Newsletter

Keeping the slack out of your fly line increases chances of a good hookset.

Get the slack out

Blind casting has its hang-ups, literally. A jig and trailer tossed near oyster shells or grass will often get stuck, but you have to get the lure close to structure or you won’t catch many fish. […]

Poling is a common way to move a boat across a shallow flat for redfish.

Good St. Helena Sound/Coosaw River spots

John Gribb

Redfish spots abound around Beaufort, and most are indicated on the Top Spot map #N233. Knowing good spots gives you one-third of the equation for success. […]

The author caught this hefty redfish on a jighead and soft-plastic trailer.

Port Royal Sound also has plenty of redfish spots. Several are accessible from two of the more popular landings: the Chechessee River landing at the foot of the SC 170 Bridge and the Alljoy landing on the May River in historic old Bluffton. […]

Ralph Davis fooled this red with a jig and Bass Assassin trailer.

Reds:

Dan Kibler

The average Palmetto State redfish begins lifet in late summer as an egg spawned on a deep area of hardbottom near the mouth of a big inlet or bay… […]

For obvious reasons, speckled trout are often referred to as “yellow mouths.”

Gauging trout recovery

Bryan Bowers

Spotted seatrout — “specks” to many coastal anglers — are a favorite target for many light- tackle fisherman; fun to catch and good to eat. […]

Floating or ‘fluttering’

Davy Hite

In April across South Carolina, a lot of bass have just spawned, there are still a few fish spawning, and you can even catch a few prespawn bass. […]

Button-popping proud? The author shows off his 2011 gobbler, killed during a paddle through the Sumter National Forest.

Paddle up an old tom

Phillip Gentry

According to the regulations posted in the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ Rules and Regulations handbook for 2011-12, it is unlawful to take a wild turkey from a watercraft. […]

Fishing shallow cover is the ideal tactic for largemouth bass and several other species in April.

‘Awesome’ April arrives

Terry Madewell

If “Madness” was the word for March, then “Awesome” will be the word for April in terms of fishing success on the Santee Cooper lakes. […]

Currents

The bloom isn’t off the rose just yet

Dan Kibler

Spring is the time of rebirth. The dogwoods and azaleas are blooming, wild turkeys are courting and different species of fish are moving to and fro, headed back from their winter haunts to the spots where they’ll spend the summer — sort of like the snowbirds in their yachts heading north on the Intercoastal Waterway. […]