Enjoyed a week of perfect conditions with no rain and low water with perfect clarity. Rainbow and brown trout were both very active feeding below and above the surface. With fantastic visibility, it was easy to watch trout coming up to eat your dry fly or chasing your nymph. Only fished big bushy dry flies with smaller nymphs dropped off the back. Great family fun and a chance for me to go fishing for a change!
With school having just ended, the Bowden family decided to make a fishing charter part of their vacation to Charleston. Apparently they packed plenty of good luck! Started with nine sharks and then went inshore. Caught redfish, trout and flounder under popping corks for a lowcountry slam. Great way to start the trip!
It has been a long time coming but sustained sunny days have brought our fishery back to life after a cold Spring. Redfish and trout are both active and chasing down the bait that has filled our waters. They aren’t the only hungry ones as Spanish mackerel, shark and bluefish have made their way into town. Fishing season is undeniably here, so get out there!
Redfish have become much more aggressive now that the fishery has heated up. Artificial plastic lures that mimic these baitfish swimming in the water are a great option. Bigger lures like the Z-Man 5” Jerk Shadz would be my pick given the large mullet around. You will want to pair these with a flutter hook that will make the lure look realistic as it swims. Gamakatsu 4/0 or 5/0 EWG flutter hooks in 1/8oz. to 1/4oz. weights are your best bet.
It’s topwater time! There’s nothing more exciting than watching fish blow up on your lure at first light. Heddon’s Super Spook Jr. is one of the reliable standards. My favorite is the chartreuse and black but the silver mullet color works well too. Vary your retrieve as sometimes a change in pace will trigger a strike. Once the topwater bite fades, suspended twitch bait lures can keep things going. Try the MirrOLure 17MR in green back and white belly and enjoy fishing for even longer.
Ladyfish are my favorite summer seasonal species. They strike hard, run fast and make one acrobatic leap after another. Sometimes referred to as the poor man’s tarpon these fish are wildly entertaining. I will target these fish with live shrimp or mud minnows under a popping cork. I prefer the D.O.A. oval corks. They come in a two pack that costs the same as most single corks and they fish great. Pair them with a size 1 Owner circle hook and get ready for a good time.
See you on the water!
As we enter May, few can remember a Spring with so many windy days combined with lots of rain. Our fishery is a few weeks behind but is now poised to come alive! Water temperatures have been jumping higher and summer seasonal species have begun to appear. Put a line in the water and you won’t be disappointed!
As redfish begin to feed in earnest, popping corks cast along grass banks and over oyster beds will be a good bet paired with mud minnows and live shrimp. From the popping cork, I attach a 18”-24” fluorocarbon leader to a size 1 circle hook. Should smaller fish make short work of your live bait, try using D.O.A.’s 2.75” shrimp in their Glow colors.
Trout have been slowly coming around after a challenging and chilly few months. Artificials have been producing the most consistent trout action. When worked slowly in the water column, smaller plastic artificials that mimic baitfish have been getting crushed. Z-Man’s Finesse TRD lures are a go-to choice in their Mud Minnow color. Tie these lures with a loop knot to give the lure extra action in the water.
Spanish mackerel are already slashing around the harbor and can be best found at first light. When you find schools of fish knifing across the surface, throw reflective casting jigs (1/2oz. or smaller) and reel them as fast as you can through the school. Spanish are toothy critters so no matter how fast the action remember to pause and check your leader frequently for cuts and nicks.
With warmer waters, sharks have begun to arrive. Of all the different species of shark we see, bonnetheads are not only among the most common but also the most accessible. These sharks can be caught in a foot of water or in the middle of the harbor. Live menhaden, chunks of blue crab or cut mullet can all be used as baits. These great fighters are good fun for young and old anglers alike.
See you on the water!
For a decade, Capt. Geoff Bennett has operated Charleston Charter Fishing providing light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.
A welcome day of sunny skies and light winds after weeks of the opposite. Started at low tide to get in front of the redfish as they headed into the grass. Strong bite as we landed seven fish over slot and the biggest at 10lbs. While Lisa swore she wanted nothing to do with reeling in fish, she eventually relented and did a great job bringing a couple to the boat!
Staring down a forecast of winds at 20 gusting to 30, Team Aquafour saddled up for their fourth annual charter. To my pleasant surprise, we found reds on the flats smoking blue crab even in one foot chop. We used shell rake to get some protection and it worked out great! Enough action that we even had a double as well as Matt’s first redfish. Great work grinding out some big reds on a windy, windy day!
At the beginning of March, Charleston had begun to shed the effects of a chilly Winter. The bite improved noticeably and then two weeks of storms and windy weather slowed things down again. Redfish are available and trout can be found too if you work the right lures. Temperatures will surely rebound in April and with it so will the fishing!
Somewhat surprisingly given the water temperatures, decent size mullet have already made their way into our waters. You can see birds diving aggressively on these fish especially at low tide. Anglers would be well served to use artificial plastic lures that mimic these baitfish. A great option is the Z-Man 5” Jerk Shadz in their Houndini color. I will rig this lure with a Gamakatsu 3/0 flutter hook in 1/8oz. to 1/4oz. weights. This lure fishes weedless, can be thrown a mile and makes very little noise when it lands. Work one of these around a school of redfish and you will find success!
With fish still moving slowly, the most effective tactic we have found is tossing Trout Eye jigheads rigged with mud minnows around structure especially docks. Take the hook through the minnow’s bottom lip and out through the top lip. We are using a 1/4oz. jighead to help get the bait down close to the bottom. Methodically work this rig back to the boat by popping the bait up twice and letting it fall. When you feel any resistance set the hook hard!
Docks have been a go-to option on these windy days and per usual are quite productive in early Spring relative to other options. Besides working the Trout Eye jigheads described above, we often fish cut bait on the bottom around the docks. Prepare a heavier rod with pinch on weights and an Owner 3/0 circle hook. Use just enough weight to keep the bait stationary. While cut mullet and blue crab are always popular, frozen shrimp has been working best. Just put the rod in a holder and let the circle hook do all the work for you!
See you on the water!
While on a guy’s weekend, Chris and Ryan decided to make a Charleston fishing charter part of their experience. They had never caught redfish before and we shortly changed that! Reds on the flats were happy fish on a sunny day. All fish ate cut mullet and the biggest came in at 12 pounds! Good work guys.
On the heels of a chilly January, temperatures have soared higher over the last few weeks. Warmer water temperatures made for happy fish and the Spring bite is well underway. The usual suspects, redfish and trout, will be the primary targets and both will be increasingly more active. Don’t wait a couple months, get your line in the water and start catching now!
Over the last few months, redfish have been doing their best to avoid hungry dolphins. Now they will switch modes from survivors to predators. Redfish still remain in huge schools and the most productive fishing will be at low tide when they are concentrated. These fish will be spooky so you’ll want to be quiet and slow on your approach. On many days, the best option is to post up and wait for the school to swim within range of you.
During this time of year, these big schools of redfish will often turn their noses up at artificial lures. So, instead of casting at them to no avail, we’ll fish bait on the bottom. Put out chunks of blue crab or cut mullet on size 3/0 circle hooks. Place your rod in the rod holder and leave the rod alone when you see a fish begin to eat. The circle hook does all the work for you and when your drag starts to sing you are in business!
With the end of February being quite warm, the trout bite has slowly begun. Artificial lures will be your best bet. Fish these lures slowly and try to let them sink to the bottom. These fish are sluggish as well and it pays to get the lure right in front of their nose. Plastic lures that imitate small minnows are a good choice and the Zman 3.75” Streakz in smokey shad is our go to choice. Matched with a 1/8oz. or 1/4oz. jighead, this combination will work well throughout the year.
Please strongly consider practicing catch and release of trout throughout their spawning season in the Spring. Water temperatures dropped into the low 40s in January and South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources fears there was a significant trout kill. The agency is urging catch and release and notes that putting trout back in the water as opposed to your cooler after tough winters can go a long way to protecting the fishing stock.
See you on the water!
For a decade, Capt. Geoff Bennett has operated Charleston Charter Fishing providing light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.
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