Tag: daniel island

Fishing with Friends

Todd Van Hoosier with a Good Redfish

Last week, I sold my trusty Mitzi Skiff to make room for the arrival of my new Salt Marsh Heron. If all goes well, I should take delivery of the new skiff in early November. In the interim, I am limited to fishing with friends on their boats. Thankfully, I have a lot of friends with boats!

On Friday, Todd Van Hoosier invited me to fish with him. We were joined by fellow Daniel Island Inshore Fishing Club member, Dave Twitchell. The tide was falling when we launched Todd’s boat. Our plan was to target Redfish until low tide. One benefit of being a guest and not the boat captain is that I can focus on learning new lures and techniques. Recently, I have been experimenting with the Z-Man Trick ShotZ on a Ned LockZ mushroom head jig. Friday was a good opportunity to practice with the new lure. After a short boat run, Todd stopped at a small channel that drains an expansive shallow area. It only took a few minutes to locate a big school of Redfish. Unfortunately, the Redfish felt our approach and spooked away from the boat. I made a long cast in front of the departing fish and a not-so-smart Redfish ate my lure. Sometimes, it pays to be lucky.

After a quick move to another shallow area, we located another school of Redfish. The school was so shallow that we could often see their backs out of the water. However, the fish never came within casting distance of Todd’s flats boat. Situations like this are perfect for my new Salt Marsh Heron. Technical skiffs are smaller and lighter than a flats boat. As such, they can get into much shallower water. In two weeks (upon delivery of my new skiff), I plan to pay this school of Redfish another visit.

We fished several more locations throughout the afternoon and caught fish pretty much everywhere we fished. But, we never found a truly hot bite. We ended the day releasing 15 to 20 fish. While we did not catch a lot of fish, we had a great day. Good weather. Good friends. Great time. Thanks Todd!

Trick ShotZ

Windy conditions (and a trip to the mountains) limited my local fishing time this week. However, I did brave the wind a few times before heading to the mountains. On those trips, the water was clear and 76 degrees. Perfect conditions for targeting Redfish, Trout and Flounder with lures. Recently, I have been experimenting with a Z-Man Trick ShotZ lure on a mushroom head jig. While I am still refining my technique, early results have been positive. Casting the Trick ShotZ into current seams using a snap and pause retrieve has been producing good numbers of fish. Creek mouths on the falling tide have been particularly good.

Of course, the StreakZ 3.75 is still my favorite lure but the Trick ShotZ is quickly becoming a close second. As the water cools and the fish begin to slow down, I believe the Trick ShotZ will become even more effective. So, I am practicing now in preparation for Winter.

The other day, I fished with a friend who prefers to fish with live bait. On the day of our trip, he was using mud minnows on a quarter ounce lead head jig. We took turns casting to the current seams. Both methods (lures and mud minnows) produced equally well. Regardless of how you prefer to fish, now is the time to fish!

As the days get shorter and the water gets cooler, fishing will improve from very good to great (and possibly even epic). The Cooper and Wando Rivers are full of Trout and Redfish that are schooling up and feeding voraciously. If there is such a time when fishing and catching are synonymous, this is that time. Don’t miss it.

New Skiff Coming Together

The team at Salt Marsh Skiffs is building my new skiff (a Heron 16).  In a few weeks, I hope to have it in the Lowcountry.  Just in time for some fantastic Fall fishing.  Really looking forward to stalking winter schools of Redfish On the Fly.  Being light, with a shallow draft and very quiet, the Heron is an excellent platform for this style of fishing.

Stayed tuned for more updates.

 

Take Kids Fishing

In a world filled with electronic devices and a myriad of other indoor activities, it is important to encourage kids to play outside. So, when neighbor’s son, Luke Bishop, dropped by to talk about fishing, we decided to go fishing instead of talking about it. The purpose of our trip was to determine if Trout were already forming large schools in Clouter Creek and the Cooper River. Our plan was to run and gun (try a bunch of locations) until we located large concentrations of Trout. Typically, in the Fall, Trout congregate around creek mouths on the falling tide. While we caught a few in these areas, they did not produce the numbers we were looking for. Luke and I kept moving.

After five or six stops at creek mouths, we tried something different, a deep channel. Luke cast a Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 (Pearl) on a Finesse jig into the channel and caught a nice Trout. I cast my lure (a Streak 3.75 Blue Back Herring) into the same area and hooked up as well. For the next 30 to 45 minutes, Luke and I caught a Trout on pretty much every cast. We did not take any pictures because one of us always had a fish on. It was an epic Trout bite. Luke and I released over 50 fish (I even kept a few dinner).

During the non-stop action, I was impressed by Luke’s development as an angler. He was completely self-sufficient. We have fished together many times. Each time, his fishing skills just keep getting better. I feel sure, one day (soon), he will be teaching me about fishing. And that, is that fishing is all about.

Break The Routine

Summer is a time of plenty.  Our local waters are now filled with a multitude of fish species to choose from.   Currently, the biggest angling challenge is deciding which fish to target.  Now is a great time to break your routine and catch something different.

For me, it has been a long time since I set out to catch a Sheephead.   So, on Friday, I picked up a pint of fiddler crabs at The Charleston Angler (West Ashley location).   Rather than re-rig my rods specifically for Sheephead fishing, I simply removed the Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 (Blue Back Herring) from my finesse jig and replaced it with a fiddler crab.  Turns out, simplicity works. Sheephead readily ate fiddler crabs on the finesse jig.

While fishing for Sheephead, a school of Spanish Mackerel began busting Glass Minnows nearby.  I quickly put the StreakZ 3.75 back on the jig and cast to the feeding school.  For the next 30 minutes, it was non-stop Spanish Mackerel action.

Summer is a time of plenty.  Plenty of fish and plenty of opportunities to break your routine.

 

 

Too Hot to Fish

A few years ago, there was a county music song with the lyrics “too hot to fish”. On Saturday, with the optimal tide occurring during the middle of the day, the lyrics to that song kept popping into my head. With the heat index hovering around 110 degrees, fishing was not very much fun. Despite my best efforts to stay hydrated, after a few hours in the intensely hot sun, I started to feel the symptoms of heat exhaustion. It is not fun (or safe) to fish with a pounding headache and being light headed. So, I quit fishing early on Saturday and did not fish at all on Sunday. It was literally, too hot to fish!

Thankfully, an early morning start (on Saturday) got us on to a solid Spanish Mackerel bite in the harbor. The Mackerel were chasing schools of glass minnows. Since a Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 (Blue Back Herring) on a 1/8-ounce Trout Eye Finesse jig looks just like a glass minnow, the Spanish Mackerel readily ate our lures. On our first casts into the feeding school, David (my brother) and I each hooked a fish. Doubles! My son, Elliott, volunteered to take a picture. As he took the shot, my fish started vigorously flipping its tail and slapping David in the face. We all found this to be uproariously funny. Well, at least Elliott and I did.

Fishing in the late summer can be tough. Take it from me. Get out early and get back early (before it gets too hot). Unless of course, you like country music.

After the storm

The storm that rolled through the Lowcountry yesterday afternoon snarled traffic, dropped hail and put on an awesome (and dangerous) electrical show.  Delayed launching the skiff  (I am scared of lightning) until after the storm subsided.  Caught a bunch of Trout and Ladyfish on a Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 (Blue Back Herring) on a 1/8th ounce Eye Strike finesse jig.  Also, got this shot of my son (Captain Elliott) casting to a tailing Redfish.

The storm was bad.  The traffic was awful.  The fishing was pretty darn good!