It's been awhile, maybe too long! Definitely too long since I made a post with some real substance. It seems like we find ourselves more and more rushed as the cacophony of everyday life and social media close in on us.
Any how, it's nice to have a minute and sit down and reflect on fishing recently. We've made it through what is most likely the final set of flood tides here in the Low Country and we're moving on to multiple fish days on the low. While I miss the floods every year as the crabs burrow down and avoid the ensuing cold, it is a refreshing change of pace to head out in the morning with crisp, cool winds and clear green water.
Schools of fish are starting to show all through the low tide sounds and mud flats. The more open waters tend to have the larger fish, albeit when the wind picks up spotting the fish becomes less than effortless.
On a negative tide, reds can be easily found in between the oyster beds and along shallow banks, backs out of the water, crawling through the mud. I recently had my father on the boat and this was how we got it done. Fishing in the sounds and bays was a bit difficult for him as the wind had picked up and he was having trouble picking up the subtle flashes and rolls as the lazy fish flipped to their side to eat the occasional shrimp or mullet. We switched it up and found ourselves a few crawlers that were more than willing to take a quick snack.
When the water in the negative tide areas are muddy, dropping the fly almost on the fishes nose tends to induce a nice reactive strike. On the other hand, in the bays and open clear water, leading the fish a few feet will help get that stalking and feeding hit. While I'm partial to purple and black, chartreuse with purple has been doing the job in the more open waters. I still like a small to medium black or purple fly with some flash to it for muddy, shallow water.
If you're looking to book a trip now is the time to do so. Plenty of shots at fish with space to watch them run. Fall in the Low Country is a beautiful thing!
This past weekend might have seen the last of our flood tides here in the Low Country. The temperature is finally dropping below the 60 degree mark in the mornings (even though it's still 80 in the afternoon!) and the fiddler crabs are starting to feel it. They're burrowing down now, expecting the winter which mean fewer and fewer redfish pushing up onto the high tide flats.
While we saw a few tailers, most were quick to tail then drop back down to foraging for shrimp and baitfish. We found ourselves casting at signs of fish more than actual fish themselves. Yet, our casting was not in vein, we still found fish happy to eat a well presented fly.
This time of year as the temps drop and you still can't resist hitting a good flood tide, switch up your fly patterns to a nice medium sized baitfish or shrimp with some lead eyes and a weed guard. This will keep the fly low in the water column for that occasional late season tailer but still replicate a shrimp or mullet swimming by for the fish pushing a wake or floating. You're definitely hoping for the reaction strike as the water drops below 70 degrees. Pink and chartreuse did it for us this weekend, so it definitely is worth a try. Supposedly, chartreuse replicates a shrimp moving through the water. Whether that's true or not, the flash of color definitely gets the attention of the redfish.
As it starts to cool even more and the water clears up, look for high tide areas that are a bit deeper to hunt down any floating or cruising reds that may be using the higher tide mud flats to warm up and look for a quick snack. While it may not be as productive as fishing around the low tide, it is still definitely possible to fool a fish!
If you're looking to book a trip, the low tide is definitely the tide to go on this time of year. Make sure to practice double hauling and be ready to make longer casts when it is slick to avoid spooking the fish.
It's been awhile since I've been able to post here. Between Flood Tide Co and Spotting Tails, I've been extremely busy.
Chartering has not been the easiest job here in Charleston recently. With tons of wind, buckets of rain, and lots of pressure from storms the fish have been elusive. On a charter a few days ago, we finally had a break in the weather and got out there for some nice sunny conditions. Well, we caught 'em but they weren't redfish! We ended up catching only flounder the whole trip! Goes to show that fishing is a mixed bag. You can believe your a good fisherman and you still don't know what you'll get.
I had the pleasure of doing some scouting the past two days with my friend Omar. We wanted to check a few new spots we marked on Google Maps. After having a few unsuccessful scouting missions a few weeks ago, Poseidon finally blessed us. We showed up to the new spot at the perfect time. Tail after tail presenting itself out of the water like ghosts moving through the chocolate brown, muddy water. We finally found them! Of course in our excitement we made enough noise to hear us from a country mile away. But we still managed to snag a big fella! We went back the next night and found our business partners happy to oblige for another round.
As I always say, any day on the water in the Low Country is a damn good day.
If you'd like to book a charter, find me at www.spottingtailscharters.com or book a trip through Amberjack.