Anglers catching wahoo, dolphin, tuna
April is trolling time off the Murrells Inlet coast for Eddie Rieman, and his target is a mixed bag of wahoo, tuna and dolphin.
“On any day with good weather, I’m going to be trolling for those species. I’ll start at the Georgetown Hole and then go from there, checking my electronics for the right mix of conditions,” he said.
Rieman uses a lot of ballyhoo with Ilander lures. He also enjoys trolling plugs like Nomad lures and cheap cedar plugs.
“On my way to the trolling grounds, I’ll troll some big, cheap cedar plugs. You want some that are big enough to stay in the water when you’re moving pretty fast. I’m not a big fan of high-speed trolling, but I will do it when I’m on the way to the Georgetown Hole or whatever area I’m heading to fish. You can pick up some good bonus fish that way,” he said. “Sometimes that can make the difference between a good day and a great day.”
He likes cedar lures that are purple and black, and if necessary, he’ll paint them himself.
“They don’t have to be pretty, and you definitely don’t want them to be expensive. They just need to have the right size and weight so that they don’t hop off the surface when you get up to speed,” he said.
Watch the weather
One of the biggest factors this month for Rieman is the wind. He said some days it’s just not worth going out and getting pounded around. But he said for anglers with big enough boats, that doesn’t seem to be a problem.
“I’ve had days when I didn’t go out because of the wind, but other guys with bigger boats went out on those same days and had a field day,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to bother the fish too much. But when you’re fishing out of a relatively small boat, it can make for a tough day. It’s safer and just all around more pleasant to pick your days. We usually have enough of those good days this month that it’s not too difficult to sit it out when the weather dictates.”
Once he gets to his targeted fishing spot, Rieman will pull in the big cedar plugs and deploy his Ilander or Nomad lures. He slowly trolls the area, methodically covering water. When he catches fish, he makes another run through the same area.
“When you catch a few fish, you know something about that area is attractive to them. It could be the water temperature or some other feature that changes from day to day. So when you’re hooking up, it’s a good idea to run through that same area. It’s not uncommon to hook up again when doing so,” he said.
On any given day, Rieman said any one of these three species will show up stronger than the other two. On other days, two species will dominate the catch. And on those special days, all three will bite during a trip.
“It’s really a mixed bag time of year when fishing this way. Wahoo, tuna or dolphin might all bite one day. Then the next, maybe you only catch one species or two. I think that adds to the fun of it,” he said.
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