Spring 2013

                                                                                        Spring  2013

     March and April are great months for inshore fishing, however this time of year does have its challenges.  There is nothing better than that first stretch of warm days when we can break out the short sleeves again. The Trout bite heats up, Flounder start to show up again, Redfish can still be caught on mud flats and structure, and the bait schools start moving into the creeks.
     Spring is a transitional time of year though and one day the air temperature can be 75 degrees and the next can 50.  With the cold fronts comes the wind, thunderstorms as well as dramatic air pressure changes.  March and April typically are the windiest months of the year.  Not only are the weather patterns changing, but so are the fish...especially the Reds.  During the Winter Redfish will be on the flats staying warm and safe, but once the water temperature increases the large schools break up and move to their pattern of pursuing food around structure, grass lines and in the marsh grass.  This change in behavior can make pinning them down more difficult until they settle into their Summer pattern.  Fishing the flats and structure as well as mixing in different baits, lures and tactics will increase your chances of a successful day in the Spring.  There will be a spring trout bite once the bait shows up and they become more aggressive.  Quite a few Flounder can also be caught in the Spring.

the Leah's with a Spring Redfish caught on a flat (3/18/2013)

Winter 2013

                                                                                         Winter 2013

The water temp is in the mid 50's and most of the Redfish have moved to the flats.  While I am still pulling some Reds off the docks, Winter is the time of year to sight cast to large schools in the shallows.  Through late February or early March these fish will be hanging out in less than a few feet of water since it is a little warmer as well as safer from Dolphin.  Even though eating is not their main priority, it is hard for a Red to resist a well placed bait or lure on the edge of a school.  
     Trout are still available and will be in larger groups.  Cover ground until you find the school and then generally the slower retrieve the better.
     Finally, thank you to everyone who went fishing with me last year and helped make it a successful one.  A ton of fish were caught and good times were had on every trip, but I wanted to recognize Paula from Iowa who I think caught the Redfish of the year.  Way to go Paula!

Fall

The water temperature is cooling off, thus the bite is heating up.   The trout are eating aggressively and beginning to really school up as the winter months loom.  They are being caught in good numbers with soft and hard plastics as well as mud minnows and shrimp.  The redfish are still being pulled off structure, but will soon transition to the warm, safe shallow mud flats.  We have had a few cold fronts push through which has made for breezy days on a few trips, but when the wind has laid down the conditions have been ideal for fishing.

Late Summer

The water temperature is pushing into the upper 80's so I have been focusing on the structure that is close to deeper water for the Reds and Trout.  The top water bite has been good for Trout at sunrise and sunset along with the usual tactics during the day.  The Redfish are tailing in the grass during the flood tides and will be for another couple of months.  It is shaping up to be a great fall, my favorite time to fish the lowcountry.

June

The Fishing has been great the past few weeks.  The creeks are full of bait and water temp is in the low 80's. here are a couple pics:

Nicki's first Red

Garry Sr. and Garry Jr. with a pretty Trout

April and May

        

The bait is starting to fill into the creeks and the fishing has been really good the past 2 Months.  The Redfish are spread back out and are being caught from the docks to the marsh flats. I have been having to work a little harder for the Trout, but persistence usually pays off.  Generally, I have been using live bait and Z-MAN plastics around the lower tides to target the Reds and then switching over to Trout fishing.  We have had some big Spring flood tides but the tailing Reds I have seen have been pretty picky eaters. The water temp is in the mid 70's

Ben caught this nice trout on Z-MAN
smokey shad paddle tail

                                                                               
                                                                                            March

Spring has come early this year and the water temperature is warmer than usual for March (65-70). The Redfish are breaking up into smaller groups  and I am catching them at lower tides around docks and then moving to grass lines as the water rises.  Fiddler Crabs should be on the marsh flats soon so it wont be long before the tailing Reds can be targeted in the grass during the flood tides.  The trout bite is turning on and it looks like it will be a good year for them.  I am catching them around oyster banks and eddies using mud minnows under a popping cork and Z-MAN soft plastics on a flutter hook or Mission jig head.  Mud minnows and glass minnows are the main bait in the creeks right now and the finger mullett and menhaden are beginning to show up.  

Miles caught this monster Redfish

Winter 

Fishing has been great this winter.  Redfish are being caught on the flats in less than a foot of water using paddle tails, jerk shads and cut bait. Due to the unusually warm winter, the water temp is still holding in the mid to upper 50's.  The redfish and trout are emulating an early spring, late fall pattern and can still be caught around structure and docks in the creeks.  For now there is not much bait, with the exception of a few mullet and some tiny grass shrimp.

check out this video showing dolphin feeding on a school of reds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV7qraoAJYk