from longshore current, and can hold baitfish and redfish. Any water color change along the surf is worth checking out. They are caused by something under the surface, such as sandbars, or form where stained water abuts clear ocean water. If a rip is present, baitfish may be there, as well as reds and other species. Though reds will dine on crustaceans in the surf, more often than not, they eat baitfish. A baitfish pod moving along a surf known to hold reds could be a pot of gold.

Experienced surf fishermen rely on their eyes to tell them where prime places are in the surf.

“You have to learn to read the surf,” explains Chip Croft, a veteran Brunswick, Georgia surf angler who regularly fishes the state’s barrier islands. “Water depth is the main thing, and for redfish the deeper surf is usually best. Most beaches have a trough created by wave action. Those troughs are repositioned by wind, tide and waves. As a rule, waves break over an outer sandbar, creating white water. Shoreward of this bar, the depth increases, so waves flatten and whitewater disappears until the waves reach the beach. This identifies a slough or swash channel between a sandbar and the beach, and this is where most redfish travel and feed.”