Reds, specks still chomping in Beaufort area

Deep into December, the fishing in the Beaufort and Broad rivers has been a real Christmas gift for guide Danny Rourk of Tailwind Charters.

“The last two weeks have been great for both the redfish and the trout,” said Rourk (843-263-3863). “We haven’t had any rough, cold weather yet to change the water temperature, and they haven’t gotten lethargic yet. That’s what’s been amazing about the last two weeks.

“The redfish we caught the other day, the guy I had with me looked at me and said, ‘these fish are biting like they do in summer. They haven’t slowed down at all.’”

On Wednesday morning, a cold, stiff wind pushed Rourk and outdoor writer Jeff Dennis onto the Beaufort River, putting in at a ramp in Port Royal. A bumpy ride across the ICW in Roark’s Maverick flats boat put them eventually got them to a long, grassy marsh bank, and the specks and reds were ready and willing, despite the cold-front conditions.

Fishing with live mud minnows and plastic imitation shrimp under popping corks, there was consistent action for several hours, topped by a 22-inch, 4-pound speckled trout and a 26-inch redfish.

“I caught my last shrimp about two weeks ago, and I kept them alive at the dock, but we ran out on Tuesday,” Rourk said. “Before I ran out, it was automatic. You could throw a live shrimp out next to a Gulp! Bait and they wouldn’t touch the Gulp! They were so keyed in on the shrimp. But mud minnows will work just as well.”

Rourk said he expects the good trout bite to last another two weeks. The redfish bite? It could last indefinitely.

“We get good trout to Christmas or even beyond,” he said. “It depends on how soon we get some substantial cold. But I’ve had some of my best days between Christmas and New Year’s.”

The redfish have started to school up, as usually happens when the weather cools down and the water clears up. But the weather hasn’t cooled enough to make the reds spooky or particular in their feeding habits.

“If you find fish sitting on a particular (oyster) shell bed, you’d catch 20,” he said. “As quick as you would unhook one, you’d get your bait back in the water and you’d get another bite. Usually you get one fish hooked and he gets in their struggling around, and the rest of them leave. These didn’t.”