As the water warms during the Spring and early Summer, the redfish scatter about in our area and are rarely found in groups of more than five or ten in a group. I think it's because there is more bait around and they don't have to concentrate at feeding places in order to get a meal. There seems to be plenty of reds around ….. you just have to hunt them down and try different baits to catch them. Artificial baits such as weedless spoons, lead head jigs, jerk baits, crank baits and spinner baits will all catch them but sometimes they just seem to refer one over the other and sometimes even the choice of color can make a difference. Scientists all agree that a fish doesn't see colors the same way humans do but they do seem to have some way of discerning color because they can be very color specific on certain occasions. When using crank baits or any other bait with multiple hooks, it's best to bend the barbs down to make it easier to get the bait out of their mouth. Reds will many times swallow a slow crank bait and if you have barbs on the hook, it can take what seems like an eternity to get the fish unhooked and back in the water. Also, I don't think you loose any number of fish by having no barbs on the hooks. Live bait is always good when you can get it and cut bait such as mullet or good, fresh shrimp is a close second.
We have been catching redfish on most trips but have had several disappointing days where we just couldn't seem to make it happen. Fly rodders and light tackle customers alike have had to contend with a lot of wind on most days. Strong winds always make it harder to catch fish because it's harder to control the boat and move about quietly in the shallows. We've had several good days when the higher than normal tides occur around the full and new moon cycle. During that time, the fish will travel up onto the newly flooded areas and nose down while looking for something to eat. At this time, as they root around on the bottom, the water is so shallow that their tails will stick up into the air. We call those tides "tailing tides." It's great sport to try to approach these fish with fly rods or weedless spoons because you will actually see the fish attack and catch the lure! As we get on into mid-summer, around June, July and August, we will begin catching the really big reds (20 to 50 pounds each) at our jetties and ocean inlets. During that time, we will also begin seeing tarpon in our area. We don't seem to have a big resident school like some areas have but we do have quite a few schools that come by and stay around here a bit. Most of the tarpon we see around here are 80 pounds and up because the smaller ones can't make the long migration from the Florida keys to here and back. Sharks will also be available in good numbers. I have seen numerous people kill the sharks when they catch them but I just don't understand why someone would kill a great fighter like a shark! Since most people enjoy the fight of a hooked fish, I can't understand what it is they dislike about sharks. They are relatively easy to catch and put up a great fight! What can be bad about that? Please, take care of our fish, it's simply the right thing to do.
Gene Dickson
Delta Guide Service www.deltaguideservice.com
Georgetown, SC 29440
843-546-3645