Slot Reds???

Just wondering, when is the best time to catch slot reds. Ive read reports here and there where you all have mentioned them, but I was just wondering if there was a specific time when they are more plentiful. Ive also read and heard the bull reds invade later in the fall. Any clarification on when and what to use would be greatly appreciated. If I had to guess, LY's or any smaller live finfish would work. Also do yall bottom fish for them at all? Fixn to start frequenting the pier more often since my Mom is moving to Orange Beach in early October. Free place to stay means I can come down more!!! Ive been fishing mostly around Dauphin Island most of the summer and I am about ready to hit the pier more often, just want to be prepared and not waste a trip fishing for the wrong species at the wrong time with the wrong bait....Thanks in advance for any responses and recommendations, looking forward to fishing with some of you all real soon.

To be honest the cooler it gets the better they can be biting live LYs and pinfish work great but wintertime use those live shrimp they love them they bite at night and daytime but I would think early morning is the time to go and a Carolina rig with a sand flea is killer for them!!! Also you would probably catch more slots in the shallows good luck to you!!

Saw several caught last Friday on sand fleas. Early morning, before daylight until around sunrise, from T back toward beach.

I forgot in my report that Sunshine and Slim knocked the slot reds dead this morning. Don't know too many details except that they were using sand fleas.

Thanks for the info!!! Looking forward to going after some real soon. My wife has decided she likes those as good as flounder, so it is recommended that I bring her some home... One question though. Can you catch the sand fleas all day or just early in the am, and how long will they stay alive? Also, how do you recommend hooking them? Guess that was 3 questions, not just one! Thanks again to everyone who will respond, you all have really helped me out alot with your info.

They stay alive pretty well IF you keep them in wet sand and put them in a draining container. Sitting in their copious waste is death to them. Take two cheap plastic tubs that nest together. Puncture the bottom of one, and nest in into the other (a twist soda cap between them allows more space for the gunk to drain). Empty the bottom container regularly, and put some salt water in periodically to keep the sand wet. Same container design on a white-bucket scale (no sand) works to keep eels, which live pretty well if wet but not allowed to sit in their waste and slime.


When I fished with fleas it was mostly with children who would have dug more than I needed, no matter what time of day.

It all depends when it starts to cool off some. This past Saturday, my girlfriend and I, along with my dad wore the slot reds out on the southeast corner using large bull minnows and large shrimp. Although I think it was mere chance that we just happened to be there when they showed up at that particular time, but its getting to be that time of year when they start to show up in larger numbers.

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Originally Posted by BlkNTan3

Thanks for the info!!! Looking forward to going after some real soon. My wife has decided she likes those as good as flounder, so it is recommended that I bring her some home... One question though. Can you catch the sand fleas all day or just early in the am, and how long will they stay alive? Also, how do you recommend hooking them? Guess that was 3 questions, not just one! Thanks again to everyone who will respond, you all have really helped me out alot with your info.

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Fleas are easiest to catch in numbers during the couple hours before and after high tide in my experience. You can catch them all day long and even at night but I like to wake up in the morning and catch what I need for the day instead of wearing myself out with a rake all day. The double Tupperware bowl method works very well for them and is what I use when I need to keep them for any period of time. I use a couple plastic bowls that fits in my bait basket on my surf/pier cart. The key is to change the moist sand a couple times a day and keep them cool-not directly on the ice but in the cooler so it will keep their metabolism down to where they produce less nitrogen-rich waste.

I hook them from the bottom up inserting the hook under their little "digger". Sharp hooks are a key to fishing with fleas so that you pierce the shell instead of cracking it because they'll fly off the hook easier if you crunch their little shells up when inserting your hook barb. The two hooks I use with them are the Mustad kahle in size 4 & 2/0 depending on how I'm rigging and what I'm fishing for. I also use the Owner Mutu Lite in 1/0 for when I feel the need for circles.