May 2020 – Captain Greg Peralta

Dog Days

Brody, the amazing fish finding and stock trading dog

With Memorial Day in our rearview mirror, the dog days of Summer are just ahead. However, when your fishing partner is Brody, the amazing fishing finding and stock trading dog, every day is a dog day.

In warm weather, the best bite is typically at first light. So, Brody and I get out early. Around 5:00 AM on Saturday, I was having a wonderful dream about being kissed by a Victoria’s Secret super model. As it turns out, Brody was licking me on the face to wake me up and go fishing.

On the way to the boat landing, we stopped at Refuel for coffee, chicken biscuits, drinks and ice. Brody’s job was to grab the drinks while I picked up everything else. Upon meeting at the cash register, Brody had a 12-pack of Coast Island Lager. After explaining that beer is not adequate for warm weather hydration, he reluctantly agreed to return the beer and select something else. In the blink of an eye, Brody came back with Truly Hard Seltzer Berry Mix. With daylight rapidly approaching, we agreed to disagree and paid for our stuff.

We reached the end of the jetties, just after sunrise. The wind light and the seas were calm. Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish were busting minnows on the surface. I deployed the trolling motor and spot locked the Pathfinder an easy casting distance from the end of the rocks. Brody was looking at a 15-pound spinning outfit rigged with a Shimano 21-gram Colt Sniper jig. So, I picked it up, made a long cast and began a high-speed retrieve. A big Bluefish crushed the jig. The Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish were fired up and feeding aggressively. We kept a few of the smaller Bluefish for bait to target sharks behind shrimp trawlers. When the incoming tide slowed down, the bite turned off.

It was time for sharks. I positioned the Pathfinder a good distance behind a trawler and cast a 30-pound class spinning outfit rigged with a small Bluefish on 6/0 circle hook. It only took a few seconds for a large Spinner shark to eat the Bluefish. It jumped several times before settling in for a punishing fight. It took 30-minutes to catch and release the shark. By then, I was hot and thirsty. The Truly Hard Seltzer was cold, tasty and refreshing. Sadly, I could only drink one because Brody refused to be the designated boat driver.

With shark checked off the list, we turned our attention to Bull Redfish back at the jetties. I began casting a Z-Man 5-inch Jerk ShadZ on a 3/8-ounce jig to the rocks. After several minutes and a couple of lost jigs, we checked Bull Redfish off the list and called it a day.

Other than the face licking episode, I love the dog days of summer.

Take What She Gives You

When fishing, you just have to take what Mother Nature gives you. Or, be willing to stay home. On Sunday, Mother Nature gave us conditions that had me thinking about staying home. A strong wind blowing against the incoming tide made for standing waves in the Wando River. The heavy wave action made for poor water clarity. Simply awful conditions for targeting Trout on the fly. While preparing my skiff to launch, the thought of going home did cross my mind. I was on the fence. So, I asked Brody (the amazing fishing finding and stock trading dog) what we should do. He responded by jumping into the skiff. We were going fishing.

It was a wet and bumpy ride up the Wando. Brody and I quickly changed plans and tucked into the relative calm of Beresford Creek. We pulled up to a wind sheltered shoreline with lots of oyster bars. The water clarity was not great but is was better than everyplace else. In these conditions, the fly rod was out of the question. I picked up my favorite 8-pound class spinning outfit and tied on a Z-Man 1/5-ounce NedlockZ jig with a Finesse TRD lure. After the wet ride, Brody was more interested in getting dry than finding fish. So, I made a random cast to an irregular spot in the shoreline and a Trout ate the Finesse TRD. Somehow or another, Brody and I stumbled upon a hot Trout bite. Most were small, in the 12 to 14-inch range but we did not care. Awful conditions. Lots of Trout. We thanked Mother Nature!

For the next few hours, we searched for areas out of the wind with oysters and better water clarity. Almost every time we found this combination of elements, we also found Trout. I patted Brody on the head and thanked him for making me go fishing. A few minutes later it started to rain. Brody said it was time to go home. Who am I to argue with a fish finding and stock trading dog? We called it a day.

Shark Fishing

Sharks are an overlooked sportfishing species. They are large, powerful and abundant. However, they can be a bit of a challenge to catch and release. Especially, if you target them with lures. This week, I set out to do just that.

Recently, at the nearshore reefs, small sharks have been eating the Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish that I have been catching. At first this was a frustrating experience. Upon further reflection, it became a new fishing opportunity. So, I put away the light tackle and began casting a Shimano Flat Fall jig on 30-pound class spinning tackle. After a few casts, a small shark ate the jig. The 3-foot shark was over matched by the heavier tackle and it quickly came to the boat. While I was trying to take a boat side picture of the little shark, a big shark ate it. Somehow, the 6-foot shark got hooked in the mouth by the Flat Fall jig and a battle of epic proportions began.

The initial run was fast, taking nearly all the line off the 30-pound class spinning reel. Thankfully, the shark made a U-turn and swam right back to the boat. This allowed me to recover most of the 30-pound PowerPro fishing line. When the shark saw the boat, it turned and made another long run. For the next 30 minutes, this process was repeated several times. At one point in the fight, I thought about breaking the shark off. But I knew without a photo, it did not really happen. So, the battle continued. Eventually, by some miracle, the big shark came to the boat. After taking several pictures, I released the behemoth and watched it swim away. For some reason, I thought this was funny and spent the next few minutes laughing.

Yes. Sharks are an overlooked sportfishing species!