Sight-casting is probably one of the most exciting ways to fish. It’s similar to stalking deer or jump-shooting ducks, except getting within range with a fishing rod in hand is not even half the battle. Putting the bait in the fish’s path AND getting him to eat it is when the excitement really starts. Try that sitting in a kayak within spitting distance of that fish, and you’ve just entered the world of Justin Carter.
Carter is a bona-fide kayak fishing guide. He’s part of the Kayak Fish SC outfit in Charleston that’s owned by Tommy Samuels. Kayak Fish SC (843-217-0271 or www.kayakfishsc.com) is one of only a handful of kayak-fishing guide services in South Carolina. The emphasis is on fishing because there are a slew of kayak tour guides, and a few of these will rent you a fishing kayak and maybe even offer a little advice on where you might catch a fish. The guides at KFSC will take you fishing, even if you don’t own a kayak and need to use one of theirs. Samuels set me up to fish with Carter as they have a weekday/weekend rotation and I was down on a Thursday.
I took a liking to Carter right off the bat during our initial trip-planning conversation. We have a lot in common. He was born and raised in the Upstate, went to school at the College of Charleston, loves to fish and even said he was game for an alligator-hunting excursion. During our trip planning, Carter suggested that we spend a day in Bulls Bay, just east of Awendaw, sight-fishing for bonnethead sharks. I said, “Count me in.”
Bonnethead sharks are unique among southern shark species, and unlike most sharks, they ply extreme shallow waters inshore. This makes them easier to spot when fishing shallow bays and backwaters, the typical topography of Bulls Bay. It’s in these locations, particularly those with a lot of exposed oyster shell at low tide, where the fish hunt for shrimp, crabs, and small baitfish.
“Bonnetheads like to hug the bank searching for food,” Carter said. “What most people would call tailing is actually the bonnethead shaking his head back and forth, using it’s ampullae of lorenzini, the sensory organs in their head, to detect food.”
Problem was, when you’d see them thrashing in the shallows, they’d often be gone by the time you paddled over to them. The problem is solved by using quartered crab for bait. Even after a fish gives away his presence and sounds, he doesn’t gone far, and the smell of fresh cut crab usually guarantees a bite in a matter of minutes.
“Once I spot a fish, I like to get two baits out pretty quickly, so it helps to be rigged and ready,” Carter said. “Put one on each side of where you last saw the fish. He’s either going right or left, so you have him covered.”
On an extremely active tide, Carter said it was possible to just about put the bait in the fish’s mouth. For this he uses a 5/0 or 6/0 circle hook tied to a 3-foot section of 40-pound wire leader rigged Carolina style with minimal weight. Bonnetheads have small teeth that are capable of cutting regular fishing line, but it’s their rough skin, particularly the tail, which will provide you with a drag-ripping initial run, then a backward snap of the rod and a reel full of slack line.
“I think the angle from a kayak makes it worse, because you’re only a foot or so above the level of the fish, whereas in a motorboat you fight the fish almost vertically,” he said. “Of course, you won’t experience a bonnethead towing you down a creek or pulling you around in circles in a motorboat.”
Carter explained that his best bonnethead tides are two hours before and two hours after low tide, when bonnetheads, and the bait they’re hunting are more exposed. During other cycles, he has success by anchoring up with a stake pole and fan-casting his baits into deep holes or intersections in creeks.
Bonnetheads don’t tolerate much boat traffic when they’re in the shallows, so the furthest, most remote areas, those almost inaccessible to powerboats, hold the greatest fishing potential.
With the wind at our backs, Carter and I had a really nice run, casting for flounder, reds or trout while keeping our eyes peeled for a bonnethead to show itself in one of the tiny finger creeks that meander through the perimeter of Bulls Bay. I will admit the foot-pedal mirage-drive propulsion system on his Hobie Pro Angler, leaving him both hands free to cast with, had me a little jealous. Of course, I took the high road, realizing I was the only one, in my Wilderness Systems Tarpon 140, who was truly Palmetto Paddling.
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