Before the freeze, reds and specks still biting

Wando, Cooper rivers have been productive

The inshore bite for redfish and speckled trout remained good in the Charleston area, right up until the cold front that hit the area at mid-week.

Capt. Jamie Hough of Flat Spot Charters said the speckled trout started to trail off as the cold front approached, but that redfish continued to attack artificial lures, especially on the Wando and Cooper rivers.

“It’s been good for redfish when the tide has started to really run out; they’re quick to come out of the (marsh) grass,” said Hough (843-364-1759). “We’ve been catching them tight to the grass – if not throwing back in the grass.

“If you can find the trout, they’ve been in about three feet of water on dead high or with the water starting out. All the trout have been on the bottom.

“You have to pick up and move your lures real slow.”
Hough has been using a DOA shrimp, fished two ways: on the in-package rigging, which includes a flutter hook, or under a popping cork. He’s also fishing Exude or Riptide soft-plastics, either on a jighead or under a popping cork.

“I don’t even go out without three rods rigged,” he said. “The electric chicken color, the salt-and-pepper and smoke have been really good.”