January 2012 Archives - Page 2 of 7

The author shows off a nice redfish that fell for a scented soft-plastic bait the week after Christmas 2010 in Hilton Head’s Broad Creek.

Chilled Reds on the Menu

The crunch of footsteps on a heavy frost at Shelter Cove Marina was something you don’t expect to hear on Hilton Head Island, but it was slippery enough for fishermen who moves slowly and carefully loading their gear into Capt. Steve Ranney’s bay boat. […]

Soil testing to get the right chemical balance is important for getting the most out of your food plots.

Check chemistry in spring food plots

Jeff Burleson

Even though warm season plantings are still several months away, preparations can start just after the first of the year. […]

A dark bottom will draw heat from the sun and warm surrounding areas, attacting redfish for comfort or for the crustacaens that are buried in the bottom.

Warm, mud creatures draw reds shallow

Craig Holt

Besides avoiding porpoises in winter, red drum like shallow water — especially water over a dark muddy bottom — for two other reasons. […]

Fishermen up and down South Carolina’s coast can thank the Waddell Mariculture Center for some of the stocked redfish they catch.

The Waddell Mariculture Center and redfish

Jerry Dilsaver

The James M. Waddell Mariculture Center. just inland of Hilton Head in Bluffton, is one of the country’s largest and most-sophisticated facilities for mariculture research. […]

Proper chemical treatment will help you get the most out of your pond.

Intro to ‘Grow Big Fish’ Management Series

Jeff Burleson

Soon after the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, many Americans jot down resolutions intended to improve their lives and reach personal and business goals. […]

Porpoises are the major predators that red drum have to worry about during the winter, partially because the cold weather drives most baitfish out of inshore waters and into the ocean, while the porpoises stay in the flat water all winter.

Reds try to avoid ‘baby killer whales’

Craig Holt

To most people, it’s a mystery why red drum, especially slot-size and just above-slot (18 to 27 inches long), mass into huge schools during the winter in inshore waters along the coast. […]

‘Dead-sticking’ soft-plastic baits like this shrimp is a great technique to catch reds when their metabolism is slower during the winter.

Go slowly in cold water

Jerry Dilsaver

The winter of 2010-2011 was exceptionally cold along the south Atlantic Coast, especially in South Carolina. The first hard cold spell came at Thanksgiving, and it didn’t let up until late February. […]

A hunter, well-camouflaged in a well-camouflaged kayak, slips into a backwater area off Town Creek in search of ducks.

Yakking for Swamp Quackers

Jerry Dilsaver

Suddenly, the low, waking-up buzz of the swamp along Town Creek was pierced by the high-pitched squeal of a wood duck. It announced a trio strafing the decoys with all intentions of landing. […]

Capt. Steve Ranney admires a “rat” red caught in Broad Creek the week after Christmas 2010. Reds can survive in a temperatures from the 30s to the high 80s and in salt to brackish waters.

Adaptable redfish

Jerry Dilsaver

Redfish, known affectionately in the Palmetto State as spot-tail bass, are also called puppy drum, channel bass, rat reds (small), bull reds (large) or just reds. […]