Redfish

Regardless of the species, redfish are saltwater fish. The Ocean Perch is found in the Northern Atlantic from Norway to New England; the best harvests are reported in late spring and early summer. The Red Drum inhabits the Atlantic further to the South, roughly from Virginia to Brazil; the prime destination for this is the Gulf of Mexico. It will take the bait at any time of the year, but the prime time for the biggest ones is believed to be late summer to early fall. Red Snapper is also fished for in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and elsewhere on the Atlantic coast, while the Malabar Blood Snapper inhabits the coastal waters of Australia and New Zealand down to Fiji and around South-East Asia.

As already mentioned, the name “Redfish” may refer to a number of fish species that belong to different families. Acadian Redfish, or Ocean Perch, is a perch-shaped fish with enormous eyes and one long dorsal feen with sharp points; the unusual feature of this fish is that it gives birth to live young. While commercially important, this is a small fish that is usually between 15 and 20 inches in length. Red Drum is an iconic game fish unique in that, like other Drums, they produce various sounds as parts of their mating ritual; it has an elongated body with an unmistakable eye-like spot near the tail. “Redfish” may also refer to a number of fishes of the snapper family, including Red, Crimson and Malabar Blood Snappers, as well as the Australian Eastern Nannygai.

The first choice for any kind of Redfish is deep-sea, near-shore, or off-shore fishing form a boat. Bottom fishing, mostly with live or dead bait, but also with artificial lures, is about the only way to catch the Ocean Perch. Red Drums, being surface species, offer more variety, including spinning, trolling, soft and spinning baits, and even saltwater flyfishing; in fact, it is the fact that Red Drums can be found at almost any water within their range and will enthusiastically eat almost any bait or lure that makes them the iconic gamefish.