Wow! What a winter Charleston has had and seems to still be in. January seemed to be the longest month ever in history due to the extreme cold, snow, and windy weather. Many have inquired about the cold temperatures and what that has done to the fishery. I have to say it felt like we got hit hard with a negative low tide at the time the snow came through and how fast it approached Charleston. The fish typically move out of the shallow creeks to deeper water as the water temperature drops. Due to the “sneakiness” of the cold front it took several fish into fish heaven. Speckled sea trout would encounter the biggest hit with some redfish, sheepshead, and black drum seen floating.
With all that being said, we don’t know the extent of the fish kill. The SC Department of Natural Resources will continue to do trammel net surveys to grasp a better idea of the extensiveness of what the cold did. One of their nets captured several redfish and a handful of trout that swam off healthy, and this was just a week after the cold snap. As for an actual fishing report I have talked to several different guides and recreational anglers that have been out and caught several redfish and some trout. Most of the trout have been caught on artificial baits such as the Z-Man TRD on a light jig head(Ned Lockz 1/6oz) and Vudu shrimp in cajun pepper color. These baits definitely need to be worked along the bottom at a snails pace. Would work slightly deeper water in the 8-12’ range.
Reds have been schooled up but I have heard of several guys finding them in different areas than they normally do this time of year. Our new employee, Wes, caught 28 reds on the fly last Wednesday!! Captain Robert Olsen did really well on the sheepshead in the past couple of days. Didn’t see much size to them but seemed that the numbers were there. We are now carrying the mesh bags to better wrap up the clams so you can fish for the sheeps a little easier. SC Department of Natural Resources is asking (meaning this is not law) that you rele