Edited by: Kenneth Reaves
Reviewed by: Michael DarmontLast Update:
The Rundown
Best For Most Anglers: Stellar Fishing Egg Sinker Rigs
“The Stellar Rig is ideal for big redfish because of the line test, but it still works on smaller slot reds. It comes ready to tie onto a line and once you snap a hook on, it’s ready to use.”
Best Leader For Slot Reds: Sea Striker Pompano Rig
“If you’re looking for combined flexibility, ease of use, and proven performance, the Pompano Rig fits the bill. It’s ideal for surf fishing and for catching slot reds on cut bait in any water.“
Best Budget Option: Sea Striker Fireball Rig
“The Fireball Rig combines strength and affordability. It’s strong enough to handle any size redfish that swims your way. It doesn’t sacrifice quality with its surprisingly affordable price.”
Redfish are one of the most accessible and hardest-fighting game fish on the East Coast of the United States. Living in shallow coastal waters means any angler can go after redfish if they know where to look. If you want to get in on the action, you’ll need the right leaders to get the right presentation.
A good red drum leader is strong enough to stand up to their fighting nature, is hard for the fish to see, or makes plenty of noise to help attract the fish. You’ll want to use the right leader for the size of redfish you’re targeting and the type of bait you plan on using.
We’ve found and reviewed seven of the best-premade rigs on the market that will get you ready to start going after some big red drums.
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Table of Contents
7 Best Redfish Rigs
- Best Redfish Rigs For Most Anglers: Stellar Fishing Egg Sinker Rigs
- Best Leader For Slot Reds: Sea Striker Pompano Rig
- Best Budget Redfish Rigs: Sea Striker Fireball Rig
- Best Soft Plastic Redfish Rigs: Strike King Saltwater Flats Jig
- Best Pre-Rigger Topwater: DOA Deadly Combo
- Best Redfish Rigs For Surf Fishing: HURRICANE Surf Fishing Leader
- Most Versatile Redfish Rigs: Thkfish Carolina Rig
Stellar Fishing Egg Sinker Rigs
Best For Most Anglers: Easy to use and strong enough for big red drum
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KEY FEATURES
- Sliding egg sinker lets the bait move in the current
- 100 lb mono is plenty strong for catching redfish at their biggest
- Snap hooks allow you to change hook size depending on the size of the target fish
Sometimes simple works best, and this rig’s simplicity makes it a solid choice for any angler. This leader comes ready to tie onto a line and once you snap a hook on it’s ready to use. This leader is great for a big red drum because of the line test, but it still works on smaller slot reds.
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Leader Details
The main leader is 100 lb monofilament, which is plenty strong for handling bull reds over 50 lbs. While it may seem like overkill, reds and trout often share the same habitats, and the thicker line will keep a trout’s sharp teeth from fraying your line.
While egg sinkers above the baits can tangle on bigger casts, they allow the bait to slide and move in the current. If you’re using a live baitfish, it gives the fish a little bit of room to swim away from the weight.
Both ends of the leader have swivels, making sure you won’t have to deal with line twists, reducing your line’s strength. The three and four-ounce weights give you plenty of weight to cast out and away from shore as well.
How and Where to Use It
This is a rig you can use pretty much anywhere. Casting it from shore or dropping it straight down from a boat both lead to success.
Choose an appropriate hook size for the redfish in your area. One option that works on most sizes is a 4/0 circle hook since it’s small enough for slot reds but big enough for bulls. Once you have that snapped on, all you need to do is put some cut bait on your hooks like shrimp, squid, or mullet and cast it out.
Sea Striker Pompano Rig
Best Leader for Slot Reds: Thin monofilament and no clamps make it nearly invisible
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KEY FEATURES
- Snelled hooks and threaded mainline make it nearly invisible
- Floats keep baiting off the bottom in area fish swim
- Perfect hook sizes for slot reds with Fish Bites or small cut baits
Pompano rigs are popular thanks to their incredible flexibility. They work well in clear water where fish might avoid wired lines. They catch a variety of species, including pompano, redfish, whiting, trout, and seabass. Normally used in the surf, pompano rigs are a great leader to use for catching slot reds on cut bait in any water.
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Leader Details
Each hook line has a small float that gets the bait up off the bottom. While redfish do feed on the bottom, it only holds a couple of inches above the seabed and makes it easier for the fish to find.
Coming with 2/0 circle hooks is excellent because it makes it easier for the fish to swallow the entire hook and bait when it strikes. Once you reel in, the circle hooks slide right into the corner of the fish’s mouth, avoiding gut hooks and making it safer for you and the fish.
The snap on the bottom allows you to swap weights based on how strong the current you’re fishing for redfish is to keep the bait on the bottom. It also features a swivel at the tie-on point to keep line twisting to a minimum.
How and Where to Use It
This leader works best for surf fishing when you want to target multiple species, but it works just as well as shore fishing grass flats. You won’t be targeting bull reds with this leader, as it’s only a 20 lb test line and the 2/0 hooks aren’t the best for big fish.
This leader is ready to go out of the package, snap on weight and bait the hooks. It works for any fishermen casting from shore and works incredibly well on line-shy fish.
Sea Striker Fireball Rig
Best Budget Option: Wire Double-Drop Rig for easy fishing
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KEY FEATURES
- Wire leader protects against other toothy fish
- Floats keep the bait off the bottom and in travel lanes
- Heavy line can handle any size redfish
Double drop rigs are popular because they’re effective. Sea Striker Fireball Rig is made of wire, making it able to handle the toothy fish that also prowl the water redfish spend their time. In addition to this, since it has stronger weight lines than other rigs on this list, this leader can handle any size redfish you throw at it.
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Leader Details
The 60-pound wire leader works fantastic for bull reds but is strong enough to handle any redfish you may encounter. Both branch lines have a large float that attracts fish and keeps the bait off the bottom in the fish’s travel lanes. Bluefish and trout patrol the same water as redfish, and their sharp teeth won’t be able to fray your leader.
It also gives you plenty of customization, as you can easily retie the hooks to get a different size or style preference. In addition, it has a snap on the bottom for weights, letting you choose the right weight for the current you’re fishing.
How and Where to Use It
Like many of the rigs on this list, you can use this leader anywhere. Once you’ve decided on weight and baited your hooks, it’s ready to go.
For the best results, vast the line out and wait. You’ll need patience fishing for redfish from the shore but try out different cut baits until you figure out what the fish are biting. Then stick with that and keep fishing.
Strike King Saltwater Flats Jig
Best Soft Plastic Rig: Jighead that bounces across the bottom
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KEY FEATURES
- Reflective 3D eyes for better attraction
- Chemically sharpened hook helps with snagging fish on strikes
- Works with favored redfish food like shrimp and minnow soft plastics
Redfish will also take artificial baits, especially ones that smell like Gulp Shrimp. To best use them though, you’ll want to use a jig head and slowly retrieve the lure, bouncing it across and near the bottom. This jig head from Strike King is perfect for rigging the right soft plastics and is best for anglers wanting to cast to as many probable redfish holes as possible.
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Leader Details
The jig head comes ready to use, just rig a soft-plastic on it and tie it on. In most cases, you’ll want to use a bait that resembles a minnow, shrimp, or crab. Make sure whichever bait you choose comes with a natural scent to attract the reds you’re after.
How and Where to Use It
The best places to use this lure are from a boat, casting your baits near grasslands and mangroves. Allow your lure to sink to the bottom and then slowly begin retrieving it in short but sharp jerks. Keep the bait near the bottom, and bounce it, giving it a realistic swimming motion on top of its smell. If you can sight-cast to the redfish, then it’s even easier as all you need to do is retrieve the lure across their face until they strike.
DOA Deadly Combo
Best Pre-Rigger Topwater: Rattling float with a tempting shrimp
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KEY FEATURES
- Rattling float gets the attention of the redfish
- Shrimp trails behind float mimicking a real shrimp
- Adjustable trail length and comes in multiple line weights
While redfish are natural bottom feeders, they will still strike baits at and near the surface. Using a rig like this combo can lead to fantastic surface strikes. Plugging these topwaters on grass flats is the best option, as you’ll need to locate the fish for them to be effective.
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Leader Details
The main attraction of these redfish rigs is the rattling float at the top. The float acts to attract reds by making noise and keeping baits close to the surface. It also gives extra visual feedback on strikes since they will sink below the surface when hit.
Under the float is a trailer line with an artificial shrimp on the end. The shrimp is the portion the red drum will strike, likely after being attracted to the area by the rattle and then noticing the easy meal trailing behind. You can swap out the shrimp that comes with it for one with a smell or when it gets worn out.
How and Where to Use It
These redfish rigs are meant to cast and retrieve across the surface on grass flats around ten feet deep. You can make your leader and adjust the length of the shrimp trails behind as necessary.
The rattling popper gets the red’s attention, and then they’ll look up to see what is trailing behind. Once they recognize the shrimp bait, they tend to strike at the easy meal. This rig is effective for redfish even though they’re bottom feeders and leads to some exciting surface strikes.
HURRICANE Surf Fishing Leader
Best Redfish Rig For Surf Fishing: Double the bait, plenty of strength
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KEY FEATURES
- Multiple leaders in a pack
- Ten, twenty, and thirty-pound tests to choose from
- Double drop leaders let you put two baits out at once
Double-drop leaders are staples of surf fishing. If you can’t or don’t want to make them on your own, this one from HURRICANE works great. Fishing for redfish though, you’ll want to go for the thirty-pound leaders, as redfish in the surf have the extra strength of the current and tend to be larger.
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Leader Details
The leaders are simple. They feature a swivel as a tie-on point to avoid line twists and a snap at the bottom to attach your weight. In between, there are two branch lines with hooks on the end for attaching bait.
How and Where to Use It
This leader is specifically best in the surf. The weight on the bottom end of the leader lends to farther cast distances, with pyramid-shaped sinkers working best to keep the baits in place. The branch lines will float up off the bottom, putting them in the path of fish swimming down the coast.
Using it is simple, you tie it on, attach a weight and baits and cast. Then wait for a bite. I suggest a light drag on your reel while you wait, as a big red drum will hammer baits and take off with it, breaking you off if the tension becomes too high.
Thkfish Carolina Rig
Most Versatile Rig: Popular Carolina Rig Produces with Many Baits
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KEY FEATURES
- Sliding weight has an edge to dig into the bottom
- Trout teeth don’t fray wire leader
- Useable with soft plastics and cut bait
Caroline rigs are popular bottom fishing redfish rigs, flounder, and many other species. While similar to the other egg sinker rig on this list, Thkfish Carolina Rig stands out because of its wireline and different sinker. Like that rig though, this works great for any fishermen, including beginners.
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Leader Details
Since you’ll commonly find trout in the same areas as redfish, using wire leader can be helpful. Some fish may be shyer with wire and spit when they touch it, but wire leaders don’t fray due to fish teeth rubbing against it.
The weight of this leader also makes it stand out. Instead of being a rounded egg shape, it has a sharp edge and flat surface. That edge allows the weight to dig into the bottom and help keep your bait in place instead of it rolling around.
How and Where to Use It
You can use this leader everywhere. With cut bait or live bait, you’ll rig it up and cast out and wait. It works great from the shore or beaches. Using artificial baits is also possible with the rig, though, as you’ll easily be able to bounce a soft plastic across the bottom thanks to the position of the weight.
Redfish Fishing Basics
Redfish live in relatively shallow, coastal waters. To best target redfish, try to find large grass flats and shallow areas around river mouths. While not common, you can find big bull reds running in the surf and through shipping lanes from deeper waters to shallow spawning grounds.
Redfish are also bottom feeders with a downwards facing mouth that allows them to suck up food from the seafloor. Therefore, you’ll want to fish baits primarily on the bottom when targeting redfish.
Redfish can range in size from 12 to well over 40 inches. The largest red drum is old, usually one year per inch of their length, and can easily weigh fifty-plus pounds at their largest. Redfish are incredibly strong, and even the larger ones are hard to bring in even after they’ve gotten their first couple of runs over with.
One great thing about redfish is that they aren’t picky eaters. Fresh bait is always best, but they’ll eat most kinds of cut baits. The best baits you can choose depend on where you’re fishing for redfish, but you can’t go wrong trying out mullet, shrimp, squid, and crab.
For live baits, use what’s common to your area. Bull minnows are exceptional live baits because they live longer once you rig them, and they’re lively, which means they will attract the red drum you’re after. Small mullets are perfect baits since they’re a natural food source for redfish and have a more extensive range than bull minnows. When using artificial baits, soft plastics are a solid option. After rigging them on a jig head, you’ll want to bounce the shrimp or paddle tail across the bottom and the redfish face if you can spot them. You can sight cast to redfish if you have the height to spot them, or you can blind cast across grass flats, along the edge of marsh grass, or into mangroves.
Questions & Answers
What size hook is best for redfish?
The best hook size generally depends on the size of redfish you’ll be catching. In most circumstances, a 4/0 circle hook will do the job on both slot and bull reds. However, if you’re fishing live bait for big redfish, you might want to increase the hook size to a 6/0, while lighter leaders for slot reds can easily use 2/0 and 3/0 hooks without any issues.
What is the best rod and reel for redfish?
The best rod for redfish can vary quite a bit. For the most part, a seven-foot medium-heavy action rod will work the best. It gives you plenty of strength for pulling in redfish and a good action if you’re trying to use artificials.
The St. Croix Mojo Inshore rods are perfect for redfish. They have all the strength you need, come in both spinning and baitcasting models, and have incredibly comfortable grips on the rods.
If you’re fishing for redfish in the surf, it’s an entirely different ball game. While a seven-foot rod works, you want a rod around eleven or twelve feet in length. There are two reasons for this. First, the height keeps more of your line out of the water and crashing waves, making it easier to see strikes and keep your bait in place. The second reason is that these longer rods can cast much farther and handle heavier weights than shorter rods, both of which can make a huge difference when trying to reach fish and keep your bait on the bottom in the surf.
Shakespeare Tidewaters are underrated rods. A great budget buy, the twelve-foot rod is perfect for surf fishing for redfish and can handle any fish the surf throws at you. They also tend to last longer than their more expensive peers, only having problems with the guide’s eyes breaking over time.
For reels, you want something big enough to hold at least 200 yards of braided line. Big redfish hit baits hard and run off, sometimes running off 100 yards down the shore. You also want one with around twenty pounds of drag for pulling the fish out of the grass and mangroves they commonly hang around.The Penn Spinfisher VI is perfect for pulling in redfish. It’s sealed against saltwater, has a smooth rotation, and has plenty of drag and line capacity.
