Where Redfish vs Trout ACTUALLY Hold (Case Study)
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
One point.
Same shoreline.
Same flat.
But the redfish weren’t where the trout were.
In this case study, I’ll walk you through my personal catch log from a spot that produced slams over and over again.
What became obvious is that species weren’t randomly mixed.
If you were 300 feet the wrong way, you’d think the other species wasn’t even there.
If you’re catching one species but not the other, you probably don’t need a new spot.
You simply need to shift to a different depth range.
Key Takeaways
- Redfish and snook typically hold tighter to shoreline structure compared to trout
- Trout often hold farther from land in deeper water than redfish
- Smaller trout were most common in deeper water just off the edge of a good flat
- Bigger trout often hold in a transition zone, not buried in the mangroves, not way out deep.
- If you’re only catching one species, you may only need to move a few hundred feet, not miles.
Gear Mentioned:
Featured Software:
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t theory. It was logged data from multiple trips on the same point.
Redfish preferred shallow water and structure.
Trout preferred space and depth.
Same spot. Different zones.
Next time you’re catching trout but not reds, or small fish but not big ones, don’t abandon the area too fast. Slide into a different section of the same spot and see what changes.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
The 2 core benefits we promise to Insider Club members is to be able to find and catch fish easier than ever before while saving money on fishing equipment.
So I am including links to the quickest ways to achieve each:
1) Finding Fish System
2) Insider Club’s Group Discounts
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish ever trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
If you ain’t join yet you’re losing out
Great intel, thanks Luke!!!
Luke….I love this app. But I don’t know how to use the feature you’re demonstrating in terms of photography of the catch and then entering info into a personal catch log.
Please point me in the right direction to the tutorial on how to learn this.
I’m an Insider Club Member.
Thanks
Larry
This was actually really helpful for me. Reds can be few and far between for me. For some reason I am a flounder pounder mostly up here in NC wanna catch more reds
I’m glad to see that you enjoyed this video. Yes, redfish most often hold shallower than flounder too.
Thank for this information.
Our pleasure James!
One caveat to what you were saying about trout and redfish. In my area, if I run across very small trout, ones that have a tough time getting hooked, there can be very large reds lurking nearby. By small, I mean less than 10 inches, and in water 3-5 feet deep. I have caught several 35+ inch reds in that scenario. Other than that scenario, which also applies to schools of ladyfish, I find reds is 1-2 feet of water for the most part, within 10 feet of shore. `
Good point. The big breeder redfish will often hold in deeper water in trout zones as they move around in big schools. They are much less predictable though since they spend most of the year offshore.
Thanks for the information, I’m going to pay more attention on my positions in the kayak Luke!
I’m glad to see that you enjoyed this video
Thanks, Luke! Great info! 😎💪🏻🧂🎣
Our pleasure James!
Great Info. I found the same thing, but didn’t really think about it scientifically. This is a good reinforcement.
It sure was surprising to see how clear the line was for trout vs. redfish in the catch log. Most of my spots have more overlap with the redfish and big trout, but the general theme of most redfish holding shallower than most trout has been a consistent trend for all of the waters I’ve fished.
Totally agree with you Luke i have always found the reds shallower then trout on occasion though I have found trout mixed in with reds in shallow water but tgats usually only when the mullet runs in both spring and fall are happening I remember when you recently did a report on how to see your own catch log and I noticed on mine that most of my catches stopped in late 2023 then I remembered on that fateful day of dec 1st of 2024 that’s when I had my boat accident when a drunk driver hit my boat on the freeway heading to one of my favorite flounder spots knocking it off my trailer costing me almost the same price I paid for my rig in 2013 brand new but the good side was I was able to pay for it without going in debt because a little before this I made a claim with the va and was expecting a back payment check to come in so I could pay for the repair and luckily it came in about a week before the repairs were completed so yes while it was tragic and I missed the whole winter season and a little of spring from Dec 2024 to May of 2025 boat is better then ever and im back in the game again great intel as usual Luke and as usual thanks for what you do😉👍
Thanks for sharing your findings Steven!