Captain Elliott Peralta with a Post Snow Storm Trout
The snow storm of 2018 brought record low water temperatures and big trouble for our Trout population. Reports are coming in from across the Lowcountry that large numbers of Trout have succumbed to the cold water. While it is to early to determine the extent of Trout mortality, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is encouraging anglers to release all the Trout they catch. Until we can better quantify the health of our Trout population, catch and release is a good idea.
Thankfully, a good number of Trout did survive. Recently, I have been catching them in shallow areas directly adjacent to deeper water. Slowly bouncing a Z-Man TRD or TubeZ on a 1/5 ounce NedLockZ jig down the depth transition has proven to be highly effective. Using this technique, I have been releasing 30 to 50 Trout in an afternoon of fishing.
So, there are still a few Trout around to catch. If you catch some, please let them go.