Charleston weekly fishing report

Redfish, speckled trout are stars of the show

The fishing report for the Charleston, S.C. area is excellent for a number of species, mainly redfish and speckled trout. And as the water continues to warm up, local guides and anglers expect it to only get better.

Capt. Jeremy Espiritu of Shallow Thoughts Inshore Fishing said while the weather has been inconsistent, the inshore bite has been anything but. His anglers are catching plenty of redfish in a variety of sizes, and in a variety of places around Charleston.

“The inshore bite for redfish has been real good, despite the inconsistent weather patterns. I’ve been using live bait and some cut bait and having real good days. On flats, most of the hook ups have been on dead bait on the bottom. As for structure fishing, both dead and live bait have been working on the lower tides,” said Espiritu (843-509-4751).

And redfish aren’t the only fish biting consistently for Espiritu and his clients. The speckled trout have also been biting well, but he’s using a different tactic for catching those.

“I’ve also been catching sea trout using live bait under a Four Horsemen cork,” he said.

And Espiritu has just the ticket for parents looking for a way to get the kids some vitamin D in a safe environment during the COVID-19 outbreak. He’ll not only put them on some quality fish, but he’ll also teach them skills they’ll never learn in a traditional classroom.

Do some social distancing on the water for a change of pace

“School’s out until (at least) April. So if you want to get away from the COVID-19 hysteria, I’ll take you and your kids, or just your kids and a couple of their friends fishing everyday for a few days out of the week and teach them how to really catch fish in this area,” he said.

Also on this week’s Charleston fishing report, Capt. Addison Rupert of Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) has been finding plenty of redfish. He’s put his clients on some quality black drum lately as well. He said the morning bite has been great, and most of his anglers have caught plenty before lunchtime. But he has left the fish biting most days due to his clients’ schedules, and has passed his bait on to other captains who tell him the bite has been staying hot well past noon.

Rupert said on several occasions in the past week, he’s had three anglers fighting fish at the same time, and that at least one such triple turned into a quadruple before the first redfish was landed.

Espiritu and Rupert both agree it’s a great time to go fishing. And they are catching their fish in a variety of places. Deep holes in Charleston Harbor, along grass lines in the rivers, and under docks are all hotspots right now. Don’t let the spring bite pass you by. Practice social distancing on the water and break up the monotony of the coronavirus news cycle.