Sheepshead Fishing: Murrells Inlet SC

Some great weather over the last couple of weeks has allowed us to make the short run out to the nearshore wrecks along the Grand Strand where we are catching good numbers of sheepshead. Water temps have fallen to the mid 50s which is the magic number to start targeting sheeps on the reefs. As the water continues to cool, more sheepshead will leave the inshore estuaries to congregate around structure and live bottom in 25ft+. We primarily target sheepshead with light tackle set ups, using fiddler crabs, clam strips, or barnacles for bait. Notorious for being bait stealers and scrappy fighters, many of the sheepshead we catch in the winter average 4-6lbs, with 8-10lb fish thrown in for good measure.
I recently had the pleasure of fishing with good friend Capt. Shane Bashor of Sidekick Charters out of Murrells Inlet SC, and we made the quick run from Capt Dicks Marina to an uncharted reef in 40ft of water. Within minutes of throwing the anchor, fish were coming over the side of the boat... Sea Bass, Redfish, Flounder, and Sheepshead were hitting the deck all day. Fishing in December is awesome... especially when you know its only gonna get better!

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.

January 2011 - Cape Romain

 
We are still finding the large schools of resident redfish in the ICW and creeks around Bulls Bay but finding them is one thing, getting them to bite in this cold is another. Various soft plastic baits like gulps, exudes and black and gold clouser flies are still working well, However the best results we had this month were on Tube Baits juiced up with Pro Cure. Tube baits are perfect for rigging weedless when fishing around grass or oyster beds, and the hollow body allows the pro cure to really hold inside the bait. Tube Baits also have great action when fished slow which is what how you want to be fishing this time of year. My preferred color in the ICW is a Rootbeer with Gold Flakes, and a Smoke Silver for the clear water in the Creeks and Bays.
January is a perfect month to get out and scout new redfish spots and I was able to get out a couple of days and do just that. My scouting trips usually start in Google Earth and I’ll try to find a creek or a flat with all the signs of redfish habitat.... Shallow Mud/Oyster Flats with deeper water nearby, small feeder creeks and hard bottom/oyster lined creeks. I try to pick the bluebird days with a midday low tide which will make spotting redfish easier. Being creatures of habit, I can usually expect to find them in the same general area year around.