Mullet migration brings South Carolina’s bull redfish to life
People weren’t exactly lining the streets, but the two college students, the lovely young lady and the “Reel Fishhead” were just as excited as they made their way through the waters of Charleston Harbor to do a uniquely southern version of running with the bulls.
Cap. Rick Hiott has been running with bull redfish for many years and looks forward to the late summer/early fall when adult redfish, aka bull reds, converge on Charleston Harbor for the annual migration of mullet as the baitfish leave the creeks and head out to the ocean.
Whether the bulls invade Charleston Harbor due to their own spawning urges or just to stock up on groceries for the coming winter is a matter of debate among both anglers and biologists. For whatever reason, a piece of chunked mullet, cut blue crab, or whole shrimp fished on the bottom near drop-offs that feature some type of hard structure will quickly have anglers running for their rods.
Catching these big reds is on ongoing summer event, but it really heats up when the mullet run and anglers from all over come out to run with the bulls. Hiott (843-412-6776), who has volunteered many hours toward conservation efforts of these magnificent fish, urges anglers to use extreme care when handling these fish as the future of the area’s redfish stocks are, quite literally, right there in their hands.
“These big fish were not meant to be held vertically,” he said. “These are not the puppy drum caught back in the creeks, they weigh so much more, it’s easier to injure their internal organs by mishandling.”
In the attached video, Hiott and company demonstrate not only how to run with these bulls, but how to handle them before, during, and after the fight.
