First, I would like to thank all of you guys for the ■■■■■■■■ in regards to my previous post. I had a great conversation with a gentleman yesterday who giving tip on where to go camping/ kayak fishing, etc.
Yesterday was my first day taking my new kayak out. and per the reccomendation of a helpful member, I fished a specific spot he told me about and his direction to take on the water was spot on.
However I have a couple questions. One. and it might sound silly but what actually defines a mud flat? How do I seperate a mudflat and a small skinny, shallow subutary creek? I have an idea, but would like to know the fishing specifics that define a mud flat
Second, I was told the best thing this time of year is sight fishing for reds in the flats. My only issue or concern is, it was pretty windy yesterday and the water was choppy. very hard to see fish. Are mud flats worth fishing “blindly” if you cannot sight fish?
Third, i was throwing a weedless 4 inch clear/red zman worm with a chartreuse tail. On my second rod, 4 inch pearl white zman minnow weedless. Both with 2 ot offset bass hooks. what artifical bite size are yall finding most beneficial? is a 2 ot offset hook too big, too small or good to go?
my fourth question. i fish 20 lb braid sometimes 30/ AND i am starting to think i made a mistake when I bought yellow braid. Of course it was on sale, and we all know powerpro braid is not cheap. Is this a legit big deal and do i need to change the line to something else. (I do not tie any artificial or live bait braid to braid. always braid to flurocarbon. ) i noticed how clear the water was yesterday and started convincing myself that the fish were actually the ones confusing me.
my last question and I apologize for being so long winded. I fished yesterday from the kayak from about 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. That included a rising tide in the morning and falling tide in the afternoon. first half of the day I could not sight a single fish and maybe made 20 cast by noon time. As the tide fell, and got and l
is the kayak club a real thing? and i am not opposed to hiring a guide I go on one guided fishing trip a month in the southeast but I guess I am just stubborn and want to learn the water around me new home on my own and with the help of other helpful fisherman.
Any type of flats or flood tide fishing I’ve always had better luck getting in there before the tide comes in. I’m not sure what area you were fishing but some mud flats and flats hold no fish. We’ve had a pretty major fish kill this year and with temps sub 50s the fish aren’t moving a lot. It can be tough to cover enough water in a yak to find them.
Sounds like a day of learning how to fish.
I am no expert but they will chime in shortly.
I fish a scent on my artificial and this time of the year slow is your friend. If you think you are fishing slow then stop reeling and count to 15. I catch more fish this time of the year looking around my boat for my beer than actually focused on fishing. Artificial can be frustrating, get some live bait shrimp & mud minnows go soak them in the areas you were find the fish. Structure & oysters are your friends. Once you find the fish start throwing artificial that way you can be confident in the fact its just you.
Easiest thing to do is hire a guide. Let them know you live here and are interested in learning to fish artificial, not steal their spots. Make sure the guide you pick is willing to teach you different rigs and techniques. From experience I goofed around on the stono for 2 years before I hired a guide to go fish with me in my boat. He went through all my tackle and tossed the walmart crap I had and told me what I needed. We caught 40 + fish that day more than I had caught the whole year before. also the search feature on here always has some good threads. Good luck
great insight thank you again. and scouting is exactly what I did which is usually not my forte, but the guy who gave me a few tips was very knowledgeable and figured I would follow his direction for once.
on any other day I would have covered a quarter of the water that I did. and I would have fished until both my arms fell off and would have walked away with no fish caught and no arms either. lol
I much prefer to fish some sort of structure - oyster banks, docks, creek mouths, dropoffs I do better this time of year with mud minnows and live shrimp Watch the water near the bank. If you see schools of minnows running close to the bank , often its because a predator fish is close. With the live bait , don’t just fish it on the bottom with a Carolina rig. Suspend it with a float. I prefer a harder bottom to mud or sand. Things will pick up soon. The water warms more because of sunlight hours getting longer
The info posted above is all good. I always tell a newby to go to the areas of your interest as near low tide as possible and carry a good camera and note pad instead of fishing gear which will allow you to cover more and larger areas… Low tide will allow you see the flats and structure , ie; oyster beds , deep holes , humps and so on…take plenty of pics and notes,reference landmarks to pics…Do this from low to high so as to not get stranded on some pluff mud flat…
More knowledge of area == more fish in the cooler…
catch em up and post pics !!!
I actually almost left my rods and box behind in the truck yesterday when i was getting ready to launch in the kayak for those very specifc reasons. But my excitment got the best of me had to bring my gear. but had I left everything besides a notebook and camera behind. I would have covered much more space.
One of the biggest and most important things I am finally startin to learn is there is more to fishing then just throwing a piece of bait into a random body of water.
trying to learn to understand why fish do what they do is really interesting. and how even the slightest change in one or two specific areas can either make or break a day of fishing. I actually regret not having a notcebook with me yesterday because the majority of my day was spent taking mental notes of the conditions i was fishing.
AND… .there will be no doubt about it. you guys and the rest of the fisherman on Charlestonfishing.com will know exactly when I finally start catching some fish!You will know because i will post pictures of everything I catch pretty much. plus I have to give credit to all of the members and people that provided tips and ■■■■■■■■ for me! its a teameffort! and i Will be pretty happy and even a little impressed of myself if I can start catching some fish before the end of winter! one of the things I enjoy most about fishing is the catch and release part. but i dont let them get away with out taking their mugshot!
I’m new to fishing CHS as well and after about 30 fishing days am just starting to have a decent plan for when/where/how on any given day. The fish move all over the place depending on:
Tide
Moon
Sunlight
Water Temp
Season
For instance my super secret (not) trout spot only works for three hours late outgoing tide non-full moon water above 54 deg. etc…
So if someone gives you a tip and you don’t catch you probably just need to get there at the right time, which may not be for another two weeks until we get a new moon.
Also inshore and nearshore I’ve found I have to be very precise with locations, off by 10 yards and I go from zero to hits on every cast. So if you aren’t getting any bites move. You may just have to go to the other side of a bend because the tide is going in the opposite direction. Many of the fish here don’t move too far so if you know they are close keep working a wider area.
Last, it never seems to hit for long for me. I’ll set up in my spot, nothing then kill it for an hour, then nothing.
Its a lot to learn, I’ve focused on finding specific species and learning them well before moving on to the next.
One last thing, take a class at Haddrell’s or with a fishing club…best $ I’ve spent since I got here, or hire a guide.
“Watch the water near the bank. If you see schools of minnows running close to the bank , often its because a predator fish is close.” - Natureboy
That’s a gold nugget.
“Watch the water near the bank. If you see schools of minnows running close to the bank , often its because a predator fish is close.” - Natureboy
That’s a gold nugget.
Not just for the newbys to know but I always try to jot down every hint or trick of the trade i hear or witness and keep all in a small notebook tha i’ll read through ocasionally… you’ll be surprised as to how many times little things you notice will jar your memory and you can put them to use. One that always comes to mind is if you approach a flat and see some muddy swirls , slow down and look carefully,there will normally be reds nearby so don’t spook them !!!
Don’t discount ANYTHING you see on ,in, or above the water"birds".There all telling you something… catch em up!!!
Ever fisherperson should keep a notebook, and log every trip good or bad. It should have the date, weather,tide, moon phase, water clarety, bait, places and refer to it year after year before a trip. It sure works for me. Good luck!!
Jeff
I am new to the area as well. I am always willing to help where I can. Not sure where your fishing at but if you need a powerboat assist let me know. I get out as much as I can a idle around and investigate any small creeeks I my boat may fit into. If you want to go shoot me a PM.
