Hello all… I have not posted here before, but been reading the forums for a while (Usually the day before I go fishing every fishing trip for the last couple years!). Anyway as the name says I am HORRIBLE at fishing. Or perhaps it would be better to say I’m great at fishing, but horrible at catching.
My problems are many, however maybe what I “Think” I do know, is part of my problem? Here’s my situation…
I am an avid fishing enthusiast - that means that I’m very enthusiastic about fishing, but rarely have the time to do it. I get to go out maybe 1 or 2 times a month for 3-4 hours at a time. I would say maybe 5% of the time when I do go out I return with dinner. That’s not to say I don’t catch anything, but what I catch is usually not worthy of the lofty title of “Dinner”. My boat is kept at Daniel Island Marina, and typically when I have the time to take it out to fish (Without the wife, kids, baby etc.) I really do not have a ton of time to “Travel” to distant well productive fishing spots. I know of a few that I always catch fish at, but most of them are a bit of a hike (up by bulls bay, goat island, capers etc.) with no wake zones between me and there it’s 45 minutes each way just to get there!
Can anybody answer some of my questions below:
-
Am I fishing “Correctly” on the rivers? I usually look for some signs of an oyster bed, or fish around under structures etc. just like all of the forum posts say to. I fish mostly with a Carolina Rig using 10lb line, with a 25 lb leader, generally leader length about 2 ft. I use #2 or 3 circle hooks typically… I generally will use live bait (mud minnows purchased around town) and some frozen bait like shrimp. I use mullet occasionally as cut bait but only if I decide to throw the cast net. I have found frozen mullet to be completely useless. Do I have this right or am I somehow messing up at the very basics of fishing around here? Is the leader length good, or do I need longer/shorter?
-
I have tried a range of weights on these rigs - what should
i’m in the same situation as you, but i’ll offer what little insight i can:
-
why a 25lbs leader on 10lb mainline? you’re only as strong as your weakest link
i typically go with about 1.5’ leader length
vary the bait, some days a fish that won’t eat a minnow, will eat a shrimp or a crab, & vice versa. come prepared by having all a buffet to offer
-
hold bottom means enough weight to stay put in a current
“sight fishing” (casting to a fish you see) you want little to no weight, bottom fishing, you want the least weight that will hold bottom. this is because tossing a giant pyramid weight out there can spook “dinner”, not to say it can’t work, just that it might scare the fish
-
anchoring can be noisy, don’t wanna spook the fish. the chain hitting the hull as you grab it, then tossing it is almost surely going to scare off any spooky fish. during the right season & tide, i’ve caught nice redfish that i nearly hit with the anchor tho… when i anchor, i am as quiet as possible grabbing the anchor, & gently lower it into the water, rather that just grabbing it up clanking the hull & tossing it as far as i can. i prefer to drift whenever possible, i have a flats boat, so use the push pole if it’s shallow enough. trolling motors are great, but i think they look stupid & would never put one on my boat.
4)I doubt it. i don’t fish near daniel island, but i’m sure there’s plenty to catch if you do your homework. trolling motors are a great way to cover a lot of ground relatively quietly, & will no doubt improve your spot locating skills. i’ve never found a spot that would produce @ any tide. all the spots i know (& that ain’t many i promise), only produce at a certain tide stage. one mud flat i know often holds redfish for about 2hrs as the high tide begins to fall, another grass bank trout often run just after low tide for about 1 hour, another creek mouth trout run often run the grass lines from 1/2 to 2/3 rising tide. these are by no means guaranteed spots, but
There are plenty of fish in Clouter creek where your boat is kept. Rather than give you a spot, just pay attention to where other boats are and what the tide stage is as you motor around. They are there for a reason. Then ask yourself “self, why is that boat where it is at this tide?” And eventually you will start to put 2 and 2 together. I spent about 3 years learning that creek alone, until I felt I knew every bit of contour on it. You can learn alot by focusing on a single creek, then apply what you learned to other areas.
If you are at a spot 10-15 min with no bites…move. A red will sniff out that bait w/in minutes if he is near.
When you catch a fish note the tide stage, water temp, etc. They will probably be there again under those conditions. I read a great quote recently “A spot is only good when its time to be there”… so true!
chevy has a bunch of other good advice. Be very quiet with your anchor if you are going to use it. Chucking an anchor in with a big splash will spook every nearby fish for 100 yds.
As far as your rig its probably ok, depending on what you are fishing for. Typical fish finder rig.
Keep at it, If it was easy it wouldnt be any fun
2000 SeaPro 180CC w/ Yammy 115 2 stroke
1966 13’ Boston Whaler w/ Merc 25 4 stroke “Flatty”
www.ralphphillipsinshore.com | www.summervillesaltwateranglers.com
Hey man,
I’m just starting out so you’re probably alot better than me. Keep in it and I’m sure you’ll get better. One day soon you’ll be the one giving advice.
So I’ve actually never fished for redfish but looking forward to it for the first time in about a month, so take this advice with a grain of salt. I’ve fished for many different species in many different bodies of water and there are a few things that stay consistent. Fish stay in areas for two reasons, comfort or food. Keep it simple and don’t over analyze what you are or are not doing because it doesn’t sound that far off. The one thing that remains true in any fishing is that you cannot catch them if they aren’t there. Finding where the fish are at is the biggest key to success. What I would suggest is carving out a small area, maybe it’s a half mile or two miles or whatever makes sense and learn that area like the back of your hand. Optiker is right, if fish are in an area they will usually let you know fairly quick. Be prepared to move often until you find some productive areas. When you find an area where you get bit ask yourself why. Tide, cover, time of day etc… Were the fish aggressive or just lethargic and you got one to eat? I would suggest listening to the others on adjusting your gear and approach but focus more on where you are putting baits in the water. The hunt and putting the puzzle together is what drives me and it is also what drives experienced anglers crazy. Keeping it simple and educating yourself is the only way to get better. It’s all about using whatever time on the water you have to get better.
Good luck!
A fish’s life = finding food OR being food for something bigger. So they’re looking for places to ambush bait but can’t just sit in one place all day or they become bait for bigger fish. Think about where they want to be relative to the tide. At dead low, bait has dumped out of the tidal creeks into larger creeks (watch for birds grabbing bait at a creek mouth on outgoing tide). The fish want to be near some structure (for their own protection/hiding) and that’s where the bait will gather as well. As the tide moves in, the bait move back into the creeks and grass and the fish follow them. Put different baits out on different rigs to see what they bite. I usually try to put a couple of Carolina rigs out with different bait options while I drift a cork along grass or over oyster mounds or toss a simple hook with a couple of split shots. If nothing else, the bottom rigs will typically find a shark for some fun.
Quoting Optiker here: “Chucking an anchor in with a big splash will spook every nearby fish for 100 yds.”
Me and the fam went out Sunday. Ended up around DI just to get out of the wind. I brought the fishing gear along. Threw a couple of different rigs out where we were anchored. As the kids did cannonballs off the back of the boat, I was thinking to myself “Hmmm, perhaps this isn’t the best time to fish”. It’s hard for me to be in a boat and not fish/shrimp/gig/some sporting activity. But, I reeled em in and did a cannonball.