Capt. Rick Hiott, who has volunteered many hours toward conservation efforts for redfish, urges anglers to use extreme care when handling adult members of the population, as the future of the area’s redfish stocks are, quite literally, in their hands.
“These big fish were not meant to be held vertically,” Hiott said. “These are not the puppy drum caught back in the creeks; they weigh so much more, it’s easier to injure their internal organs by mishandling.”
Once a large adult red is boated, additional care is taken to remove the hook, measure it, get a quick photo, and get the fish back in the water as soon as possible. Hiott avoids the use of any grip or net to land adult redfish, preferring to keep the fish horizontal from capture to release. He employs an effective, though unorthodox, tactic to get the fish back to depth quickly.
“You can do the plunge; (that’s) what I call it,” Hiott said. “One of the marine biologists showed it to me. Hold the fish above your head. Give it the plunge, kind of pile-drive it headfirst down into the water. That gets them deeper into the water and spurs them to head back to the bottom. That’s been working really good for me.”
Fishing for bull reds is all catch-and-release, as South Carolina’s slot limit allows reds to be kept only between 15 and 23 inches.
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