Edited by: Kenneth Reaves
Reviewed by: Michael DarmontLast Update:
The Rundown
Best Overall: Rapala Saltwater Skitter Walk (Click to View)
“One of the most fun ways to target redfish is with topwater lures. The Rapala Skitter Walk provides plenty of action and noise to get the attention of any redfish you spot, while also being capable of long casts to fish farther away.”
Best Premium Option: Mirrolure 17MRBG-18SBG MirrOdine (Click to View)
“The deep body and huge variety of patterns based on real baitfish combined with a side-to-side action make it an excellent inshore lure that any fishermen targeting redfish should have in their arsenal. “
Best Budget Option: Bomber Lures Mullet (Click to View)
“Bomber Lures are a fantastic option for fishing inshore for how versatile they are. Able to be worked multiple ways and comes in patterns that mimic real baitfish, its compact shape also allows for extremely long casts.”
Redfish are one of the most exciting and hard-fighting inshore fish you can go after. Sight casting and tossing lures on flats are incredibly popular and active ways to target them. To do it right, you need to know which lures are the most effective at getting strikes from them.
The best redfish lures mimic baitfish effectively, make a ton of noise or produce a ton of flash, and get results. Look for lures that mimic the prey redfish are after at any given time of year but are also durable enough to handle big strikes from them and other inshore species.
There are a ton of lures on the market designed to target redfish that promise results. To help you wade through your options, we’ve put together this list of the best and most effective lures for targeting redfish.
Featured Recommendations
Table of Contents
Best Redfish Lures in 2021
Here’s our shortlist for the best redfish lures:
- Best Overall: Rapala Saltwater Skitter Walk
- Best Premium Option: Mirrolure 17MRBG-18SBG MirrOdine
- Best Budget Option: Bomber Lures Mullet
- Most Versatile Option: Strike King Saltwater Flats Jig Head
- Best Darting Lure: Yo-Zuri Crystal 3D Minnow Floating Lure
- Best Summer Lure: LiveTarget, Fleeing Shrimp
- Best Lure Accessory: Bomber Lures Paradise Popper
Rapala Saltwater Skitter Walk
Best Overall: A great action that brings redfish up to the surface for exciting strikes.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Internal rattles and weighted tail
- Excellent side-to-side action
- Great casting distance
One of the most fun ways to target redfish is with topwater lures. The Rapala Saltwater Skitter Walk provides plenty of action and noise to get the attention of any redfish you spot, while also being capable of long casts to fish farther away. Overall, it’s a great option for any fisherman looking to catch redfish.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The Skitter Walk has a classic action that is proven to attract fish. It also features Rapala’s famous internal rattles that make a ton of noise in the water to catch fish’s attention. The weighted tail helps the lure move back and forth in the water much like a wounded baitfish.
The Skitter Walk comes in a variety of colors, with the mullet and redhead being two of the best for redfish. Duel treble hooks are attached and are great at snagging fish even on strikes where they don’t hit the lure square.
How to Work It
Old school walk-the-dog retrievals get the most out of the lure. When you can sight cast to fish, cast beyond the fish and in front of their travel path, then bring the lure across their face. If you can bring the lure from up current as well, it helps the realism of a fish drifting towards them. It’s also a great lure for tossing into murky water, holes, and along shorelines in promising spots where you can’t see redfish
Mirrolure 17MRBG-18SBG MirrOdine
Best Premium Option: Hugely flashy lure that works great on a number of inshore fish.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Extra-wide flash plates
- Suspending jerkbait is great for slow retrievals
- Huge variety of colors and models
A great way to entice strikes from fish is to match the bait they’re feeding on and the Mirrolure MirrOdine is one of the best lures at doing this. The deep body and huge variety of patterns based on real baitfish combined with a side-to-side action make it an excellent inshore lure that any fishermen targeting redfish should have in their arsenal.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The Mirrodine relies on its exceptionally flashy pattern to attract fish. Coming in a huge number of patterns, the Mirrodine is a great jerkbait that really mimics a wounded baitfish in movement and gives off a ton of flash to snag a fish’s attention. The internal foil lets it flash in all directions at once instead of just to the sides.
How to Work It
Quick, light twitches are all you need to get the right action out of the Mirrodine. They’re exceptionally easy to use and insanely effective in front of fish. Try to use a pattern that matches your local baitfish, like the mullet during mullet breeding seasons or pilchard if you have plenty of them around.
Bomber Lures Mullet
Best Budget Option: Able to pull off multiple motions, this slow sinker won’t let you down trying to snag big fish.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Corrosion-resistant hooks and hardware
- Patterns to match inshore baitfish
- Multiple actions and ways to work it.
Bomber Lures are a fantastic option for fishing inshore for how versatile they are. Able to be worked multiple ways and comes in patterns that mimic real baitfish, its compact shape also allows for extremely long casts. The Bomber is great for any inshore fishermen targeting redfish.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The construction of the lure body is extremely durable and tooth resistant, making it a lure that’ll stand up to vicious strikes over and over without falling apart. It comes in nine different patterns inspired by real baitfish to help attract big reds. Corrosion-resistant hardware is also a plus, as you won’t need to change out your hooks nearly as often as with other lures.
How to Work It
You can work Bomber lures however you want, but the two best options are walk-the-dog and quick twitches. It gives you either a ton of action of a dying baitfish action that makes it perfect for opportunistic feeders like redfish. If you match the current direction, they’ll gobble it up, especially on redfish sitting in holes waiting on bait to get pushed to them.
Strike King Saltwater Flats Jig Head
Most Versatile Option: A good jighead that lets you choose your favorite soft plastic and retrieve it any way you want to figure out what the fish will strike.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Pair with any number of soft plastics
- Huge variety of retrievals and actions
- Lifelike eye for better realism
A great way to target redfish is with soft plastics, but you need a good jig head to do it. This one from Strike King gives you all the durability you need to throw on a shad, shrimp, paddle tail, or any other soft plastic. It’s a great option for fishermen experimenting with which bait is producing the best results on any given day.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
Overall the jig head is really simple. A weighted head gives it some casting distance and sinking ability, while the strengthened hook stands up to big fish. You have a few colors and weights to choose from, so try to use a low-weight jig head that color matches the plastic you’re throwing./
How to Work It
How you work the jighead depends on the bait you plan to use. With a shrimp you’ll want to slowly bounce it across the bottom, letting it sit for a beat before moving it. Using a shad you’ll want to go for more of a twitchy, quicker retrieval to see if it entices a strike.
Yo-Zuri Crystal 3D Minnow Floating Lure
Best Darting Lure: Incredibly responsive, extremely flashy, and a darting motion make the Crystal Minnow a great redfish lure.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Internal 3D reflective prism is a ton of flash
- Flattened sides and narrow body make the lure dart
- Action is incredibly responsive and easy to use
The Crystal Minnow is a favorite of many fishermen because of how effective it is at catching fish. It’s a versatile lure that has incredible flash range and catches a ton of inshore fish like trout, redfish, and black drum. It’s also a great lure for beginners and an overall good choice for any fisherman.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The internal prism foil is what makes the lure stand out. It gives off brilliant flashes in all directions and combines well with the darting action of the lure. It has a narrow body with flat sides that naturally go side-to-side.
How to Work It
Slower retrieves are usually better with the Crystal Minnow. Try a slow retrieve, and retrieve and pause retrieve, or a twitch-pause-retrieve method when working the lure. It should dart quickly and naturally give you some side-to-side action. It;’s great for beginners as well since it doesn’t require any fancy techniques to get the most out of it.
LiveTarget Fleeing Shrimp
Best Summer Lure: Redfish tend to eat more shrimp in the summer, making this an excellent choice in the warmer months.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Lifelike shrimp body and action
- Pairs great with a popper
- Hardbody with soft and wiggly extremities.
Redfish love shrimp, and what better way to target them than with a lifelike shrimp lure like the LiveTarget Shrimp. The hard body bait has soft appendages that wiggle like the real thing, and bouncing it across the bottom will fool any fish into thinking it’s a real shrimp. It’s a great choice in warmer months when redfish feed more on shrimp and other crustaceans.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
This lifelike shrimp has a hard body and soft appendages molded to look like a shrimp fleeing. Underwater, it looks and moves just like a real shrimp, making it an excellent lure. It also creates little puffs of sand when it is twitched, adding to the realistic effect.
How to Work It
Overall, there are two good ways to work this lure. One is to bounce it across the bottom, mimicking a real fleeing shrimp with its motion, appearance, and disturbances on the bottom. You’ll cast it, let it sink to the bottom, and slowly retrieve it while bouncing it. Alternatively, you can attach the lure underneath a popper for the extra attraction that will bring redfish up near the surface for more exciting strikes in open water.
Bomber Lures Paradise Popper
Best Lure Accessory: When combined with bait or a lifelike lure, a popping cork is a fantastic tool for attracting redfish to your bait.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Water splashes, chugs, and beads all add attraction to your bait
- Pairs well with Live Target Shrimp
- Weighted for casting
Popping corks are popular for adding attraction to baits when you’re inshore fishing, and the Bomber Lures Paradise Popper is one of the best. Whether you’re wanting to spice up a cut bait, live bait, or lure, a popping cork is a great choice.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The lure is simple, as it’s a weighted bobber with a through wire and beads for extra chatter. It helps suspend your bait in the water column while disturbing the surface and making a ton of noise to call in any fish in the area.
How to Work It
You’ll want to work it based on what you attach to it, but the most popular way is to twitch the cork, pause, then retrieve. With a live shrimp underneath you can speed up the motion a bit to make extra noise, just be sure to focus on the popping cork making noise faster not retrieving the lure faster.
Redfish Fishing Tips
Even the most experienced fishermen could use a few tips. Here are a few tips for catching redfish that could come in handy on your next trip.
Sight Fishing:
Redfish love shallow water, making them great targets for fishermen who love sight fishing. You can locate them in a variety of ways. Redfish display “tailing” behaviors, where they feed on the bottom and their tails stick out of the water. In mangroves and grass areas it’s common to see shifting roots and blades of grass that tell you they are there. You can also search shallow flats for their distinct body shape and wake as they move around looking for food.
Where to find them:
Redfish tend to spend most of their time in shallow water, especially slot-sized fish. You can find them on flats, estuaries, mangroves, river mouths, and along beaches. Additionally, look for holes and depressions in the bottom, as they like to sit in them and wait for the current to wash food into the hole for them.
Preferred foods:
Redfish are opportunistic feeders that shift their diets on both the season and life stage. In early life and summer, they feed more on crustaceans like crabs and shrimp, while in winter and as they grow they tend to feed more on other fish. Try to use baits and lures that mimic what they feed on any given season to maximize your chances.
Questions & Answers
What’s the best bait for redfish?
The best bait for redfish tends to shift throughout the year as their feeding habits change. Cut mullet is one of the most consistent baits you can use, as they feed on mullet year-round. Shrimp are another favorite of redfish and will yield results regardless of the time of year.
Do redfish hit topwater lures?
Absolutely. Many of the lures that made this list are top waters because of how effective they are at catching redfish. While redfish are usually bottom feeders, they have no problem coming up in the water column for an easy meal, especially since they love the shallows. They also have one of the most exciting strikes on topwater that you can find when inshore fishing.