This is a report for the past two weeks. I’ve been fishing about 4 times a week for the past two weeks. I’ve been using nothing but mud minnows because I cant find any shrimp. Around 7 reds were caught the biggest one being 27". Also caught around 15 flounder give or take. Most all of them were keepers but they are still out there swimming around. Biggest flounder was 20". Fished the mud minnows on Carolina Rigs on the bottom and under Cajun Thunders. All reds were caught on Carolina Rigs and the flounder were mixed but most came off the popping corks. Most of the fish were caught behind Bird Island but a few were hooked around Dunn Sound and Sunset Beach.
My questions to yall are these:
Where are the trout? I know people who have been catching them but I cant seem to catch one. Is it because I’m not using shrimp?
Can someone give me the rundown on the Jim Caudle reef? I’ve been wanting to make a trip out there on a nice day in my 18 foot CC. Any Spanish out there or around the beach? What else do folks usually catch there?
Trout are scarce this time of year. I haven’t been much, but we’ve gotten 2. 1 keeper and 1 short. Both on finger mullet. I have no idea about the Jim Caudle reef. Good luck. I hear the flounder are thick off the beach, though. I just never go out there.
Yak.
Go to the DNR websight and get the #'s for the barges at Caudle(good place to start out there).Locate on your fish finder and fish as close to the barge as you can using either finger mullet on a carolina rig(use a short leader 10-12 in)or a bucktail tipped with mullet or gulp.This will catch nice flounder with grey trout,seabass and other species mixed in.I primarly target flounder.If you catch one 9 times out of 10 you will catch many more in the same spot so mark it.Hope this helps.
Thanks guys,when it’s on it’s on.Some of the best flounder fishing to be found if you can catch conditions right.It DOES help to use at least 2 oz egg sinker and try to fish as vertical as possible.Otherwise you WILL get hung up!
Billymac, Its information like this that makes reading and posting worthwhile. This might be a stupid question, do you anchor over the structure or try to drift around it? That would be a heck of a lot easier than trying to anchor over it.
Goob,depending on conditions I try to hold the boat right beside the structure fishing vertical.Sometimes that’s just not possible and one of the best days I ever had was when I dropped a marker right on top of a barge and pulled back 30-40 ft and anchored.I was casting just short of the marker(so as to not get hung on the barge) and bumping my bait back to the boat.Limited out that day,most over 3 lbs.Great way to fish when you find them.
LOL,goings one thing,finding them suckers is a whole nother ballgame.If I was a guessing man I’d say 1 trip out of 5 I find fish,one day they’re on the barge,next day who knows.I’m a big fan of the jetties this time of year but if it’s slick I’m not passing up the chance to try and search em out at the reef.Usually if I only got a couple dozen minnows or 2 bucktails,that’s the day you find the motherload
I know how you feel. You fish the barges off sunset any? We got out there last year and wore em out with shrimp. They wouldn’t bite anything else. I haven’t fished the 3 mile in years. I do see lots of nice fish from the divers come off of that, though.
