Mixing it up in the lowcountry

Stable weather means good fishing for redfish, speckled trout

“The fishing in March and April throughout South Carolina’s lowcountry is always good, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the fishing in May,” said Capt. Stephen Flook of Unashamed Adventures, who fishes the waters from Georgetown to Charleston.

The big difference, Flook said, is brought about by the stability of the weather.

“In March and April, we always have stretches of warm weather interrupted by cold spells, and some of those cold spells can be really brutal. And when that happens, the bait scatters, less bait comes inshore, and the fishing can go from gangbusters to unpredictable. Sometimes, they just shut down,” he said.

But by May, the weather is generally stabilized to the point that air and water temperatures are very consistent. And that helps for a number of reasons.

“That brings the bait in strong, and it concentrates the bait. They don’t scatter out like they do when cold fronts come through. That alone helps put the fish on a much more normal pattern, and a pattern you can build off of each day. You’re doing a lot less guessing this month as opposed to March and April,” he said.

But that doesn’t mean the fishing is automatic.

“You still have to work at it. Even though the baitfish are concentrated in bigger numbers, they move around a lot. And the redfish and speckled trout are following the bait. So where you caught them today, they won’t necessarily be there tomorrow or the next day,” he said.

But the general patterns are pretty much the same, even if the exact locations aren’t.

“Grass lines are always in play. Oyster beds are too. And feeder creeks are probably my favorite. When you find all three together, that can be a honey hole that keeps you busy all day long,” he said.

Speckled start

When Flook leaves the boat landing first thing in the morning this month, he’s expecting to catch some trout as the sun rises.

“Early morning usually provides some good topwater action for trout. This is especially true when you find oyster bars that are flooded by just a foot or so of water. The specks really gather around these spots as the tide is either coming in or going out. Catch that at sunrise, and you can find some truly explosive topwater bites,” he said.

But when those conditions are all in place, but nothing is hitting a MirrOlure topwater, or a Spook Jr., Flook (864-430-8830)said don’t look too far away.

“Sometimes, they are not right over the top of the oysters, but are anywhere from 10 to 20 feet off of them. It’s a numbers game – some days you just have to cast a lot to find them. Other days, you can catch them more easily. But the fish are there, so take your time and get those casts in,” he said.

Flook uses a standard “walk-the-dog” retrieve with these topwater lures, and said anglers need to stay ready at all times.

“Some days, you’ll get hit on most of your casts. Other days, the bites come fewer and farther between. It’s easy to get into a lull and begin daydreaming on days when the bite is slower. But you need to stay alert, because when a bite surprises you, it may be one of only a handful of bites that day. You don’t want to miss it because you’re not ready,” he said.

Once the sun gets up, the topwater bite usually slows down. Flook will switch over to soft plastics on jigheads then, and he will continue to catch some trout on those. But on most days, the redfish will dominate the late morning bite. And that will continue to be the trend throughout the afternoon as well.

Go shallow

“Once the sun gets up and the topwater bite slows down, I like to find small feeder creeks that have oyster banks in them. Redfish will stack up in those small creeks, feeding on baitfish that are trying to hide out of the main waterway,” Flook said.

Sometimes, the openings of those creeks are very shallow, and sometimes they are almost completely cut off from the main waterway.

“Even when the tide falls out, if enough water remains in those creeks, the redfish will stay in them,” he said.

When that’s the case, Flook will park his boat and make casts into the small creek, or he’ll get out on foot and walk into them if the footing is good enough.

“It can be tricky sometimes to get a cast in there, and be able to retrieve it out when a fish bites. You have to cast with some weird angles, and sometimes a fish will bite and run you into the weeds or into an oyster bar that’s in the middle of the creek,” he said.

So Flook said it’s important to be aggressive once you hook up in such situations.

“You have to really horse them in sometimes. And you’ll break off sometimes, but you’ll also get broken off if you let the fish just have its way,” he said.

He said anglers have to walk a fine line though.

“If they run you into the weeds or into oysters and you just can’t budge them, sometimes it works to open your bail and let slack in your line. The fish will often make a move when you do that, and put themselves at a better angle for you to gain leverage on them,” he said. 

Slow it down

As a fishing guide, Stephen Flook observes a lot of anglers. His job is to help them catch fish, so he’s tuned in on what works, and what doesn’t. He said the biggest mistake he sees anglers make is that they reel too fast when using soft plastics.

“Right off the bat, most anglers – even experienced anglers – reel faster than they should this time of year,” said Flook. “So I suggest that they slow down until they can feel the lure scrape the bottom every so often as they reel.”

He cautions, however, against allowing the lure to rest on the bottom.

“The bottom is full of oyster shells, so you’ll either get stuck or get your line cut if you allow your lure to sit still on the bottom,” he said.

He also suggests adding some action to your lure during the retrieve.

“I don’t like just a straight, steady retrieve. I like to reel, then give it a twitch, then reel, twitch, etc. On some days, it probably doesn’t matter. But when the bite is tough, just that little variation can make a big difference,” he said.