Follow the Mullet to Catch More Redfish

Fishing success often comes down to reading the signs, detecting the cues and interpreting the variables. Searching for your primary target, either visually or electronically, takes precedence, but you’ll often find peripheral species indicative of the ones you seek.

Inshore anglers hunting redfish typically start with "active" areas, and one of the key thigs they look for is the presence of mullet. Be it schools wiggling and waking in shallow bays, or mullet leaping in the distance, these big-eyed vegetarians typically indicate healthy environments that also attract top-shelf predators like reds. 

Moreover, because mullet don't eat the shrimp, crabs and baitfish they displace, top-tier game fish commonly swim with the schools to pick off the freebies. Capt. Mark Dillingham, who guides the Central Florida coast, commonly uses mullet as his daily barometer.

“Mullet is not a make-it-or-break-it for inshore fishing, but they definitely help, because the snook, trout and redfish are after all the baitfish and crustaceans they stir up,” Dillingham said. “The quantity and size seems to make a difference, because with the smaller mullet, you don’t seem to find any roamers with them. It’s those bigger mullet that the fish tend to hang with.”

“Redfish probably relate to mullet the most, but I’ve also seen speckled trout and snook with them. When I’ve followed mullet schools and I’ve thrown a Heddon Saltwater Super Spook or a Super Spook Jr, I’ve caught big gator trout, along with single snook. But as for numbers of fish, there seems to be more redfish that run with the large size mullet.”

Florida waters hold a few different mullet species, but the ones that bring the greatest impact over game fish behavior are the larger growing striped (aka black) mullet. Reaching 3 pounds or more, black mullet stand out from the smaller fantail and white (aka silver) mullet by the second dorsal fin, which begins over the anal fin’s leading edge. With the other two species, the second dorsal starts behind the beginning of the anal fin.

As Dillingham explained, seasonality seems to impact the mullet school appeal. Early springtime brings a bounty of opportunity for flexible anglers who know when to adjust.

“You could work a mullet school in the morning with topwaters, and you could catch an oversized trout, a snook or reds,” Dillingham said. “As you get farther into spring, it’s more redfish.

With mullet and redfish often occurring adjacently, even when the latter’s not actively following the former, it’s easy to confuse the shallow water movement. Unless sun angles and water clarity allow direct observation, you’ll typically have to rely on the power of observation.

Specifically, that means watching the wakes. Scooting across shallow flats or ambling through muddy, oyster-laden creeks, both fish push water, but once you learn the difference, their movements stand clearly distinct.

“Mullet seem to spin more, they change direction often,” Dillingham said. “You’ll see a school of mullet jog left, you’ll see them jog right, where if you bump a school of redfish, they are going in one direction to get away from you.”

Topwaters are the first choice around mullet schools, as they mimic the various baitfish that get flushed from the grass and pushed ahead of the pack. Easy to target and track, surface walkers like those Super Spooks, as well as a Heddon Saltwater Chug’n Spook or a Pop’n Image will draw some of the most vicious strikes imaginable.

Consider also that the mullet’s rumbling ways tend to condition fish to a lot of commotion. That means you’ll get away with that topwater splash a lot more than you might without the herd.

You should not, however, bomb cast a topwater directly into the mullet school. Mullet tend to overreact, and if one gooses his schoolmate, a chain reaction sends a wad of bodies dashing for safety. Plop one on the noggin and he’ll take the whole school and all the freeloaders 50 yards down the line.

Often, the bigger-is-better mantra certainly works in saltwater, but be aware of how meager depths, high clarity and windless days heighten wariness. If the original Super Spook seems too much for a quiet morning or the eerie stillness that often drapes a summer slack tide period, downsize to the Super Spook Jr or a Bomber Badonk-A-Donk.

For working lower in the water column, try the Bomber Mullet or a YUM Money Minnow on a 1/4-ounce YUM Money Minnow Weighted Hook. The former needs a little depth for effective presentation, but the Money Minnow can belly crawl or work higher in the water column.

During the warm season pinfish abundance, spoons like the Bomber Who Dat Rattling Spoon do a great job of imitating the twinkles and flashes those hardy baitfish emit while dashing through the grass. Even lacking noticeable pinfish concentrations, keep a gold spoon rigged and ready anytime redfish lead the ticket. Easy to cast and capable of traversing any habitat, this is your utility player.

For best results, Dillingham keeps his distance and does his best to stay at the mullet’s tolerance limit. Taking his time, he’ll position strategically and make intentional casts that afford his baits optimal playing time without blowing the game.

“Stealth is the key when working mullet, so you want to get ahead of them and work the beginning of the school,” Dillingham said. “Don’t cast to the center of the school; cast well above them. 

“Even if a redfish is halfway back in the mullet school, he’s going to charge at any (forage) he sees. “They will blow through the mullet to get to it because they know it’s something the mullet have pushed.”

Bottom line for anglers: Trust the process. Redfish and other worthy targets connect mullet with feeding, so let the sea’s version of Door Dash drivers do their job, and you’ll reap the benefits of an opportunistic predator’s appetite.