As of lately, the fishing has slowed across the board.  The trout are around but they are small and the redfish can be found in good numbers but they are hard to get to eat.  That is unless you are already catching the menhaden.  And I am.  They arrived a couple of weeks ago but are now here in good enough numbers that you can almost depend on them being in the normal spots.  As long as the wind is not blowing out of the east, the bite should pick up this week after the cool front we are having.  Lets keep our fingers crossed and our rod tips at the ready!

As spring approached and then landed in it's full, pollen filled, yellow clouded force, the fishing was going from great to even better. After a stellar winter of shallow water sight casting to redfish, we are now forced to start exploring other species. This is not a bad thing though. The giant trout will be here this month and stick around for about 6 weeks while spawning. They typically follow the onset of the menhaden migration and will range from 10 inches to over 8 pounds! That's right 30 + inch trout will invade the inlets close to the ocean within the next 30 days. Another spring staple in the lowcountry has made it's annual appearance, the cobia. Tons of fun to catch and even better to eat. These lemonfish, or ling as some call them can be found in the river mouths and harbors but more frequently around nearshore bouys and weed lines. Squid, grunts, crabs, menhaden, pinfish, shrimp, and cut mullet all make great bait but I prefer to throw a fly at them. Big patterns work best. As summer starts up, the giant redfish in the 15-50 pound range will start eating everything in site around the harbor and jetties. Mullet, blue crabs, and menhaden make the best baits for these monsters. As summer burns on, the tarpon will take the spotlight and continue to do so well into September. If you have any saltwater fishing questions or want to book a trip, please don't hesitate to call me. As always, remember you can't catch them sitting on the couch!

Redfish are chomping!

Today was another great day on the water and an even better day for fishing. It was Chris Luthy's birthday and his wife bought him a surprise charter. What a woman! He brought a couple of buddies and we headed up the waterway. The temperature is getting up into the 60's now and last week the redfish started eating the blue crabs. With a box full of nice live crabs, we edged up the intercoastal to a flat that the redfish have been frequenting for a month or so now. It took about thirty minutes of soaking baits to get the first bite but once we did, it was on. We caught 15 big redfish, otherwise known as spottail bass, in about 2 hours. One of which was almost 35 inches. Keep in mind we are "flats fishing" in about 18 inches of water so these fish are making a ton of commotion. It was a great morning of inshore redfishing in Charleston SC to say the least.

Spring 2011

It has been a while since my last blog. Had to figure out this new blogspot URL stuff. This winter and spring has been unbelievably good for inshore fishing in the Carlolinas and especially here in Charleston. The redfish, also known as spot tail bass, have been chomping! Schools of 50- over 1,000 fish have been congregating in the shallows of the bays and sounds. The water has been very clear and the site fishing has been the way to go. January and February were great months to use artificials and the fly rod to catch big numbers of redfish. With the approach of warmer weather, the schools are breaking up a bit and starting to prefer the mullet and crabs. May is "Giant Trout" month and as soon as the menhaden arrive, it will be time to go catch some big breeder trouts near the inlets. The water temperature is hovering around 60 degrees which is the magic number. The Giant redfish should be moving into the harbor and shortly thereafter, the mullet run and the tarpon run will be here. Call me now to book your trout, redfish, or tarpon trips! Please checkout my facebook page and feel free to email me with any tackle or condition questions. Keep the tip up and turn the handle!

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April Update

It's been a great month of fishing. 24 trips down this month and ready for more. The redfish have been biting all year with the exception of the coldest week we've had in over a decade. Luckily, it did not stay cold enough to kill off any trout or redfish. The bite has slowly shifted from large schools of reds eating whole and cut mullet to smaller schools of big and medium sized fish eating blue crabs. The big trout are showing up in droves right behind the menhaden. I still have some days open for the last week in April and first week in May so hurry while they are biting! I am also taking reservations for a limited number of kite fishing trips and tarpon trips! I hope everyone is well and remember, you can't catch em sittin on the couch.

The Cardinal family on a hot redfish bite!

The weather was cold and sunny and we had plenty of bait. The first sitings of the day came from Tim on the bow. He said "look, I can see one swimming in the grass". As I lifted my head to see what he was referring to, I noticed an entire school of 100+ fish wondering slowly through the grass in front of us. We caught three nice ones in a row and then a bottle nosed dolphin showed up for breakfast and as quickly as it all started, it was over. The fish froze up and wouldn't touch a bait.