Mount Pleasant Pier getting plenty of visits from redfish schools

Russell Anderson caught this 33-inch redfish when a school passed by the Mount Pleasant Pier recently.

Baitfish movements have got reds in a chasing mode around Charleston

With cooling temperatures in recent days, the baitfish are starting to move, and schooling redfish are following them past the Mount Pleasant Pier.

“We’ve had schooling reds on the flat all week during the early morning low tides, and the pier anglers are hooking up,” reported Chris Pounder, the pier’s manager.

“It was like a fishing wave coming through,” said Gerald Grenier, aka “Jigging Jerry,” who was fishing when one school appeared on the upriver side of the pier. “There must have been over 200 reds varying between 30 and 40 inches chasing finger mullet and shrimp.”

Casting a white, ½-ounce Live Target artificial shrimp, Grenier lost his first fish when it ran under the pilings at the pier, but he managed to land a second one that measured 33 inches.

Several other nice fish were also caught on live finger mullet or mud minnows on Carolina rigs with a 1-ounce weight until the school moved down the river.

The prime time for catching the reds is during first 2 to 3 hours of the falling tide, before dead low, and an hour or two after dead low tide.

Anglers are also catching some nice flounder that are measuring between 14 and 19 inches on the same rigs that they use on reds.

Fishing with live mud minnows, anglers are working up and down the pier and following the tides in and out. They are catching flounder in water from 3 to 4 feet deep.

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