Spring
The warmer water during the spring gives redfish more options to roam. You will find plenty of redfish in the tidal creeks where most of the fish called home for the winter, but in the spring, redfish will also be found along the beaches, around bridges & piers, near jetties and in the bays. Most anglers prefer to fish for redfish on the flats or in the deeper water near the flats. On high tides, redfish can be found roaming the flats as they feed aggressively on a variety of baits such as crabs, shrimp and bait fish. As the water levels recede, you should be able to find redfish in the deeper water near these flats. As soon as the water levels get too shallow for them to feed comfortably on the flats, the deeper water on the edges will hold good numbers of redfish.
Summer
The summer provides good fishing for redfish. You can still find plenty of redfish in the shallows on the flats and in the tidal creeks. There will also be plenty of redfish schooling up in the bays, around bridges, piers and jetties. Most anglers fish during the tidal changes in the morning, evening and at night during the summer. The summer offers some excellent topwater fishing in the morning and evening.
The hot and sunny weather makes fishing uncomfortable during the afternoons and the bite does tend to slow down in the afternoon. If you want to fish during the middle of the day, the tidal changes are much more productive than fishing during a slack tide and you are going to need some sunblock.
Fall
Fishing for redfish can be very good during the fall. The fall mullet run occurs every year on the Atlantic Coast. As mullet move down the Atlantic Coast and into Florida, the fishing can be fast and furious if you can find redfish feeding on schools of mullet. If you are fishing in the Gulf, you may not get a chance to fish this mullet run, but the fishing is still very good in the same areas that you found them in the summer. As water temperatures cool into the late fall, you will see more fish moving into the tidal creeks and rivers where they will spend most of the winter.
Winter
Redfish will still be found inshore during the winter months. The bite may slow down at times as cold fronts move through your area, but redfish still need to eat and they will feed throughout the winter. Most of the better spots to fish during the winter will be in the tidal creeks and rivers. During a high tide, redfish will spread out on the flats, along the shorelines, around mangroves and other types of cover. A low tide will send redfish into the cuts and channels. Some redfish will use these channels as their underwater highways to navigate out of the creeks because of the low water. Because the water is warmer in these tidal creeks, some fish will stay in these cuts and channels and wait until the next incoming tide to move around. Finding fish in these areas is kind of like looking for fish in potholes and it can be almost impossible to get back to some of these spots with your flats boats. A good kayak may help, but most anglers end up having to anchor their boats, so they can get out and wade to some of the best fishing spots.
