Inshore Fishing Archives - Page 247 of 287

July 9, 2026

Bryan Goodwin admires an over-slot redfish caught in the waters around Harkers Island last January.

Code Red Winter!

It was evident from the start of the cold January morning at the public ramp next to the Harkers Island Bridge that Bryan Goodwin probably was an extraordinary saltwater fishing guide. […]

A dark bottom will draw heat from the sun and warm surrounding areas, attacting redfish for comfort or for the crustacaens that are buried in the bottom.

Warm, mud creatures draw reds shallow

Craig Holt

Besides avoiding porpoises in winter, red drum like shallow water — especially water over a dark muddy bottom — for two other reasons. […]

Porpoises are the major predators that red drum have to worry about during the winter, partially because the cold weather drives most baitfish out of inshore waters and into the ocean, while the porpoises stay in the flat water all winter.

Reds try to avoid ‘baby killer whales’

Craig Holt

To most people, it’s a mystery why red drum, especially slot-size and just above-slot (18 to 27 inches long), mass into huge schools during the winter in inshore waters along the coast. […]

The SCDNR has proposed a 10-fish daily creel limit and a 12-inch (fork length) size minimum for sheepshead.

Biologists in South Carolina are coming to grips with the responsibility of regulating sheepshead in state waters, thanks to federal fisheries managers turning that task over to individual states. […]

The author shows off a nice redfish that fell for a scented soft-plastic bait the week after Christmas 2010 in Hilton Head’s Broad Creek.

Chilled Reds on the Menu

Jerry Dilsaver

The crunch of footsteps on a heavy frost at Shelter Cove Marina was something you don’t expect to hear on Hilton Head Island, but it was slippery enough for fishermen who moves slowly and carefully loading their gear into Capt. Steve Ranney’s bay boat. […]

Fishermen up and down South Carolina’s coast can thank the Waddell Mariculture Center for some of the stocked redfish they catch.

The Waddell Mariculture Center and redfish

Jerry Dilsaver

The James M. Waddell Mariculture Center. just inland of Hilton Head in Bluffton, is one of the country’s largest and most-sophisticated facilities for mariculture research. […]

‘Dead-sticking’ soft-plastic baits like this shrimp is a great technique to catch reds when their metabolism is slower during the winter.

Go slowly in cold water

Jerry Dilsaver

The winter of 2010-2011 was exceptionally cold along the south Atlantic Coast, especially in South Carolina. The first hard cold spell came at Thanksgiving, and it didn’t let up until late February. […]

Capt. Steve Ranney admires a “rat” red caught in Broad Creek the week after Christmas 2010. Reds can survive in a temperatures from the 30s to the high 80s and in salt to brackish waters.

Adaptable redfish

Jerry Dilsaver

Redfish, known affectionately in the Palmetto State as spot-tail bass, are also called puppy drum, channel bass, rat reds (small), bull reds (large) or just reds. […]

Fiddler crabs and medium- to medium-light spinning tackle are a perfect match for winter sheepshead.

Where to catch sheepshead

Phillip Gentry

The better places to find sheepshead will be those that get less fishing pressure. Capt. John Ward recommended trying these locations until you find some of your own: […]

About one-third of all fishermen who bought saltwater licenses in South Carolina in 2010 fish from the shoreline or attached structures like docks, bridges and piers.

Take it to the bank

Phillip Gentry

When Wallace Jenkins and the marine resources division of the SCDNR hit the road to obtain public opinion about future management of the state’s sheepshead fishery, they had a good understanding of who they would be talking to. […]