Lowcountry – Captain Greg Peralta

Smart Dog

Warmer weather has significantly increased boat traffic in Beresford Creek. To my surprise, many of the boats stop by the dock to visit with Brody. It seems being a fishing finding and stock trading dog has made him a bit of a local celebrity. So now, he just sits on the dock and waits for people to stop. Some want a picture. Others an autograph. Most inquire where the fish are or what stocks to buy. Brody asked me to share his answers to these questions.

With water temperatures approaching the middle 60-degree range, Redfish, Trout and Flounder are actively feeding in the shallows. Look for them near the mouth of small creeks on the falling tide. Predators congregate in these locations waiting for the tide to bring them an easy meal. Brody says the fish are feasting. If you don’t catch one after a few casts they are not there. Move to the next likely location. Keep moving until you start catching.

As for stocks, please know that Brody is a dog. He has no formal training or certifications in this area. However, he does pretty well in the market. Recently, Brody has been moving into and out of stocks very quickly. Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Brody stocked up (no pun intended) on the energy sector. XOM, OKE and BP all went up when the invasion began. A few days later, rumors of a Covid outbreak in China had Brody selling his energy sector holdings while the stocks were still rising. The next day, the energy sector gave up its gains. Brody says, “pigs eat, and hogs get slaughtered”. In a volatile market don’t be a hog. To tell the truth, I am not quite sure what he means but that is what he says.

Life with a fish finding and stock trading dog is always interesting. If you are out on the boat and in need of excitement, stop by the dock. Brody will be there waiting for you.

Out in the Cold

Given back-to-back winter storms, my fishing has been somewhat curtailed. When I have braved the elements, the redfish bite in the shallows has been pretty good. Trout are still around but the cold water has been acting pretty lethargic. For both species, a slow “do nothing” retrieve seems to get the most bites. Typically, I fish until I cannot feel my fingers anymore. This usually happens in less than an hour. So, my trips have been fairly short. Leaving Brody and me with a lot of spare time. Let me tell you, Idle paws are the devil’s work. Brody is bored. When Brody is bored, we both get into trouble.

On Thursday afternoon, in preparation for high winds and freezing temperatures, I took down all the hanging baskets. My wife takes pride in the hanging baskets. Especially the smaller ones. However, Brody thought the small baskets were toys and picked one up. I told him the baskets were not toys. He acknowledged and put the basket down.

That night, Brody was wildly running around the yard. I called him to see what was up. He came carrying a small hanging basket in his mouth. I laughed and we played catch with it. The next day, all the small baskets were spread across the yard and completely destroyed. Amy was horrified. Thinking quickly, I speculated that the local deer herd must have eaten them. This made sense to Amy as we have had a bit of a deer problem. About then, Brody came bounding up with a small basket in his mouth. Amy was not looking so I took it and threw it into the woods. Unfortunately, Brody thought we were playing catch. He ran into the woods and brought the basket back to Amy. Trying not to laugh, I speculated that Brody had retrieved the basket from the menacing deer herd. I could not pull it off. Laughing, I confessed. Amy did not see the humor in it.

So, Brody and I are fishing again. Regardless of the weather. You could say we are out in the cold. Figuratively and literally.

Get out there

Taking your boat to the shop for annual maintenance can be a real hassle. Especially when your full-size truck is not quite big enough to pull a 32-foot Yellowfin out of the water. It is an unsettling feeling when the weight of your boat pulls the truck backwards on the boat ramp. It is even more unsettling when Brody (the amazing fish finding and stock trading dog) says, I told you so. When your dog is smarter than you are, it is truly unsettling.

Thankfully, a friend with a heavy-duty truck helped me tow the boat to Longshore Boats off Clements Ferry Road. While getting the boat to Longshore was a hassle, my service experience there was definitely not one. Maintenance and repairs were completed on time and on budget. Jackie and Paul provided great communication and excellent customer service. They even helped me to launch the boat and move it back to the dock! If your boat needs maintenance, Brody and I highly recommend Longshore Boats.

With the Yellowfin back in service, Elliott (my son), Dave (my brother), Brody and I decided to do a quick fishing trip. Our plan was to run offshore about 24-miles and target Grouper around some live bottom and ledges. We did not catch any Grouper because American Red Snapper and Amber Jack kept eating our slow pitch jigs. Red Snapper are out of season, so we carefully released them. However, a couple of huge sharks began milling around the boat and eating the fish were letting go. The sharks were so big and so aggressive, that we decided to move to another area.

Upon arrival at the new spot, a live bottom area in 70-feet of water, Elliott and Dave dropped Shimano Wing Fall jigs to the bottom. Elliott hooked up with a nice Mutton Snapper that we invited home for dinner. A few Vermillion Snapper and Black Sea Bass were also guests for dinner. Back at the dock, I got stuck filleting the fish. Elliott, Dave, and Brody took the skiff to invite some Trout home for dinner. They returned in short order with a few more fish for the table. That evening, we enjoyed a fresh fish feast.

In the Lowcountry, we are lucky to have a year-round fishery. Right now, both inshore and offshore fishing are very good. So, get that winter boat maintenance done and then get back out there.

Rough Seas

Sometimes, even with the help of a fish finding and stock trading dog, catching fish can be a challenge. Saturday was one of those days. Elliott, Brody, and I launched the boat at 6:30 in the morning. Our plan was to run offshore and target Wahoo in 180-feet of water. The weather was crisp. Cool enough that that I put on a light jacket for the run offshore. Upon exiting the jetties, we encountered rough, washing machine like conditions. So, we decided to try vertical jigging for Grouper a little closer to shore in 90 feet of water.

On the ride to our first Grouper spot, I could tell Brody was feeling a little seasick. You are asking, how does one know your dog is seasick? Because Brody threw up on my shoes. Twice! Thankfully, he began to feel a little better upon our arrival at a ledge 24-miles offshore. Well, at least he stopped throwing up. However, he was in no condition to help us find fish. For the next two hours, Elliott and I dropped jigs to the ledge. We could see schools of fish on the depth finder but only managed to catch one Grouper. Sea conditions continued to be rough, and Brody gave me the “this is not fun” look. So, we called it a day.

On the ride back, the ocean laid down as we approached shore. Brody started barking. This got my attention, and I scanned the horizon. A school of Atlantic Bonito was feeding aggressively a couple of hundred yards ahead of us. I pulled back the throttles and Elliott grabbed a spinning rod rigged with a Shimano 21-gram Colt Sniper jig. We let the boat drift near the school and Elliott made a long cast into the feeding frenzy. Boom! Fish on.

We enjoyed non-stop action with the Bonito until we got tired of catching them. They were not the target species, but we had a blast catching and releasing them. Other than Brody being seasick and me needing a new pair of shoes, it was a very good day.

Sushi

For the past week or so, there have been rumors that the Blackfin Tuna bite is red hot along the 30-fathom curve. Blackfin Tuna make excellent sashimi and poke. Two of my favorite foods. Unfortunately, a sprained right ankle has kept me from offshore fishing. On Thursday, the allure of fresh Blackfin Tuna became overwhelming. So, Brody and I invited Elliott (my son), Dave (my brother) and Tristin Poole to join us on Friday.

We left the dock just before first light. Our plan was to run to the 30-fathom curve then troll a spread of DTX lures (for Wahoo) and cedar plugs (for Blackfin). We arrived a bit late to the fishing grounds and missed the prime fishing time. However, we did manage to catch some tuna. With a good supply of sashimi and poke in the fish box, we decided to stop trolling and do a little vertical jigging.

While I navigated to a small ledge in 165 feet of water, the crew switched from trolling to jigging tackle. Upon arrival at the ledge, we dropped Shimano 170-gram Shimmerfall jigs to the bottom. This was my first time to fish a Shimmerfall jig. I liked it. More importantly, the Grouper and Snapper liked it too! Dave even hooked a couple of Blackfin Tuna on the Shimmerfall. However, one pulled the hook and the other was eaten by a shark. This got us to thinking about specifically targeting Blackfin Tuna with jigs. It will take a bit of trial and error, but I think it will become a highly effective technique for keeping sashimi and poke on the table!

On Saturday, Brody and I did a little inshore fishing. The Trout, Flounder and Redfish were crushing the Z-Man Finesse TRD. They were congregating around creek mouths on the last half of the falling tide. Shallow, oyster laden creeks produced the best action. While we were fishing, a boat pulled up and stopped. I expected them to ask a fishing question. However, they just wanted to see the “famous” fish finding and stock trading dog. It was a humbling experience.

Brody is Bored

Recently, I have been nursing a badly sprained ankle. So, Brody (the amazing fish finding and stock trading dog) has not been fishing very much. Let me tell you, a bored dog is a dangerous dog. Here are a few examples.

With a little extra time on his hands, Brody has been dabbling in cryptocurrency. Now, I don’t much about this stuff. Thus, I am inclined to do what Brody says. When Brody said to by Solana, we did. It went down. Then he said to buy the dip. We did. Then it went down. If my ankle does not get better soon, I will corner the Solana market (and also need to get a job).

Thankfully, Brody got distracted from buying Solana when he got to thinking about Halloween. Never ever take a bored dog shopping for Halloween costumes. First of all, the choices are nearly endless. Who thinks of all this stuff? After hours of trying costumes on, Brody selected a shark outfit.

Upon returning home, my ankle was killing me. But Brody wanted to fish. Against doctor’s orders, we launched the boat and anchored adjacent to a submerged oyster bar. I cast a Z-Man EZ Shrimp to the bar and let the current sweep it along the bottom. Not my preferred way to fish but I could do it while sitting down. My ankle was throbbing. To my surprise, the Trout were crushing the EZ Shrimp. I wondered if that is how it got its name. None of the Trout were particularly large but they were fun to catch. It also kept Brody from buying more Solana.

If you come to my house for Halloween. Brody will probably be in a shark costume handing out Solana. However, I am not sure if it is a trick or treat!

Hot Tuna and Humble Pie

Unusually Warm Temps: Hows The Fishing?

Typically, January and February bring the coldest water temperatures to our local waters. However, Winter has yet to make an appearance in the Lowcountry and the water is unusually warm. So, the fishing pattern is more like Fall than Winter. This is good news for anglers. Trout and Redfish are schooled up and feeding aggressively in shallow water.

On Saturday, it was super windy and rainy. With gale force winds blowing against the tide, there were some big waves in the Wando River. On the run to my first fishing location, I was thinking I should have brought by surfboard. Some of the waves look rideable. No worries for my Pathfinder 2500. The run to Hobcaw Creek was fast and dry. On breezy days, Hobcaw Creek is a good option because it has lots of trees that provide protection from the wind. After pulling up to a wind sheltered shoreline, I deployed the trolling motor and began systematically casting a Z-Man Finesse TRD (Hot Snakes) on a 1/5-ounce jig to oyster bars and irregularities in the marsh. Trout and Redfish were both in residence. They were not particularly large specimens but on such a windy and rainy day, they were most welcome. Nearly all of the strikes were aggressive and occurred in shallow water. The long-term weather forecast is for more warm weather. If the forecast holds true, fishing should be very good in the shallows.

The Cold-Water Fishing Class is full. The response has been overwhelming. Perhaps at some point this Winter, we will actually have cold water!

Fishing With An Expert!

During the summer, our rivers and creeks can become pretty crowded. Especially, on weekends. With the heat index consistently above 100 degrees, the inshore waters can also be uncomfortable. In the Lowcountry, late summer is unbearably hot. Subsequently, I have been fishing more in our nearshore waters. Less people. Cooler temperatures. Lots of fish. What’s not to like?

While my Pathfinder 2200 TRS 22-foot bay boat handled the nearshore waters quite well, there have been times when I felt the need for something a little larger. So, this week, I took delivery of a Pathfinder 2500 Hybrid, which is specifically designed for nearshore fishing. Between taking delivery and rigging of the new boat, I have not been fishing much. Thankfully, Kyle Thaxton has been fishing in the Wando River and provided a great fishing report. Kyle says the Redfish are around and biting natural baits. Look for them along shallow depth transitions and oyster bars. Kyle loves to fish. Kudos to his Dad for taking him.

Yes, it is heat stroke hot. But, as Kyle reports, the fishing is still very good. Both Kyle and I recommend getting out early. Right now, the Charleston Harbor water temperature is above 85-degrees. The water temperature in the rivers and creeks is even higher (especially in the afternoon). High water temperatures can cause the fish to be somewhat lethargic. So, the optimal fishing time is during an early morning incoming tide. The influx of cooler water and low light conditions will often produce the best bite of the day. If by chance the bite does not materialize, at least you won’t get heat stroke!

Thanks again to Kyle Thaxton for the fishing report. Kyle, keep fishing with your Dad. Then, when you grow up and your Dad grows old, take him fishing.

No Picture Lots of Excuses

Fishing this past week was slow. So slow, that I do not have a picture that goes with this article! That’s pretty slow. Poor fishing is usually followed by a series of bad excuses. Here are my top 5.

Excuse Number 1. Unusually high tides made for poor water clarity. When fish cannot see the lure, it is certainly hard for them to eat it.

Excuse Number 2. I hurt my back while helping my daughter move. This reduced my fishing efficiency. When your back hurts, riding around in a skiff is a lot less fun.

Excuse Number 3. After years of fishing (nearly every day), I have come to the realization that fish are simply smarter than me. Deep down, I think I always knew this. However, this week removed all doubt.

Excuse Number 4. It is hot out there. When the water temperature is 88-degrees and the heat index is in triple digits. Fish lose their interest in biting and anglers lose their interest in fishing. Well, at least I do.

Excuse Number 5. I am a big soccer fan and the World Cup was on. Subsequently, I fished around the television schedule verses the optimal time and tide. This is a sure-fire way to catch less fish.

As I look forward to the coming week, the tides will begin to normalize. My back is on the mend. Cooler temperatures are forecast. I feel a little smarter and the World Cup is over. It is time to go catching!