Captain Kyle Jarreau, a guide for Shore Thing Charters based out of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, is one of the finest chefs on the Upper Gulf Coast. He can turn a mess of speckled trout, redfish and flounder into cuisine that will have fishermen fighting for second helpings. Here Jarreau shares with us how he catches summertime redfish on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast.

The redfish have made a tremendous comeback in our section of the Gulf Coast, since the federal government put length and bag limits on them. We can catch good numbers of redfish all year long, regardless of the weather, here at Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. I prefer to fish the Strike King Redfish Magic along the edges of the grass in the marsh, using two-different types of retrieves. I like to pump the Redfish Magic, let it fall and then pump it up again. I’ve found this retrieve to be the most productive when the tide’s high, and there’s a little-more water for the Redfish Magic to fall. On a low tide, I may be swimming the Redfish Magic in less than a foot of water, so that retrieve won’t work well. However, on a high tide, redfish and speckled trout will eat the Redfish Magic when it falls. I’ll also use a shallow-water tactic. I’ll cast-out the Redfish Magic and reel it slowly over a shell bottom or slow-roll it over the top of grass. I prefer the electric-chicken-with-chartreuse-head-colored Glass Minnow on the back of the Redfish Magic or a jighead. I don’t know why that color excites the fish, but I know it has chartreuse in it. Speckled trout and redfish like chartreuse colors. It also has an orange-pinkish color that may resemble a shrimp. Until fish can talk, I don’t guess we’ll ever know why they like one color over another.