How to catch the big reds

Hey guys, brand new to posting on the forum but I read it almost every day. I have recently moved to the summerville area for college and I try to go fishing as much as possible, but as you can imagine with school it is not all that often. I have tried a couple times fishing from the surf (complete disaster), fishing from the battery, and fishing from Folly pier.

I went to the folly pier this past weekend and it was the second time I have seen someone land a monster red. I had 4 poles in the water and managed to catch one skate, and three croakers (I think thats what they were anyways). I know there are a lot of posts out there about catching these big guys and I have tried to follow them step by step. I have a surf rod and used a carolina rig with a piece of mullet on the end of a circle hook with about a 2 foot leader. My pole sat in the water for over 2 hours and never was touched.

I also had in the water 3 shakespeare tiger rods that you can buy in wal-mart that I caught the croaker and skate on. Are the shakespeare rods capable of catching anything significant? I am not expecting a shark or anything but I would like to know I am not wasting my time. I am just wanting to know how to bring these guys in or any fish bigger than 11 inches at least. Do I need to upgrade to a better rod and reel ? keep in mind I am on a college budget.

Justin M

You can catch them just fine. Was your mullet fresh or frozen? I have not much luck on anything frozen the past 2 months. There is a lot of live mullet around so they are less interested in it. We use 10/0 hooks and 270lb cable and our group pulled more than 10 over 40 inches fishing mostly after dark, so we have the least ideal setups and have got them. It just takes time. I went 3-4 trips with not catching a thing while everyone around me was, and then I finally landed my first red which happened to be 40". Don’t be discouraged and if you need some fishing buds, we are a group of transplants in our mid twenties who specifically target sharks, but have other rods out for reds/blues etc all the time as well.

Stan
631-553-6301

ill be fishing tomorrow if u want to head out together. pm me for specifics if you are interested. i got a few decent ones under my belt this fall. hope to get a few more. im no expert yet but ill give all the advice i can.

Good to know I should be fine then. I was using frozen mullet but as the day went on it became a little unfrozen as you could imagine. Should I be throwing the whole mullet or just chunks? I went there once before and saw a guy catch a 35+ pounder on a chunk of mullet but again I had no bites at all.

Justin M

Dude, ya gotta hold your mouth right. I’ve tried a duckface and a Clint Eastwood lip press; neither worked so don’t try those…:sunglasses:

^^ plus regular 12oz beers dont work. gotta be pint’s or bigger. gotta experiment, somedays live whole mullet are working. other days when its a little stained the cut mullet let a little more smell out. ive never fished frozen mullet but from what ive heard by people who eat it and fish it the meat goes to crap after its been frozen. fresh mullet has a great texture/smell while the frozen stuff looses its appeal. in a bind, which i may be for tomorrow i may have to try frozen until i can net something at the surf.

I’ve caught big reds on frozen mullet. Luck of the draw and hungry fish. Keep at it. I use a spider weight on a slider rig with light drag and a C hook.

Umm, you gonna eat that?

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