Here is a 4-pounder caught by our member Terry Dremmel’s friend Tom Mears. It last Thursday (January 18, 2024) in the Intracoastal Waterway in South Brunswick County in 4 ft of water using a coffee-colored paddle tail plastic with darker brown spots on it. Tom and friends have been doing very well with that lure that past several weeks.
By January, redfish in South Carolina’s lowcountry are gathered up in huge schools, where they patrol the skinniest water they can find. They do this for two reasons: to stay away from flipper as much as possible, and to stay in the sunlight for the warmth it offers.
Many anglers troll up and down main waterways, keeping tabs on these schools and offering them lures as they go. But for Capt. Stephen Flook of Unashamed Adventures, this is the time to get off the main channels. Instead, he parks his boat at the mouth of secondary creeks, many of which are blocked from boats by the presence of oyster mounds.
“I’ll just get into the mouth as far as I can, anchor down, then cast back into those tiny, secondary creeks,” he said.
His favorite spots are the creeks that hold a foot or two of water during dead low tide.
“If it’s deep enough at dead low for redfish to stay, that’s what they’d prefer to do. That keeps them safe from dolphins because it’s not deep enough for the dolphins. Plus, the entrances to these tiny creeks are usually blocked, at least partially, by oyster mounds. So even the smallest of boats are locked out,” he said.
But they don’t stop Flook or his clients from firing a variety of Z-Man soft plastics into those creeks.
“When targeting the big schools on the main waterway, you have to be careful and precise where you cast. That’s not a concern in these tiny creeks because if you spook the fish, they don’t really have anywhere to go. They aren’t going to competely leave the creek because it’s their safest spot at low tide,” he said.
Some of these creeks are so small that you may have room for casts in only one or two tiny areas.
“If you put it in front of a redfish, it’s usually going to pick it up. Maybe not on the very first cast, but they’ll pick it up pretty quickly,” said Flook (864-430-8830) or https://fishingcharterschs.com/
And if they don’t, he’ll pull up anchor, find another tiny creek, and try again.
“Sometimes I’ll even get out and walk into these creeks on foot if it’s possible,” he said.
Flook said anglers should make a cast and work the lure back slowly, but not so slowly that your lure hangs up on the bottom. A twitch here and there is often enough to trigger a strike.
Courtsey of Carolina Sportsman … subscribe to their free newsletter at https://www.carolinasportsman.com/newsletter-2/
BTW … Freedom Boat Club has locations in the Charleston area.
May 7, 2024. The cost is $150 per person and includes the tip. Contact Chuck Fisher of Little River, South Carolina by emailing him at captchuckfisher@verizon.net for more information.
Kayak Fishing NC from the Mountains to the Coast …
The speckled trout bite is hot around the North and South Carolina borders in June. This is the peak of the spawn. There are plenty of smaller sows and males that are legal keepers but If you catch some of the big sows that are loaded with eggs it might be a good time to join the Fishing C.P.R. Club (as in Catch-Photograph-Release). As usual the favorite bait is shrimp and if you don’t have live shrimp, check out last week’s blog on artificials. Our Club President, Steve Heins, reports good success with Vudu Shrimp. One of the easiest ways to catch trout with live of artificial bait is under a popping cork. Adjust the depth of your leader to keep the bait suspended a little above the bottom. If using artificials and don’t hesitate to add scent and a couple of beads to get that clicking sound that live shrimp make. The cork going down makes it easy to see a strike, give it a second and set the hook! You just might also snag a redfish or two.
Hot spots are shell points in Dunn Sound and along the Little River jetties. Trout also gather around grassy points, creek mouths, oyster rocks and other places that concentrated baitfish and shrimp.
In the early morning or late afternoon trout feed most aggressively and topwater lures can be very effective and add a whole new dimension to fishing fun and excitement! Use the “walking the dog” retrieve and when you get a strike be sure to wait until you feel the weight of the fish before you set the hook Too fast on the hook set will result in a frustratingly low hook-up percentage.
Sea Trail Fishing Club 
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