Every September and October, mature “bull” redfish that no longer inhabit shallow estuaries gather nearshore, close to river inlets, to spawn. This is an ideal time to fish the surf from a barrier island beach and have a chance at jumbo fish.
Even though South Carolina’s slot limit — 15 to 23 inches — prohibits keeping such a fish, many anglers tussle with them just for the thrill and a photo. Most bull reds are targeted with bait using a fish-finder rig with a 3- to 6-ounce pyramid sinker to hold it on the bottom; it’s a Carolina rig for surf fishing in that the sinker is attached to a hollow plastic slide above a heavy swivel. Below the swivel is about 18 to 24 inches of fluorocarbon leader and a circle hook.
A large circle hook should be used for two reasons: first, they are very efficient in hooking fish when the rod is left unattended in a sand spike; and second, since all the fish caught will be released, a circle hook will reduce the number of gut-hooked fish dramatically. Circle hooks almost invariably hook fish in the corner of the mouth.
A popular surf-fishing beach in the Beaufort area is on the surf side of Capers Island. It’s located at the end of Trenchards Inlet and only accessible by boat. Launch at Station Creek Landing or the landing at Fripp Island Bridge. Many people fish the low, rising tide, but if you are fishing around the high tide, be sure your boat is double-anchored well off the back side of the beach, or you will have a long wait for the tide to refloat your boat.
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