Red Bass caught in the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia on a Heru Bobara stickbait
Red Bass
Lutjanus bohar
Home
Other Species
Red Bass Description
Red Bass are a tough Snapper found on reefs throughout the Indo Pacific. They hang out under rocks and coral and shoot out to demolish lures that go by. If you don't turn their heads quickly and get them coming to the boat, they head straight back to their rocky lairs and cut you off. They are often caught in very shallow water so topwater lures work very well. They are an aggressive fish that puts up quite a fight; when people first pull them up they are often surprised at how small they end up being compared to how hard the fight was. They often carry Ciguatera toxin so in many places you have to be careful about eating them. Here is a video I made of my trip to the Great Barrier Reef which includes some Red Bass: CLICK HERE
Red Bass Pound for Pound Fight Rating - 8 out of 10 on the Saltwater Scale
The bad a$$ Red Bass is a very tough customer on a pound for pound basis. Unfortunately, they are often hooked while fishing for larger fish such as Giant Trevally on very heavy tackle. However, they will shred lighter tackle that is proportionate to their size.
Red Bass Culinary Rating - Medium
I'm told they taste good, but they are a high risk for ciguatera poisoning in many places so proceed with caution.
Red Bass Tackle
For larger Red Bass on the outside of offshore reefs you should gear up with heavy tackle; at least 50lb braid with a medium heavy spinning outfit. Nearshore or on shallow reefs you can handle smaller ones with 30lb braid and a Daiwa Certate 3000 spinning reel but any Red Bass over 5lbs will give you quite a struggle on that size tackle. Click here for tackle recommendations.
Red Bass Techniques
Red Bass readily eat both bait and lures, but I have caught most of mine on lures. This might be one of those fish for which lures consistently work better than bait because these fish are aggressive and like to chase things. Red Bass like lures presented slightly slower than the Trevally that often inhabit the same waters.
Red Bass Lures
Poppers such as the Sebile Splasher and Heru Cubera work well. Fish them with loud pops in between pauses. As always with poppers make sure you do not set the hook until you feel the weight of the fish on the line. Many times Red Bass will explode on a topwater lure and not get hooked. If that happens pop it another time or two and then pause. Red Bass will often be seen on the surface trying to push each other out of the way to get to your popper.
Stickbaits such as the Heru Bobara also work well for Red Bass. The Sebile Stick Shad is a good option too. Fish them slower than you would for Trevally and make sure you pause after each twitch or two. Strikes will almost always happen on the pause.
Red Bass Baits
Red Bass can be caught on a variety of live baits such as baitfish or dead baits such as octopus or shrimp. No fancy rigs are needed. I have not caught any on bait so I can’t comment too much on this though.
Where to get the big Red Bass
New Caledonia and the Great Barrier Reef are good bets.
Other Red Bass Resources
The above barely scratches the surface on how to catch Red Bass. The resources below will provide a wealth of information:
www.nomadsportfishing.com.au is an excellent source to catch these guys in Australia
Lutjanus bohar
Home
Other Species
Red Bass Description
Red Bass are a tough Snapper found on reefs throughout the Indo Pacific. They hang out under rocks and coral and shoot out to demolish lures that go by. If you don't turn their heads quickly and get them coming to the boat, they head straight back to their rocky lairs and cut you off. They are often caught in very shallow water so topwater lures work very well. They are an aggressive fish that puts up quite a fight; when people first pull them up they are often surprised at how small they end up being compared to how hard the fight was. They often carry Ciguatera toxin so in many places you have to be careful about eating them. Here is a video I made of my trip to the Great Barrier Reef which includes some Red Bass: CLICK HERE
Red Bass Pound for Pound Fight Rating - 8 out of 10 on the Saltwater Scale
The bad a$$ Red Bass is a very tough customer on a pound for pound basis. Unfortunately, they are often hooked while fishing for larger fish such as Giant Trevally on very heavy tackle. However, they will shred lighter tackle that is proportionate to their size.
Red Bass Culinary Rating - Medium
I'm told they taste good, but they are a high risk for ciguatera poisoning in many places so proceed with caution.
Red Bass Tackle
For larger Red Bass on the outside of offshore reefs you should gear up with heavy tackle; at least 50lb braid with a medium heavy spinning outfit. Nearshore or on shallow reefs you can handle smaller ones with 30lb braid and a Daiwa Certate 3000 spinning reel but any Red Bass over 5lbs will give you quite a struggle on that size tackle. Click here for tackle recommendations.
Red Bass Techniques
Red Bass readily eat both bait and lures, but I have caught most of mine on lures. This might be one of those fish for which lures consistently work better than bait because these fish are aggressive and like to chase things. Red Bass like lures presented slightly slower than the Trevally that often inhabit the same waters.
Red Bass Lures
Poppers such as the Sebile Splasher and Heru Cubera work well. Fish them with loud pops in between pauses. As always with poppers make sure you do not set the hook until you feel the weight of the fish on the line. Many times Red Bass will explode on a topwater lure and not get hooked. If that happens pop it another time or two and then pause. Red Bass will often be seen on the surface trying to push each other out of the way to get to your popper.
Stickbaits such as the Heru Bobara also work well for Red Bass. The Sebile Stick Shad is a good option too. Fish them slower than you would for Trevally and make sure you pause after each twitch or two. Strikes will almost always happen on the pause.
Red Bass Baits
Red Bass can be caught on a variety of live baits such as baitfish or dead baits such as octopus or shrimp. No fancy rigs are needed. I have not caught any on bait so I can’t comment too much on this though.
Where to get the big Red Bass
New Caledonia and the Great Barrier Reef are good bets.
Other Red Bass Resources
The above barely scratches the surface on how to catch Red Bass. The resources below will provide a wealth of information:
www.nomadsportfishing.com.au is an excellent source to catch these guys in Australia
