Fished incoming tide in the AM. Gulp shrimp was the ticket today. Tried several things but nothing produced like the stinky gulp…one of my best days in January ever. 30+ reds , mostly juveniles, with some biggers ones mixed in. Fished 1-2 ft of water,which was crystal clear.
Also, something weird happened that i have never seen before…while reeling in a red on a cork, the fish came to surface to do his little roll and run and another red came up and hit the fish (like he charged him, then bumped him while he was rolling on the waters surface) very cool sight, but i thought it was strange?? Was he going after the gulp bait that was knocked up the line( as seen in picture) or was he bullying the other red (not likely)?? My guess is he saw the gulp and gave chase too??? But i dont know??? Any ideas? Both fish came out of the water, but obviously only one had a hook in his mouth… Gotta love those blue tails!
Good post and pics, CL. I think your first conclusion makes more sense. The second fish bumping the first was probably unintentional. Just my $.02, though…
“I’m not a hundred percent in love with your tone right now…”
Yea, the second fish (the one not hooked) acted as if he was aggressively chasing something…My best guess is he saw what appeared like his buddy chasing a shrimp, then saw that the shrimp was still out in front and available and made his own charge for it. The juvy fish are far more aggressive than the older, wiser, bigger fish, at least thats my experience anyways…
I had the same thing happen to me for the first time in 20+ years of inshore fishing 2 weeks ago. I hooked a slot (20") red, and a larger fish bumped him repeatedly on the way in. He was not large enough to EAT the red on the line, but there was no lure outside the slotty’s mouth for him to focus on either as it was deep in his crushers. He just seemed excited about the smaller fish’s erratic movements. I have seen this numerous times with other species, but not redfish.
Nice report dfried. Now fellows; don’t get your shorts in a knot, Just asking. When is sparning season for Reds? I’ve never caught a red that was sparning on any season. Now before we go any further I’m on the net trying to find out myself. Just came to mind after reading this report of Reds bumping one another
“Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education”
Had a similar experience about a month ago. Caught a red and another one was following it closely right to the boat. I had also never experienced that before. My buddy and I just kinda shrugged it off.
Redfish spAWning takes place September-November offshore in large aggregations of mostly fish over 30". I don’t think the discussed behavior has anything to do with love.
Thanks for the post and fascinating competitive redfish comments. Too many good fisherman have seen that for the first time. Gotta be something to it. Neat.
While I think fish do what fish naturally do, I almost believe that they also adapt to their environments - which sometimes includes us and how we interact with them.
