Trout, reds, flounder all in consistent summer patterns
The phenomenal speckled trout bite that began last fall is still going, and kayak-bound anglers are taking special advantage of it – and other inshore species – in Lowcountry waters.
Stephen Harter of Williams, who spent last week at Edisto Island, fishing the waters around St. Helena Sound, said his key to success was slowing down and targeting dropoffs in creeks near live oyster shells using a Trout Trick.
“It looks sort of like a finesse worm, and the best way to fish it is rig it weedless with a flutter hook and throw it to the edge of the drop and just let it sink, maybe twitch it a little on the fall. That has been working real well for me,” Harter said.
Up the coast around Charleston Justin Carter of KayakFishSC (843-725-8784) said plenty of his clients have been catching redfish, but the bite on artificials has definitely taken a back seat to natural baits like mud minnows and pieces of crab.
“The key to fishing artificial baits, like the Z-man Paddlerz or Shrimpz, is to just work it slow,” said Carter. “The water temps are already up in the low 80s and that’s slowing the fish down. I also load up on scent when it gets hot. But if that’s not your thing, it’s hard to beat fishing a live bait along a ditch or in a cut where the fish are moving.”
How shallow will flounder get? I found out last week, fishing near Edisto. I noticed something disrupting water in the shallows between two humps of sand. With only a topwater bait tied on, I cast to the sand more out of curiosity than anything else, and the water exploded.
After wrestling a 20-inch flounder into my kayak and unhooking it, I held the fish up to my face with both hands so I could judge its size. Never underestimate the ability of a 1-inch thick fish to wiggle his way into an inch-and-a-half of water.
Be the first to comment