It’s not every day that you see a redfish big enough to capsize a fishing kayak. On a sunny day while fishing near bridge pilings, Chesapeake Bay based kayak angler Ethan Sommer was in for an epic fight with a monster Redfish in an encounter caught on video.
“That is an absolute hammer!”
“All right I’m rigging up a live croaker here everybody,” shared Sommer in the video as he set up his live bait. “We’re going to drop this sucker right here on this bridge and try to get a true giant redfish.”
Sommer dropped his lure right at the edge of the bridge pilings where the current breaks, setting up the lure near the bottom. Bridge piers can act as a hotspot for fish, changing the flow of rivers by increasing the velocity of current flowing beneath them. As a result, baitfish are funneled into more concentrated areas. For a nice stout redfish, bridge pilings spell dinner. Depending on the design of the bridge pier and current beneath it, an angler can read the water and capitalize on the bite.
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Sommer didn’t have to wait long before snagging the monster he came for.
“There he is… big drum on guys. Big old drum shakes right there baby,” said Sommer.
Redfish can weigh up to 50 pounds and can be found in coastal waters from Massachusetts to Mexico. In the comments, Sommer shared that he used a Tsunami Salt X ll 4000 with a St. Croix 7’6” MH Legend Inshore to snag the monster. Viewers theorized in the comments section that Sommer’s catch was at least 45-50 pounds.
“That is an absolute hammer,” said Sommer as he pulled a massive redfish from the water. “Absolute tank of a red right there.”
