Fishing Report

Fishing has been very productive this summer and anglers can expect more of the same in August. During this month, it will be important to get out early or stay out late to beat the heat. Not only will it be more comfortable to fish during these times but also the high temperatures in the afternoon can put the fish down. Charters at first light have been meeting with some great success.

Popping corks are a very effective setup. You have the opportunity to catch so many different types of fish: redfish, trout, flounder, ladyfish, shark, etc. Use a weighted popping cork to increase the distance of your cast. I tie on an 18″-24″ fluorocarbon leader from the cork to a size 1 circle hook.  Mud minnows, shrimp and artificial shrimp all work well as baits.

Topwater is a fantastic option for trout when you are starting early. Do your best to get to your spot just as it is becoming light. Fish strike topwater lures based on the commotion they make on the surface and aren’t able to discern that the lure isn’t a real struggling baitfish. These lures will also catch redfish and ladyfish. Heddon’s Super Spook Jr. lures in chartreuse and black or red and white are the ticket.

The shark bite may be the most consistent of all during August as they don’t seem to mind the heat. We’ve been fishing half a blue crab with its shell left on to keep the bait from being picked apart by little fish. Large menhaden are also producing. Make sure you use enough weight to keep your bait pinned to the bottom. In the inlets and in the harbor you may need to go as heavy as four to six ounces when the current rips.

Fly fishermen will want to continue to focus their attention on high evening tides that produce opportunities to stalk tailing redfish. As always stealth is at a premium when approaching these fish, so be sure to move quietly. Spoon flies with a weed guard work great. When redfish spy your glittering fly going through the grass, they’ll often charge and attack.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing light tackle and fly fishing charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, 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.

Our fishery has come alive as warmer water temperatures usher in the summer seasonal species. The possibilities are endless as sharks, ladyfish and bluefish are added to the mix. With so many different kinds of fish available, anglers will have a great time on the water most any day.

Redfish are hungrily chasing artificial lures. Jerk shad lures paired with flutter hooks are my go to option. These lures, usually 4″-5″ in length, imitate the small baitfish that have flooded our waters. Flutter hooks have a weight on their shank that let you cast a far distance and also put motion on the lure. I use flutter hooks in size 3/0 with a 1/8oz. weight.  Make sure to cast to the edges of the schools, if you cast right into the middle you stand a good chance of spooking them.

The trout bite has really improved over the last few weeks. Popping corks remain the way to go. I prefer mud minnows as bait as they are hardier than shrimp and less likely to get decimated by bait fish. When fishing in deeper waters, we’ve been using leaders as long as five or six feet. It can make casting a bit awkward but gets the bait right on the fish’s nose.

Sharks are becoming increasingly more active. Try fishing along ledges where there is a sudden drop in depth. Often these predators will sit right along these areas. Bonnetheads have been hitting blue crab while Sharpnose have favored strips of bluefish. One of the advantages of fishing with bluefish is that you’ll occasionally hook into massive bull redfish.

Flyfishing for reds has been most productive at low tide when sight fishing conditions are optimal. Flies with lots of flash are working well, especially the copperhead pattern. During the big high tides in the evening, we have been able to get up into the grass and cast to tailing redfish. A good weed guard on your fly can really help. The Dupree’s spoon fly is a perfect choice for this setting.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing light tackle and fly fishing charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, 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.

Temperatures have been all over the place this Winter with a string of nice days followed by days in the 30s. Throughout it all though, it was possible to catch redfish especially on the sunny days. Expect the fishing to markedly improve as the arrival of Spring brings warmer water temperatures as well as the emergence of bait fish.

Having laid low the last few months to avoid dolphins, redfish will transform from simply surviving to becoming predators. With schools containing up to hundreds of redfish, the best fishing will be at low tide when they are exposed. These fish will still be spooky so stealth is of upmost importance when approaching them. It pays to anchor up when you find a school and wait for them to return to you instead of chasing them down.

During this time of year sometimes these big schools of redfish don’t want anything to do with artificial lures. When this happens, it’s time to soak some cut bait. I’ll put chunks of frozen mullet on size 3/0 circle hooks and wait until the schools of redfish swim over it. Put your rod in the rod holder and leave the rod alone when you see a fish begin to eat. The circle hook will do all the work for you and when your reel starts to sing you are in business.

With the end of February being quite cold, we’ll have to see if the trout bite will start in March. Working artificial lures slowly across the bottom will be your best bet. Plastic lures that imitate small minnows are a good choice. For color, stick with grey and silver hues that most resemble bait. Paired with a 1/8oz. or 1/4oz. jighead, the combination should work well when the trout return.

It’s hard to be stealthier than with a flyrod. This is one of the times of year when fly fishing can be a very effective way to target redfish. When a fly is cast well, it will make only the slightest splash. Right now, we are using smaller flies especially the tried and true white/chartreuse clouser minnow pattern. Cast to the edges of the schools and bring the fly slowly across their noses. The redfish may be somewhat sluggish but you’ll still elicit some dramtic strikes!

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, 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.

Fall fishing is supposed to be great and so far this year has lived up to expectations! An abundance of bait has made for happy and hungry fish. The bite should keep getting better as cooler temperatures will remind the redfish and trout that they better eat now before all the shrimp and mullet disappear. Get out on the water and take advantage of this prime time!

Redfish will begin to school and form large groups of fish making sight fishing on the flats very exciting. Artificial lures that mimic the baitfish these reds are chasing become quite effective. Lures colored silver and blue work well. My favorite combination is a 4-5” jerk shad artificial lure rigged on a size #3/0 flutter hook. These hooks not only provide great action but also land quietly too.

Artificials can also be used with confidence for trout. Try paddle tail plastic lures paired with a 1/4oz. jighead. I attach the jighead with a loop knot to give the lure even more action. Again, we’ve been using artificials with colors that resemble the baitfish in the water. To make your lure even more attractive, try putting a piece of shrimp on the hook. You can use pieces of live or frozen shrimp and it will put a scent trail on your lure that is hard to resist.

Even with artificials becoming more effective, keep tossing those popping corks! Mud minnows, live shrimp and artificial shrimp have been working well when suspended about 18″-24″ below the cork. Redfish and trout alike will eat these baits as they pass by suspended in the water column. Corks have been working best fished along grassy banks at mid and high tide.

Fly fishermen eagerly await the phenomenon of schooling redfish. On clear days, you can see these fish swimming in circles with their golden backs flashing in the sun. Flies in shades of red and copper with a bit of flash are an easy selection. Take your time when approaching the schools and when you make your first shot make sure to cast to the edges so as not to spook them.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing light tackle and fly fishing charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, 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.

Charleston is a great place to be fishing! No matter what type of fish you want to catch, they are all active and biting. Fishing for redfish and trout remains strong even with increasingly warmer water temperatures. Seasonal species like spanish mackerel, ladyfish, bluefish and shark are also still available.

We’ve been targeting redfish with artificial lures especially around low tide. The longer jerk shad lures that worked so well in the Spring are still productive. However, we have had better luck throwing smaller artificials like Zman’s 3 ¾” Streakz in smokey shad. With both, we have been using flutter hooks to put more action on the lure. Remember to vary your rate of retrieve until you find what works best.

Popping corks and trout remain perfect together. Local shrimp are still relatively small so we have been sticking with mud minnows paired with size 1 circle hooks. Popping corks can be hard to recover once wrapped around a dock piling or hung up on a shell rake. I’ll attach 20 pound test line to the top of my corks and attach the bottom of my corks to the circle hook with 15 pound test line. If all goes well when you pull hard, the line will snap at the hook and you will get your cork back.

For a species that fishes well irrespective of the temperature, sharks fit the bill. Even in the middle of the afternoon, they will be cruising and eagerly eating. With so many bait stealers around, we have at times been fishing an entire live blue crab on a 7/0 circle hook. You’ll find that sharks will drop such a large bait more frequently than smaller baits, but the sharks that hang on are the big ones!

Fly fishing has been quite good. The best patterns now seem to be shrimp imitations with or without epoxy. Especially at low tide, you’ll be able to see redfish streaking down the banks with their backs out of water as they try to corral live shrimp. Cast your fly in front of a charging redfish and hold on! The shrimp patterns work very well even when you can’t see redfish working the banks.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing light tackle and fly fishing charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, 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.