My Favorite Redfish Fly
I'm often asked "What Redfish flies should I tie for our trip to Hilton Head Island? There are many that work well. The key to a great all-around redfish fly around Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Bluffton are ones that have a certain amount of weight, profile, color, weed-guards and size for the season. Let's look at some of the attributes in a Hilton Head Island redfish fly that work really well.
We are talking about an all-around fly. So although some flies that float high in the water column can produce well at certain times of the year, Redfish have a mouth that is faced down more like a bonefish than a freshwater bass. So a fly with a little weight to get down about 1-2 feet is going to get more eats than a fly that is floating in the water column. Too much weight and your fly can get hung up too easily and is prone to spooking fish when they land. So, we use large bead chain eyes, or dumbbell eyes around 1/50 oz -1/30 oz.
Other than winter time when our water clears up, our waters are generally on the dirty side. Very thin profiles can work great in the winter and select times of the year. Too much profile and they can be difficult to cast. With our water, we want some profile so our fish can see the fly easily. If bonefish flies tend to run thinner than your pinky width when in the water, Redfish Flies around here would be a little bigger than your thumb width when they are in the water. Flies that are similar in size and shape to our mudminnows, shrimp, and small crabs that we have in our waters are what we are going for or a hair bigger.
Color? Well if it aint Chartreuse, it aint no use! Just Kidding! Chartreuse is a great color for redfish flies along with darker shades like Black and Purple. They work well in our dirty water. A good generalization is the clearer the water, the lighter the color, and the darker the water, the darker the fly. These are not hard and fast rules but this will serve you well.
Weed guards are very important. You want your flies to not get stuck in grass and oysters. I use 20-25lb hard Mason.
Size of our flies tend to run from 2-5 inches in length with a short shank 1/0 to 2/0 hook.
These are generalizations and are by no means Rules. The most important part of the redfish equation is Presentation. So the best fly is the one you believe in. Good luck out there.
Other than winter time when our water clears up, our waters are generally on the dirty side. Very thin profiles can work great in the winter and select times of the year. Too much profile and they can be difficult to cast. With our water, we want some profile so our fish can see the fly easily. If bonefish flies tend to run thinner than your pinky width when in the water, Redfish Flies around here would be a little bigger than your thumb width when they are in the water. Flies that are similar in size and shape to our mudminnows, shrimp, and small crabs that we have in our waters are what we are going for or a hair bigger.
Color? Well if it aint Chartreuse, it aint no use! Just Kidding! Chartreuse is a great color for redfish flies along with darker shades like Black and Purple. They work well in our dirty water. A good generalization is the clearer the water, the lighter the color, and the darker the water, the darker the fly. These are not hard and fast rules but this will serve you well.
Weed guards are very important. You want your flies to not get stuck in grass and oysters. I use 20-25lb hard Mason.
Size of our flies tend to run from 2-5 inches in length with a short shank 1/0 to 2/0 hook.
These are generalizations and are by no means Rules. The most important part of the redfish equation is Presentation. So the best fly is the one you believe in. Good luck out there.
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