Tailing Redfish - Unforgettable Solo Trip - Cape Romain SC

Stalking tailing redfish on a flooded grass flat is one of the most exciting types of fishing in our area and it happens to be one of my favorite. On a recent solo scouting trip around Cape Romain,  I pulled up on a flat that always looked like it had potential. Moments after pulling back the throttle and sliding the boat into the grass, I saw the first tail at the back of the flat.  As I reached for the fly rod, another tail caught my eye from the opposite direction and before I had a chance to tie on a fly, I found myself surrounded by tailing redfish. Instincts were telling me to grab the flyrod and bust as many as I could, but I must have been running a fever that day and grabbed the camera instead. Counting out loud as I walked towards the commotion in the distance, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7---8, I counted 8 tails in the air at one time! Pretty amazing to watch so many happy redfish feeding in the grass all once and I was lucky enough to have gotten a few decent shots.

Redfish generally "tail" on the flooded grass flats from April - Oct when fiddler crabs are abundant and water temps remain relatively warm. Please contact me if you would like to find out more information. 

-Capt. Jordan

Top Water Redfish, Trout, and Flounder - Georgetown SC

The weekend of Sept 24th, I had the pleasure of fishing with Charlie Wray from Virgina Beach who made the trip all the way down to South Carolina to fish for the entire weekend. Charlie normally makes his annual fishing trip to the Florida Keys so I had the pressure on me to show him a good time and find some fish. It wasn't long into our first trip before a feisty redfish made an impression on Charlie. We picked away at the trout on the higher tides with DOAs and Grubs, then proceeded to bang up the redfish on the lower tides. Charlie fooled a couple of big redfish with a top water plug which made the drive to SC worth while. A couple of flounder also took a ride with us which capped off a great weekend of fishing in South Carolina.

Aug 2011: Georgetown SC, Cape Romain, Myrtle beach SC

Late Summer Update - Inshore fishing around the Winyah Bay and Cape Romain areas have been extremely productive over the last several weeks. Redfish and Flounder are being caught in shallow water and along the banks around inlets and jetties, and sea trout have made a strong appearance as of late. Redfish and flounder have been reacting to various artificial baits but the most productive bait has been the Morning Glory - DOA Shad on a 1/8oz Chartreuse jig-head. Topwater plugs at daylight have been drawing some exciting strikes from redfish and trout as well. Bone Color and Black/Chartreuse have been my best colors, preferring the Bone color in the clear water and the Black/Chartreuse in stained or muddy water.  

The Tarpon Fishing has been excellent since the mullet run began in late August. The beaches are packed with huge wads of mullet and the larger predator fish(like tarpon and sharks) are in hot pursuit. We’ve been doing a lot of scouting to pattern these fish on different tide cycles and conditions, and trying new fishing techniques, from running the beach looking for the big ocean fish, to flyfishing for “laid up” tarpon in the shallows early in the am. We’ve learned a lot this season about our migrant tarpon and we continue to improve our techniques for catching them. 
 

 
Forecast: With Autumn right around the corner, the fishing only gets better! As water temps cool, game fish sense the change in season so they are actively feeding more aggressively than they have all year. Big numbers of trout can be caught under the right conditions - clear water, lights winds, and overcast skies is the ideal scenario for trout. I’ll be throwing my favorite artificial lures which include the DOA Paddletail and 3’ Shrimp in Electric Chicken, Figi Chicken(trout like chicken too), and Pink Ice. I recently discovered an innovative new popping cork from MidCoast Products that doesn't tangle and you and can literally throw it as far as you want. Check them out at http://midcoastproducts.com and look for the “Inticer” and “Outcast” models. 


Redfishing will offer anglers excellent sighfishing opportunities as they will be gorging on shrimp, crabs, and baitfish in shallow water. Look for them on the lower tidal states and come rigged with weedless flukes or Gulp baits on jig heads, or any fly patterns that mimic baitfish or shrimp. 

Tarpon will stick around thru Oct as long as water temps remain above 70. Most of the fish Ive caught in Late Sept/Oct are large females in the 110-150# class so be prepared for a serious battle with a late season tarpon.

Please contact me with any questions and we hope that you’ll book a trip with us soon to take advantage of some excellent fall fishing!

Capt. Jordan Pate