Redfish Flies

FINATICS Fly Company ties and ships every fly in this collection from Houma, Louisiana — the heart of the Gulf Coast redfish fishery. These are the same 184 patterns we fish on the Delta, Cocodrie, Grand Isle, and Venice: real Louisiana marsh flies for real Louisiana marsh water.

The short answer: for tailing reds in clean water, throw a lightly-weighted crab or shrimp in sizes 2 to 4. For pushing water and dirty conditions, upsize to a 1/0 with rattles or a heavier eye. Weedless matters more than fly choice most days on the marsh.

What to fish, by water

Skinny water (0–2 ft), sight fishing tails

Land it soft, land it clean. Small crabs and shrimp in size 2 to 4 with bead-chain or extra-small dumbbell eyes. The Strong Arm Crab, Split Crab, and our Strong Arm Grifter are the go-to's — profile matters more than color when a red is actively feeding. Cast 4–6 feet ahead, let it settle, and hop it once as the fish closes.

Mid-water flats (2–4 ft), cruising fish

Weighted crabs and shrimp in size 1 to 1/0. This is where the Alphlexo Crab, Bruiser Crab, and heavier shrimp patterns come alive. Add a subtle strip to trigger a chase.

Dirty water / grass, blind casting

Rattles and bulk. Redfish Crack, Bisharat's Strip Tease, and Rainy's Bubble-Head move water and get eaten by reds that never actually see the fly. If you fish stained tannin marsh, this is the box you keep loaded.

Topwater, low light, warm months

Rainy's In-Shore Popper for the classic bloop-eat and our Bayou Banger for a smaller profile that still moves water. Best 30 minutes before sunrise through the first hour of light.

Color choices that actually matter

Two rules that hold up across the Gulf, Carolinas, and Texas: match the mud (tan/olive/rust in stained water; white/chartreuse/pink in clear) and size down when they refuse. A picky red will eat a size 4 that ignored a size 1. If in doubt, tan crab and black shrimp cover 80% of what you'll see.

What we stock that most shops don't

Every fly in this collection is either tied by FINATICS in Louisiana or by a small-batch tyer we've fished the fly with ourselves — FlySmith Flies, MAC Flies, The Dirty Loaf, Pirate Fly Company. No warehouse imports, no white-label fillers, no "close enough" substitutes. If it's on this page, we've eaten a red on it.

Building your first redfish box

• 2 tan crabs, size 2 (weighted) — the everyday searcher
• 2 tan crabs, size 4 (bead-chain) — for spooky tails
• 2 black shrimp, size 2 — for cloudy days and pre-dawn tides
• 2 rattling patterns — for dirty water and blind casting
• 1 topwater popper — for the first hour of light

That's nine flies. It'll cover 90% of the shots you get on a Gulf marsh redfish trip.

Chasing the fall bull red run? Nine more patterns built specifically for it: Fall Bull Redfish in Louisiana — 9 Flies From the Marsh Series.