At the Sea Trail Fishing Club Meeting on Thursday, Harold Golding gave a presentation on his methods for catching Flounder, Speckled Trout, Red Drum, Black Drum and Sheepshead. The meeting was attended by almost 50 members and guests. Harold came to the Sunset Beach area 12 years ago. He fishes almost every day and says that he enjoys catching fish and fishing with others in and around Southeastern Brunswick County and the Little River areas of South Carolina.
Harold reminded everyone the importance of having good equipment and the proper rigging for the target fish. This includes rods, reels, terminal tackle and bait. He also confided that it helps to know where to find the good holes.
Although the 2023 flounder season in North Carolina was restricted to only two weeks, Harold was able to catch flounder every single day from his 20-ft Carolina Skiff. Under Harold’s guidance, those fishing with him also landed their one fish per day bag limit while releasing several more. Harold reminded us that flounder like to lurk around oyster beds and structure where they can lie in wait and ambush prey. For flounder, Harold uses a 7-foot medium action rod and a 2500 reel with 20-pound braid.
A dropper rig is attached to the braid using a 20-pound monofilament leader. The top hook is baited with a 3-inch pink curly-tail grub and the bottom with a 5-inch white curly-tail grub on a 1/4 to 3/8 ounce jig head. Although many anglers like to use live minnows on a Carolina rig, the scented Gulp grubs work better for him. Harold uses the grub in a jigging fashion close to the boat. When he feels a bite, he generally counts to at least 5 (or more depending on the depth of water) and before setting the hook.
When Harold is targeting Speckled Trout, he uses one or two different methods. In the mornings or evenings, almost any of a variety of top-water plugs can be very successful when fished through of around grass. Good bets for lures include suspending Yo-Zuri or MirrOlip lures that dive on retrieve. But the most productive method that Harold has found for catching speckled trout is to use live shrimp or minnows on a small treble hook under a float rig with a sliding bobber-stop to accommodate depth changes in the rising or falling tide.
He actually has the most success on the incoming or rising tide. When live bait is not available, he finds that the VuDu shrimp or the various Z-man Trout Tricks work well too.
Black drum and sheepshead will take small fiddler crabs, large black crabs, or dead shrimp. Cut shrimp work well too. Hook the bait on double dropper rig with two small circle hooks and a terminal 2-oz sinker. Black drum and sheepshead like old docks and lots of structure; look for docks with barnacles. The best approach is to drop the bait and wait.
Red drum, also called red fish, spot tail and puppy drum, are found at the jetties or schooling in the shallows within the marshes. At the jetties Harold uses a stiff, heavy action rod with 80 lb. braid tied to a 50 lb. fluorocarbon leader. The go-to setup uses a 4 oz egg sinker on a Carolina rig with a large 3/0 to 4/0 circle hook. Large mullet minnows or live pogies are his favorite baits but if live bait is unavailable, cut mullet will do nicely.
Harold reminds everyone to always use a life vest when fishing from a boat!
A special thank you to Justin Griffith and Alan Trojan for taking excellent notes during the presentation!
Sea Trail Fishing Club 