Spent two hot August days bumping along the near shore reefs near Edisto.
I was hoping to run into some Pompano close to shore, and loaded up on shrimp in Big Bay Creek with my castnet.
Didn’t find any Pompano at the spot locals call ‘the rocks” and i call “camel”, but we did get into a school of croakers that averaged 10 inches. Caught my limit of whiting too, as well as a 6 foot Nurse Shark that I brought to the boat on light tackle. Juvenile Sharpnose were also present, and my buddy hooked a good sized Bluefish that jumped out of the water and spit the hook.
We hit the 40 both days, but the only remarkable thing was the spot I named “Snapper City” for those endangered, illegal delicious creatures held no Snapper. Nor have I seen any the 3 or 4 times I’ve stopped by this season.
We got to the 60 in record time riding 2x13 waves only to run into the same problem we’ve been dealing with all summer: Barracudas. These crafty devils camp right under the boat and tear apart the Spadefish and anything else we bring up. I’ve lost 2 dozen Spades to them this season. Half the time after grabbing a hooked fish they are themselves torn to pieces by bigger Sharks.
A solution to this problem is forthcoming.
We didn’t find any Spades this time, the most interesting catch was a 26 inch Cobia which the Cudas unfortunately ripped to pieces on release despite my trying to give him a head start back to the bottom.
Monte Cristo Especial #2s were on the menu, and they are a ■■■■ fine smoke.