Now that is a redfish
 

Sean from Malibu Kayaks forwarded me this. Caught sight casting in Florida.


http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...icture_627.jpg

Redfish
 

I want to get a redfish some day. Just curious, Are they having to deal with MPAs on the east coast and Florida?

I don't know about MPA in Fl or the east coast. There they seam to favor actual fisheries management science based conservation like smaller bag limits, slot limits, shorter seasons, and gear restrictions. As oposed to just shutting the door on user groups. They some times have reserves to benefit a certain specie, like crabs or oysters. But other species are harvestable in those areas. They have the same conflicts between sport and commercial interests, and it can get ugly. I worked for the North Carolina Division of marine fisheries for a while last year. After being brought up in So Cal it was a shock to see gill nets and gigantic pound nets still in use. In NC you, non commercial licence holder, can buy a really cheap permit to use a gill net. They let you go "fishing" for personal consumption with a gill net. As for the reds in NC, they passed a bunch rules to protect them and it really pissed of the inshore commercial netters. They still catch a load of them " accidently" while fishing for other species. As for sports anglers, you can take 1 fish per day between 18 and 27 inches. In some states you can buy a special trophy permit to take 1 over sized red a year. But not in NC. The big ones are off limits to take. There is an amazing catch and release fishery around the out banks and Nuess River. They are tough as nails and the mortality is very low. A 50lb red is an impressive fish. Well I ran on, but you get the idea. And reds are might fun. Mike

Redfish = red drum?

Good eats?

Red drum is the same thing, yes. And they are terrific eaters. FL has slot limits on lots of their most popular game fish and it works tremendously. It would be fantastic if they'd implement that here instead of closures.

I'm in Texas and most of the states along the gulf share the same basic laws. We have slot and bag limits rather than closures. The only closure I can think of is a Red Snapper season and tags for Tarpon...but you really don't keep Tarpon anyway except for trophys and world/state records.

Plus we don't have to wear our fishing licenses!


They're good below a certain length. I generally prefer to keep fish that are at the lower end of the slot (20-28"). You get a tag to keep 1 red over 28" with your license, but once they get too big they're really fatty and have alot of grissel or something... Not sure what it is exactly, but it definately takes away from the taste.

A 26" Redfish grilled on the half-shell is extremely hard to beat!