I will be coming down to hilton head the first week of april. Want to do some inshoose fishing, i will have one of those plastic pontoon fishing boats(bass raider) with a little motor. I usually go to the panhandle and this setup works great on the intercoastal as a flats boat. I have some questions
any of the boats ramps better to go out on, Cross Island, Marshland, C C Haigh Jr., or Pickney?
Style, in the panhandle 95% of fish(trout, redfish, spanish) come on some sort of slash/jerkbait, like a mirrolure. I have heard the presentation here is alot slower and jig and plastic work well?
Tide, what tide should i focus on and what should i stay away from.
we are staying north of sea crest about a mile(rented a house on ocean) can i beach fish? what would i expect?
Hey iceoiler welcome to the site. I live in Bluffton which is close to HHI and have some experience fishing around here. April is a great time of year to fish the Low Country. Redfish, trout, and a mix of other inshore species should be pretty active. Depending on how sea worthy your pontoon is will dictate where you can take it. I had a small Carolina J14 and made an upgrade to something a little bit bigger because it can get a little choppy on the larger bodies of water when the winds are against the tides. However Broad Creek is typically a pretty good spot on a windy day and you can access from the cross island boat ramp, the area has plenty of docks to fish, creek mouths, and shelter cove.
For baits and lures the mirrolure and jigs with plastic work well. I have success early in the morning on top water with top water lures, typically around slack tide. For baits stick with fresh, you can use a sabiki rig to get some, a cast net, or just buy some at a local bait store (southerndrawl right before the bridge).
Tide will depend on what you are looking to catch and where you are fishing. I have had good luck on incoming, outgoing, high and low.
For beach fishing I wouldn’t spend too much time or effort on that, the few times I have surf fished the island have always been very uneventful. Compared to surf fishing further up or down the coast.
Hope it helps and if you have any more questions just shoot me a message!
My aunt lives on the island and I love to fish when I’m down there, it just so happens that April is one of my favorite times to fish down there. Look for a 4-6 foot creek in a tidal marsh. On the outgoing or incoming fish dock likings, oysters, or find a deep hole in the creek to fish. The redfish can be on fire someday a as well as trout and flounder. Bouncing jigs near the bottom is a good way to fish or fishing shrimp and mud minnow a on the bottom or under a cork is always a sure way to get bites.some of the braking ponds and lagoons can hold black drum and redfish as well.
We’ve had a super mild winter. The water temperature is much warmer than usual this year. That should mean an early start to the spring trout season, which usually is at peak the last week in April and the first 3 weeks or so of May. Looks like we are running 3 or 4 weeks ahead of schedule this year, making your timing perfect!