Circle hooks afford the angler better opportunities to ensure the big
breeders go back in the water as healthy as possible.
for quite some time that reds spawn generally at night and on a full or new moon with tidal ranges at their opti- mum. They theorize that such condi- tions may be selected to afford maxi- mum opportunity for the eggs to be dispersed before they become visible to predators by day. Likewise, strong tidal movement carries the released eggs far into the estuary system where chances of survival are best. Horst aptly calls the run an aggregation.
“During this time, males nosily vibrate their air bladders to drum; attracting the females who produce a
spend the rest of their time foraging, not venturing too far.” Juvenile redfish spend their first year in the estuaries, cutting their teeth foraging on shrimp, crabs, menhaden, mullet and other species that seek shel- ter in the emergent coastal wetlands. This produces an explosive growth rate and by the age of two, females can grow to an average of nearly 28 inches and weigh close to 9 pounds, while their male counterparts of the same birth date average about 8 pounds. Interestingly, Horst indicates that studies show by 30 years of age, the average weight of females was close to 30 pounds compared to 22 pounds for males.
TACKLE AND BAIT Bull reds are tenacious feeders, DEVON O. KOCIAN
batch of eggs on a four-day average,” he says. “The rest of the time, between spawning, males and females alike
prone to swallowing their meals whole. Conventional J-hooks have a tendency to hook big eaters like that deep, which makes it much more difficult to safely release fish. Circle hooks afford the angler better opportunities to ensure
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