Trout, redfish bite is still strong in Beaufort area

Live and artificial baits producing good catches around low tide

Capt. Tuck Scott at Bay Street Outfitters in Beaufort said that fishing in his area has been strong over the past few days for both speckled trout and redfish, but it hasn’t been as easy as just tossing out a hunk of cut bait and waiting for a bite.

Several different baits and lures have been working, but being able to find fish has been the key.

Scott (843-524-5250) said fishermen are finding trout in deep holes, sharp creek bends and around oyster beds, especially late on the outgoing tide and early on the incoming tide. Live mud minnows, live shrimp, Gulp! and Zman soft plastics are all producing fish.

Mud minnows have been producing a little more consistently than other baits on the outgoing tide, but Scott said trout have been changing their bait preferences on a regular basis, so change baits regularly if you’re not getting enough bites.

Capt. Richard Sykes said redfish are still ganging up in tight schools and sticking to the shallow flats. On warmer days, the schools – which sometimes number into the hundreds – are breaking up into smaller pods, some with as few as a dozen fish. Polarized sunglasses are of paramount importance in finding schools of cruising reds.

Reds are biting best at low tide in one to two feet of water, and at the very beginning of the incoming tide. They are spooky, and Sykes’ best results have been when he casts a Gulp! shrimp well ahead of a school and works it painfully slowly until the reds reach it.

Reds aren’t completely lock-jawed at high tide, so don’t give up when the oyster bars and spartina grass get flooded. Cast around the edges of the grass with mud minnows under a popping cork. Redfish are currently the top food target for dolphins, so these fish are staying in water as shallow as possible.