Best Live & Natural Baits


Bull Minnows are a popular bait for catching redfish and many other inshore saltwater fish.  Anglers fish bull minnows on the bottom with their favorite bottom rigs and on weightless rigs on the shallow flats or in the pot holes near the flats.  Most anglers would use live bull minnows, but redfish will definitely eat cut bait, so you can also cut up bull minnows and fish them on the bottom.  When using cut bait, there are a variety of fish that you may also catch with the bull minnows.


Blue Crabs are one of the better baits for targeting big redfish.  There are other baits that will probably catch more fish on a consistent basis, but pieces of blue crabs do work well to entice the big redfish to bite.


Redfish will eat a variety of different cut baits, but basically, for any live bait that they eat, there is a very good chance that they will also eat a cut bait of that same species of fish.  Cut the baits into chunks or strips.  Both ways work, but make sure you’re using fresh bait.  The fresh cut bait works a lot better than frozen cut bait.


Finger Mullet are one of the best live baits that you can use for catching redfish.  So many anglers use finger mullet and the 3 to 5 inch finger mullet will work great for redfish.  Fish the mullet alive on a variety of rigs or as cut bait on a bottom rig and you should be able to catch plenty of redfish.


Pinfish are a great bait for targeting so many fish and they will also work well for redfish.  Live pinfish will work well on a variety of different rigs in shallow water and deeper water. As cut bait, pinfish will also work well when fished on the bottom.


You can’t go wrong with using shrimp, especially when fishing for redfish.  Anglers have so many options when fishing with shrimp.  You can use live or dead shrimp, jumbo shrimp or cut pieces of shrimp and you can catch redfish.