Ever listen to an ole timer talking about fishing the snags? Have you ever noticed that in every single Bill Dance video he is flipping, casting, or trolling over a tree, Lillie pad, patch of grass or some type of structure? Sure Bill can be a bit of a crazy character with his bright orange Vols hat, crazy video out-takes and that well known hooks set followed by ?Son!;? but the man catches fish just like those ole timers I previously mentioned!
You will note that in each Final Word fishing report I give reference to fish being caught around structure. Simply put structure provides the habitat for bait and this bait draws in the predatory fish that we love to catch. Weather it is artificial (manmade reefs, sunken boats, docks or even old crab pots) or natural structure (rocks, oyster beds, trees or other floating or sunken vegetation) these all form habitat! You may have noticed the abundance of bait in the water here recently. If you think there is a lot of bait holding in the center of a creek or over a barren mud flat, you ought to see the populations holding over or around structure.
I had the opportunity to fish this past Sunday and with cooling water temperatures combined with small tides and little to no breeze the water was extremely clear for Charleston. I was fishing some sunken trees and was able to see down 3 to 4-feet into the water column. Holding tight to the tree branches were shrimp, minnows, and finger mullet, darting between the branches were croaker and pinfish, and circling those were sheepshead, whiting, trout, and redfish. It literally looked just like something you would see in the aquarium downtown. Simply throw a bait in there with a small piece of lead or hooked to a cork and suddenly you are offering up a target that cannot swim as fast as the residents. The game fish swarm and within a matter of seconds you are hooked up!
Add some structure to your fishing and soon you will be saying ?Son!?
Tight lines?
Captain Tim Pickett
CharlestonFishing.C