A reader recently asked me if there is a secret to keeping up with schooling redfish.

We are not in the prime season for huge schools now but there are small pods of reds prowling the Sabine area and they can be a challenge to keep up with.

Preparation for this kind of fishing begins at home. Make up a tackle box or bag with some key lures for targeting fast moving reds.

Start with spoons. A gold or bronze spoon is arguable the best overall redfish lure and they offer the advantage of being easy to cast accurately at long distances. For most settings a 1/2-ounce is perfect.

Next go to topwaters. There is nothing more exciting in local waters than watching big reds attack a topwater and when they are feeding on the surface, they are suckers for surface lures. Walking lures are great but do not overlook chuggers. They can extremely effective on reds.

Rig these up on a spinning rod rigged with braided line and keep them handy. The spinning rod is to save you from frustrating backlashes, which can occur when you are trying to hit fish at long distances in a very short time window. If you for example are working a plastic, put down that stick, grab your spinning rod and chunk the spoon or topwater right where you saw the action. If the fish already under, then throw it as far as you can down current of the spot and work it back up. The reds usually follow the tidal flow.

If you keep missing the time window and want to make blind casts, consider using one of the numerous redfish ready spinnerbaits on the market.