… schooled up on the flats right now between the Stono River and the Bull River (Edisto Area)? In the 15 years I have fished this area, I have personally never seen the schools of winter flats fish so small and scattered. Some flats that have ALWAYS had fish are empty, and by my best estimate, I am seeing at least 25% fewer fish than in previous years on the flats that do have fish. Any of you gurus out there got any theories? The best I can figure is either the lack of rain or warmer than normal winter temps. have changed their behavior in these river systems. I’m sure somebody has got it figured out.
I believe they school up 1. to stay warm 2. for protection against dolphins. As a result of the general lack of a winter the reds can move in smaller “pods” as apposed to the usual big winter schools.
That’s my theory anyway. Interested to hear some others.
Karma is 360 degrees
Id have to agree with jipride. This unusually warm winter has produced quite a few out-of-the-norm catches…We have been hearing quite a few flounder catches inshore and in shallow water, and have been hearing of reds being caught under docks in small groups…typically more of a summer pattern, but thats just my take on it, im certainly not the biologist!
I have yet to run across a school reds in the Stono this year. At most maybe 5 fish. Also, a definite reduction in the number of the fish overall. For some reason they have moved out of the area. Hopefully they will move back into the area as I have seen tons of baitfish already.
Iain Pelto
Sea Hunt Triton 160 w/ 90 ETEC “JB3”
Native Manta Ray 14
To me the biggest difference this year is the amount of boat traffic on the water…I used to look forward to winter for many reasons, but perhaps the best reason is that many days there would be myself and 1 crabber on the water.
This year, there is a dramatic increase in boat traffic. In years past there would be 4 or 5 trailers parked at the marina that would have been a crowd, this year there are always 5, 10, 15 or maybe 30+ rigs parked out there.
Lots of these guys have been running right over the schools at full throttle…saw several guys in the tournament do it on Saturday. The fish will scatter AND lock down when this happens…especially if it happens every few minutes or a bunch of times during a tide cycle.
Just my opinion…but personally I am catching more fish that are using some sort of cover versus on the flats. Also catching more fish with bait versus Gulps, which has never been a problem until this winter.
reelly…
Well, when January and February feel like April, you will see more boats on the water. Seeing bare chested paddleboarders the day before Christmas pretty much says it all. It stands to reason that there is more pressure on the fish this Winter than in previous years. I am helping ease the pressure, I don’t have time to come down and fish right now.
The fish are definitely taking more of a beating this year in Dec. - Feb. because of the warmer weather, but this kind of correlates to March when everyone starts getting out due to cabin fever. March has always been my toughest month for getting flats fish to cooperate, and I think it’s due some to pressure, but you see bunches. We have had mild winters in the past where the fish get tough, but my concern is they just aren’t there in the numbers they usually are. I really believe it’s got something to do with precipitation as some of my best years in seeing numbers have been some of our wettest winters/springs. I am definitely going to start hitting more docks and creeks with structure up river than I usually do this time of year to see if there are more than usual holding there.
Not really seeing a difference in overall numbers, but i have noticed a difference in numbers of fish in certain spots which i think is a result of pressure and more anglers finding these areas thus more pressure less fish. This causes them to find other areas, which i have found more fish in areas i used to previously not catch reds. As far as there being more boat traffic, i have not seen any major difference than in previous years. But then again every year regardless of the time of year there are always more people getting on the water. With the milder weather we have been having this winter the fish have been able to stay in a spring/fall pattern with the presence of bait with the warmer waters this year. They still have been on the flats in numbers when air and water temps have been a consistent and constant low, but when it gets back up they change their patterns. One thing i have noticed is that we have had quite a bit of windy and hard current pushing days churning and murking up the water. Its all about clarity for me, the fish like clearer and cleaner water. I fished one flat one day with good clarity and really got into the reds, fished it the next day same conditions, but not good clarity and only managed one fish without any large schools to be found on the flat, but they were there the next time there was good water clarity.
Sails Pitch
196 CC Sea Pro
150HP Yamaha
“Get Hooked On The Sails Pitch”
[img=left]http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m257/TripleTail/Picture4.gif[/img=left]
![http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m257/TripleTail/Picture4.gif[/img=left]](http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m257/TripleTail/Picture4.gif%5B/img=left%5D){kind=link}