When October rolls around, it is time to fish for spot-tailed bass. Get to the water any which way you can, and hold on firmly to your rod and reel. Redfish thrive in the fall, and the bite switches on and stays on. Factor in the fact that October is the second month of shrimp-baiting season, and you might say that it doesn’t get any better than this.
If summer is fishing season and winter is hunting season, then fall is the traffic signal for outdoorsman to put down a rod and pick up a firearm. These days, there is no reason to stop fishing year-round, except for maybe a break in the routine, but fishing for red drum in October is the bull’s eye on which you you want to take aim. The change in water temperature from the low 90s back to the 80s is what turns these fish on.
Live bait has been covered extensively in past columns, and while smaller baits may be scarce in the fall, chunk or cut bait seems to be preferred in October. Give them some scent, and give them some flesh, and the redfish will find it.
Pay attention to solunar tables, barometer readings and tide charts as you plan ahead. If there is a 6.5 tide with a west wind, no pyramid sinker is big enough to allow you to fish in the fish; chasing (spot) tails in the flooded spartina grass is a better idea.
Don’t have a boat? Drive to the marsh, get in the water and wade to the fish — you can do it. As long as you don’t cross a big waterway or creek, you should be safe.
Chasing bass in the grass gives the fly-rod fishermen the chances they’ve been looking for to sink a Clouser in front of a bruiser redfish. How would Lefty Kreh approach a tailing redfish, and what would he have tied on? One thing is for sure: without a stealthy approach, complete with clothing colored in natural hues, fish are not going to stick around for long. Place your fly in front of a fish that’s rooting around, looking for a fiddler crab, and wait for the proper moment to strip, let instinct guide you, and then lift the rod tip and play your redfish.
Big reds, breeding and spawning stock, will likely be in deeper waters around structure such as inlets with jetties. In Charleston, the “dynamite hole” off the south jetty is known for holding large redfish in October, and some anglers wait all year for this fishery to kick in. Just remember, it takes stout tackle to battle a large spot-tailed bass; so remember to “protect” the fish by fishing heavy tackle, which leads to a quicker release.
The No. 1 way to pursue redfish in October has to be surf fishing, not only because it can be extremely productive, but also because of the taste of coastal life it brings to the angler. Planning includes picking a choice spot of beach and toting special equipment like sand-spike rod holders and a lantern for light, because some of the best surf fishing occurs just after dark; you’ll want to bring enough provisions to stay a while. You never know when a fish is going to strike; it could be one minute or one hour after your cast, but being at the beach makes the anticipation so much sweeter.
Shrimp-baiting
One point I try to make about utilization of our natural resources is that it is basically good, clean fun. This became clear when I started to shrimp-bait during the first season, some 20 years ago. Countless trips at dusk to mostly quiet waters have yielded nothing but fond memories — plus a whole lot of shrimp to head. Shrimp-baiting remains good, clean fun today — it’s just not as economical as it once was.
Cheap shrimp at the market, the high cost of fuel and the ever-tightening budget of time for recreational pursuits have changed things, but the opportunity to make a bait-shrimping memory still exists. A good formula takes three buddies: one captain, one light man and one net man. Fill the cooler with beverages, and in the course of a few hours, consume the beverages and fill the cooler with shrimp.
Back at the dock, there are mud-ball splatters that have to be cleaned up, and there is always an hour of shrimp-heading to complete. But the takeaway feeling is always the same, night-in and night-out: you are living the high life. Like the old beer commercial said, “It doesn’t get any better than this.”
South Carolina bait-shrimpers would be the perfect candidates to star in those commercials, showing not only a great time being had by all, but of a responsible harvest of natural resources. After you set aside the dollars it takes to get set up, you are basically swapping mud and fish meal for tasty shrimp by continually hauling in your cast net.
Sometimes, the shrimp are running thick, and sometimes, they are running thin — no one said it would be easy — but the challenge is partially the draw.
Lastly, no bait-shrimper can say that he didn’t have any shrimp to fish with for reds or trout. Plenty of shrimp — and other baits — are hauled in on bait-shrimping missions, so figure out how to utilize your trappings when you are planning your next redfish trip. Chasing reds and netting pinks (shrimp) keeps anglers on the water and in the flow during October.
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