Tides, Tags, and Tailing Reds
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Why I Tag Redfish
The goal for the day was classic winter low-tide sight-fishing—but after combing through all the usual spots, we never saw a single back. No tails. No pushes. Nothing.
As the tide began to turn, we shifted gears and started blind casting instead.
On the very first cast, the lure landed just off the edge of an oyster mound and the line came tight instantly. The water erupted as the rest of the school panicked and scattered. While my fishing partner fired a fly toward what was left of the chaos, I worked the fish toward the boat.
As it came boat-side, I noticed something sticking up near its dorsal—a yellow tag covered in algae. Immediately, my mind shifted from the fight to the story.
Where had this fish been?
How far had it traveled?
How long had it been swimming with that tag?
A Fish With a History
I held the fish steady for a moment, trying to read the numbers on the tag through the slime.
It’s a powerful feeling—realizing this wasn’t just another redfish, but one that had already lived a documented life before it ever ate my jig.
Being part of the tagging program gives you access to more than just a data point on a website. You start to see patterns that most anglers never get to witness firsthand: how quickly these fish actually grow, how far they really roam, how certain creeks hold fish longer than expected while others are just brief stopovers.
It turns the places you fish from “spots” into living systems.
And every tagged fish becomes a thread in a bigger story you get to help tell.
Measuring Time, Not Just Length
It also changes the way you look at every fish you catch.
You’re not just measuring length anymore—you’re measuring time.
You start wondering how many winters it’s survived, how many hooks it’s shaken, how many tides it’s ridden through the same stretches of spartina you’re standing beside now. Holding a fish like that, knowing its history is written somewhere beyond your hands, adds a layer of respect that’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it.
It’s no longer about numbers or bragging rights.
It’s about connection—to the fish, to the water, and to the responsibility that comes with both.
The Fish I Want to Follow
That’s also why I’ve set a personal goal for myself: to tag redfish caught on true flood-tide spartina flats—the fish that slide into inches of water with their backs out, tails waving in the grass.
Those are a different kind of redfish.
Hyper-aware. Razor-nerved. Living on the edge of dry ground and deep water.
I want to know what happens to them after the tide falls away.
Where do they go when the flat drains?
Do they circle back to the same grass lines?
Do they grow faster feeding that shallow?
Tagging those fish feels like a way to follow the story beyond the moment—to learn more about the most special encounters we get to experience on the water.
Why It Sticks With Me
Maybe that’s the real reason tagging has stayed with me.
It slows everything down.
It turns a catch into a moment of intention instead of just adrenaline.
You fight the fish, handle it with care, take the extra time to record the details, and then watch it kick back into the current like nothing ever happened.
Except something did.
That fish now carries a tiny piece of information that might matter later—to a biologist, to another angler, or maybe back to me someday. In a fishery that’s given me so much, it feels like a small but meaningful way to give something back—and stay connected to the water long after the tide drops out.
Want to Get Involved?
Programs like this matter—not just to fisheries science, but to anglers who actually fish these waters.
If you’re interested in getting involved or reporting tagged fish from Texas to North Carolina, here are a few simple ways to plug in:
Texas (TPWD)
- Call: (800) 792-1112 Texas Parks & Wildlife
Louisiana (LDWF – fish tagging
- Call: (855) 728-8247
- Email: sattag@wlf.la.gov Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries
Mississippi (MDMR – tagged fish reporting)
- Call: (844) 704-2359 (Sport Fish hotline) Mississippi Marine Resources
Alabama (Marine Resources Division – saltwater tagging
- Call: (251) 968-6605
- Email: dcnr.swtags@dcnr.alabama.gov Outdoor Alabama
Florida (FWC – Angler Tag Return Hotline)
- Call: (800) 367-4461
- Email: tagreturn@MyFWC.com FWC
Georgia (GA DNR Coastal Resources – Cooperative Tagging Project)
- Report online: CoastalGaDNR.org/FishTag
- Call: (912) 264-7218 Georgia Department of Natural Resources+1
South Carolina (SCDNR – tagged fish)
North Carolina (NCDEQ / NCDMF – report tagged fish)
- Call: 1-800-682-2632
- Email: tagrecap@deq.nc.gov