Small pods of tailing fish are money in the bank, if and only if, you make a proper presentation.

If you have ever lived with another person for any length of time, such as your spouse or parents, you can easily sense their mood. It has a lot to do with body language. After sight fishing for redfish for over 20 years, I’ve learned that they, too, have moods. No, they can’t give you a come-hither look, or one that could kill, but suffice to say that their behavior while in the shallows will give you a good clue as to your chances of hooking up.

First of all, you will be dealing with single redfish, small groups or big schools in the shallows. All the above might be laid up (some anglers say they are sleeping) or tailing and mudding (which tells you they are feeding), or cruising fish swimming steadily at varying rates of speed. And that just about covers it. Let’s examine these behaviors more closely.

Sleep Mode

I have found that the hardest redfish to catch—and this is always true regardless of whether a fish is alone or in a school—lie motionless on the bottom. Unlike snook, large seatrout or flounder, reds are not ambush feeders, so you won’t typically find them parked on a pothole, or stacked on a flats dropoff waiting for prey to file by. Stationary reds are more likely taking a snooze, or as many anglers surmise, just digesting their food after feeding. Sometimes, you can get amazingly close to such fish; in fact anglers report that they have actually prodded “sleeping” reds into moving by poking them with a pushpole or even their rodtip. I have only come across a few “sleeping” fish over the years. If you cast your lure right on their nose you can sometimes wake them up. And at other times, parked reds will detect you from afar, and start to swim away before you can make a cast. In the dead of winter, cold water might be the cause of this behavior. That’s a matter of low metabolism rather than the need for some shuteye.

High and Happy

When Lady Luck smiles upon you, you will find big schools of redfish that simply maintain their position, finning lazily high in the water column, apparently sunning themselves. A few individuals may have their fins poking through the water’s surface. These fish are not tailing (and thus feeding) in the normal sense. But I think finned-out fish are relaxed and happy, and by making good presentations, I’ve managed to get them to strike.

Out for a Cruise

Cruising reds are commonplace, and you typically find them in water between one and three feet deep. Single cruisers seem to basically follow a “circular” route. By that I mean they might thoroughly cover a small piece of “fertile” flat where they are either feeding on minnows or shrimp. Of course, a cruising fish can tail up, too, where it is shallow enough to permit it. Schooled fish, whether in a group of a half-dozen or hundreds, are normally heading from point A to point B either to leave a flat on falling water, or to relocate altogether. If you make it easy for them to take your offering, they usually will take it. Sometimes a hooked fish will run back to the school to continue its trek.

I’ve had the good fortune on a couple of occasions of watching snowy egrets and redfish playing “Pong” (the first video game) with mosquito fish. The reds chase the minnows to the birds, which chase them back out to the fish, which chase them back to the birds, etc. These are “circular route” redfish at their finest!

Wading anglers enjoy an advantage over boaters when redfish are spooky.

Sometimes I find redfish swimming in rough circles in sandy potholes in seagrass beds. These fish frequently roll on their side and flash, apparently taking small baitfish. Again, these relaxed, happy fish will almost always eat if you make a good cast. You can cast beyond the far side of the pothole and retrieve a lure or fly through it. Either way, you will almost always catch reds exhibiting this behavior.

Flash Dancin’

If you fish for bonefish, you have likely seen them flashing as they tilt their bodies as they feed. Reds flash too, and what an eye-catcher that is. You can be confident that you will get hookups in this situation. Flashing reds are easy to see, even at a distance, allowing you to keep track of the school’s location while they cruise along. A flashing fish may be tailing, too, if it’s shallow enough, but generally a flashing red is taking prey from mid-depths, such as baitfish or suspended shrimp. Anglers report seeing flashing behavior among individuals in big schools, too, and that might be triggered by something other than feeding.