A little help would be awesome

Saltwater Inshore Discussion
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Guys this is my first post i know but any help from you guys would be great. I have been reading up on here since i moved here after thanksgiving. I bought my first boat a couple months after I got here (Key West 1720, 70 Yam) I have been trying to get out on the water almost every weekend I have been in town. Ive put a lot of time in fishing the ICW behind sullivans the Harbor/jetties and a little in the wando. However besides a few fluke reds and a trout all I seem to be able to catch is SharpNose sharks. I mean a lot of sharks… Ive tried everything I know but just dont seem to be able to find the spots or what they want to bite. Ive used muds carolina rigged on floats. I fished artificals and more recently have been casting for menhaden to bring out to the jetties and in the harbor. ive trolled spoons and live bait out there. Havent done much dock fishing yet. I would really like the target Reds the most and Cobia would be fun to find around the jetties. Any advice you guys can give me would be incredible. I love being on the water and just owning a boat has been great, so i cant complain id just like to bring a fish home more that once every 5 trips! Im not looking for anyones spots or anything im just brand new to the charleston fishing scene and looking to learn. Im putting my time in out there and i am learning what not to do at a lot of places, just need some work on what to do. haha

Thanks guys!

-jim

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I know more about fishing some of the areas you are talking about by reading other people’s posts than I do by personally fishing those areas…sounds like you know the technique, you just gotta be in the right place at the right time and get a little lucky…I know this doesn’t specifically answer your question but I think if you keep doing what you are doing, keep a fishing journal and read, read, read about other people’s reports and experiences on here you will eventually turn the corner…good luck and keep trying!

The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org

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I’ll be back after midnight tonight to try to help out a little.

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this thread is full of great info. Read it for sure, it will help.
http://old.charlestonfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=112560

  • I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.
5

Sorry I didn’t get back to you when I said I would.

To catch fish, think like a fish. Visualize what they do.

Most of my fishing is with a Carolina rig on the bottom depending upon strength of current. Use the least amount of weight possible to get it down. Don’t forget sometimes only a splitshot will do.

Google Charles Wenner, he has several outstanding publications through SCDNR about the habits of spotted seatrout, red drum and flounder to name a few. They are outstanding.

Personally, when I decide to fish a new to me area, I scout it at low tide to note the structure exposed. Take notes, GPS readings if possible, etc. If you have a depthfinder/fishfinder, take note of the underwater, hidden structure also. Fish will lay on the down current side for a meal, they always face into the current.

These species are predators, and they naturally expend the least amount of energy for the greatest return. Not lazy, just opportunistic.

On the beaches at low, look for gullies formed in the sand showing the path of the outgoing tide back to the sea. These are the highways bait fish take and the larger fish will lay nearby for a meal. If the water is up slightly/moderately, look for the breakers nearest the shore to show you the areas. Breakers form in shallow water. An ideal location is where a set of breakers ends, followed by a calm area (indicating deeper water), followed by another immediate set of breakers. The calm area is the highway for the bait to retreat through, and there the predators will wait. This works every time. The fish will be there, just a matter of the proper timing of the tide cycle after the change.

Along our immediate coast, there are several areas containing groins/rocks/jetties jutting out in a perpendicular fashion. Fish the ends of the rocks on the downstream, outgoing side for trout/flounder. Fish the side of the rocks for BSB and sheepshead.

At Breach Inlet, fish the SI side between the bridge and first set of groins from the shore, fancasting an area from deep to sh

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Thanks so much for the input. I will give it all a try and keep you posted! See you on the water!

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Gator - I’m fairly new to the inshore thang as well and still figuring it out. I’ve been reading on here a lot and something that seems to help me since there are small bits and pieces of info over long periods of time is to cut/paste good tips into a word doc when you read them. Then, I have all of those good tips in one place and can review again on occassion. I always find a few things that I have forgot with time (like most other things in my life!). The common thing that is always available here is rig/bait options, there are just a few common with variations on each of those. It seems another key point is not just locating a spot but then knowing when they’re active in that spot in relation to the tide, which is where a log is critical. The 3rd critical items seems to be technique with each of those presentations. That’s the tougher part - time and practice - but another common factor is being cognizant of your bait presentation in realtion to the current. I honestly believe that you can put two people in a place with all things in the first 2 areas being same and correct but the one fisherman with the proper technique/presentation for that situation/species will “catch” while the other “fishes”. My point is take all of this information here, but focus on what’s being said within those three elements and focus on those three elements with a test plan for each trip and then document what worked and what didn’t and continue varying the patterns in the next trip/test until you find something working and you have that recorded so you can repeat it while trying some more things/areas.

One other thing that I found helpful, is get a friend to split a guide trip with you and let the guide know you’re trying to improve your techniques, etc and they will specifically work with you on that part of your fishing while you’re out with them. They helped me have a little better understanding of what to look for and also made me want to do it again for the additional lessons. Since I also coach a sport, I know t

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Whew…a lot of great info…I am a simple fisherman…Arguably the best fishing for Reds/Trout are in the months between late July to December…I know there are exceptions…Go when water is about 2 hours before low to catch bait(Fingers,Hadens, and shrimp starting predominatly in August)…look for points with oyster rakes to fish over when water gets up…keep bait alive…line up boat so to fish out of back or front to keep line s tight…Carolina rig…set drag…put out 3 or 4 swords…sit back…drink a choice bev…Thats all for now… will post back when mullet/Hadens leave for baits of choice

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go out at low tide and ride the areas you want to fish.

do you see all that hard stuff that you don’t want to hit with your boat?

hard stuff- not soft mud.

now go back and fish around all that stuff when it’s covered with water.

saltwater fishing 101- that’ll be $100 and i take pay pal.

come back after next weekend and tell us what you caught and i’ll give you the next set of tips.

Jeff Davis is my President

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that was nice reading a bunch of good info instead of someone trying to bust your chops.

As for sharks… That’s all we caught off the dock last weekend. Just that time of year inshore for tons of em.

If your doing what you said, it is only a matter of time before you hit your groove like Bonzo stated.

Good luck! On the fishing log, never did it but sure wish I would have. It’s a lot easier having people believe fishing stories when it is documented.

< Evil is simply the absence of God >

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Structure is top choice for fishing but all you need is a depression and it will hold fish.I have several spots that have depressions not holes and they will hold trout.A depression to me is a dip in an otherwise flat area.A depression behind a big shell rake I know is a hot spot for me every time.I call it the “Horse shoe”.Guys i take out know where it is.Big oyster bar shaped like a ??.The moving water over the rake made a 1 foot depression 10 feet wide behind the rake and that is where the trout pile up.No shells,no structure just hard sand.

Stonoman

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Thanks for all the advice guys. It finally paid off the other day.
I caught 3 reds in the wando on minnows fished with carolina rig or doa jig head.

17", 22" and 23.5"

First reds in Charleston and all slot or above!

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quote:
Originally posted by Bad Habit

go out at low tide and ride the areas you want to fish.

do you see all that hard stuff that you don’t want to hit with your boat?

hard stuff- not soft mud.

now go back and fish around all that stuff when it’s covered with water.

saltwater fishing 101- that’ll be $100 and i take pay pal.

come back after next weekend and tell us what you caught and i’ll give you the next set of tips.

Jeff Davis is my President

This is a excellent idea. Its great to scout new areas, and to make sure you don’t hit stuff at high tide!

Insert Funny Line Here

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I’ll add one tip. Any time I’m learning new water I ALWAYS use the 3 Rod Prospecting Method.

Here’s a link to the article I wrote a while back now resident on my FB page.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/note.php?note_id=10150226611612713

Who’s Ready for a Sleigh Ride? www.KayakFishSC.com

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I’ll second or third the idea of checking out fishing areas at low tide, especially the skinny water places…I almost prefer to see the Lowcountry marshes and creeks at low tide rather than high tide…to me there is a certain beauty of the salt marsh that you just don’t get when it is nothing but water and spartina grass…

The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org