IOP reds feeding

Anchor down, fish creek mouths

The cooling waters of fall have moved in, and redfish in a mix of sizes are feeding heavily in the inshore waterways and Lowcountry creeks around the Isle of Palms north of Charleston. Summer is over, and fewer people are on the water, but the redfish bite is as hot as it’s been since the spring.

Guide Garrett Lacy of Charleston Fishing Adventures has a plan for catching these fish.

“The best place to be right now is in any of the main waterways that have smaller creeks intersecting with them,” said Lacy (843-478-8216). “At high tide, redfish move into those creeks, but once the tide begins to drop, they head just into the main waterway and set up at the mouths of those smaller creeks. As the outgoing tide pulls the baitfish out, the redfish are in perfect ambush spots.”

That means anglers also have perfect ambush spots.

Lacy positions his shallow-draft boat within casting range of one or more creek mouths, puts down his Power Poles and casts live mullet into those areas on multiple rods. He uses 3/0 circle hooks, which allow the redfish to hook themselves if they pick up a bait and begin swimming away.

“I put four rods out and set them all in rod holders. If the fish are in a feeding mood, they won’t ignore these for long,” he said. “And it’s best to not pick up a rod just because it’s getting a bite. Let the rod bend fully, and the fish will be hooked. Then, it’s time to handle the rod and fight the fish.”

Lacy urges anglers not to spend too much time in an unproductive spot waiting on a bite.

“These waterways have way too many creeks and way too many hungry redfish for anglers to sit in one spot without getting a bite for more than 15 minutes,” he said. “The bite often happens before I even get all four rods set up, so if you’re able to put four rods out and wait 15 minutes without putting a fish in the boat, it’s time to move on.”

Moving on may be a matter of just 10 or 20 feet, which can be as simple as raising the Power-Pole and drifting within casting range of the next creek mouth.

Lacy said anglers can expect to catch everything from undersized fish to bull redfish in the 35 to 40-inch range.

“Redfish of all sizes are in these areas right now, and they’re all hungry. You might catch a 16-inch keeper and a 38-inch fish from the same hole on two rods that are sitting in rod holders right next to each other,” he said.