OK; what am I doing wrong? No redfish still...

Saltwater Inshore Discussion
1

Been fishing for 2 days straight. 8 hours each day and I mean 100% heads down grinding out out fishing in both high and low tides. Not been jacking around at all and have been covering a TON of water yet still no bites. Not seen any tailing redfish at all but did run in to some black drum/sheephead back in the backwaters over here near Hilton Head in about 15" of water but could not get them to bite any artificial presentation that I made.

So fare I’ve only been fishing with artificials. Jerkbaits, flukes, grubs, crank baits, lipless crankbaits, gulp swimming mullet, topwaters, jigs, crawfish imitations, etc but not a single bite other than a 4’ bonnet shark which spooled me yesterday.

I’m doing my best to avoid going to live bait but I’m not having any success. Just ordered the Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad in nuclear chicken and will try that next as the Zoom flukes I use for bass fishing so far have been a total bust.

As for what I’m doing, I’m fishing the high tide in the marsh grass near deep water access and working the edges and little ditches within it with everything I have but not getting anything but exercise so far and a mean suntan.

When it’s low tide I’m staying off of the oyster beds and mud banks and fishing them with small jerk baits, soft plastics, etc but again, nothing but hangups on the shells and pinfish beating up on my stuff while I cover water.

Are there any general location tactics that might apply seasonally that you can share? Am I missing something really obvious or is it just really tough this time of year? Is it a live or cut bait only bite right now??

Water temp is 82 and I’m fishing 1-5’ for the most part. Have not been marking much on my graphs other than an occasional bait ball here and there.

Would sure like to make these exploration outings more productive and would appreciate any information on fish location, lure selection, and presentation that applies this time of year. Many thanks for any guidance or info you are willing to provide.

2

I wish I could help you because I know how frustrating getting skunked can be. Unfortunately, I know nothing about fishing with artificials, having only caught one flounder on a white DOA shrimp. All of my reds have been caught on live or cut bait on jigheads around docks or creek mouths. If you don’t have a net, get one and learn how to throw it. I am cheap and don’t like buying bait. My son and I catch all of ours. The creeks should be loaded by now with mud minnows, mullet, etc…

3

Try some pro cure scent on your baits… All those bass fishing flukes and hard baits don’t have a scent. Add some mullet or some shrimp juice to those bad boys will greatly increase your odds.

2007 Scout 221 150 Yamaha 4 stroke

4

Thanks guys. Adam, where can I get some scent for these plastics locally? Or is it an order online deal? What’s the right one? Menhaden? Mullet? Shrimp? Thanks guys. Tough past 2 days for me; really frustrating.

Chuck D - Hilton Head, SC
Ranger z21 Intracoastal
Merc 250 ProXS
Power Pole Pro’s x2
Lowrance Gen2

5

Wish I could offer up some help Chuck. Been trying to use the artificial baits for over a year now… still no success. Lately, I’ve been contemplating whether or not “reds on artificial” is a very big practical joke. I can tell you that I have been seeing ProCure at most all tackle shops lately. I have some that I ordered a while back, but I know I have seen it at Beaufort Boat & Dock, Bass Pro, and pretty sure West Marine. If you are on HHI, call West Marine… next call would be to Southern Drawl in Moss Creek.

6

Get in the grass on a high tide and wait for the tails…I’ve been having better luck here than any other time during the tide…throw in front of pushes, not only tails…cast past them with weedless rigged plastic (or flies:wink:) and drag it in their path…I don’t move my offerings just let him seem frozen with fear- keep the line tight and set it when he explodes…if your boat can pole the flat and search, do it. Otherwise, get out and walk perhaps…tall grass= soft bottom. Short grass= hard bottom. Good luck and kudos for putting in the time and not going golfing

www.lowcountryflyshop.com

7

I am in the same boat. Fish the Hiton Head area in what seems to be perfect areas at presumably the right tides and nothing but shark or stingrays. Gets old for sure. Have only managed a few small trout in the May River and Skull Creek on shrimp.

8

Bait is everywhere this year early. Why not use it?

The extra high tides and the wind this week have confused most fish.

I did catch several with mud minnows under a cork.

Z man jerks with pro scent if you insist on plastic. Just remember it is the scent not the action right now. Keep them still.

big dog

9

Thanks guys. Big Dog, the comment on “keeping them still” makes a ton of sense one you locate them. Are you using that same bait to cover water to locate fish? I completely understand the “dead stick” concept once one of them shows himself and you can dial in on them and target them.

For me finding them is the part that’s got me totally confused since I can’t see any tails I don’t know if I’m around fish or in an unproductive area. How can you tell if you are around redfish if you don’t see them? Thanks guys. I really do appreciate the discussion and guidance.

Chuck D - Hilton Head, SC
Ranger z21 Intracoastal
Merc 250 ProXS
Power Pole Pro’s x2
Lowrance Gen2

10
quote:
Originally posted by Chuck D

Thanks guys. Big Dog, the comment on “keeping them still” makes a ton of sense one you locate them. Are you using that same bait to cover water to locate fish? I completely understand the “dead stick” concept once one of them shows himself and you can dial in on them and target them.

For me finding them is the part that’s got me totally confused since I can’t see any tails I don’t know if I’m around fish or in an unproductive area. How can you tell if you are around redfish if you don’t see them? Thanks guys. I really do appreciate the discussion and guidance.

Chuck D - Hilton Head, SC

When I fish by myself, I fish one on the bottom with bait , a minnow on a float behind the boat drifting with the current, and a z man jerk bait for casting which I work. This week I did not move much and waited on the reds to come to me. I saw fish swirling and picked anthem on the various rods.

Caught six trout, three over slot reds and assorted junk Thursday on the late falling tide. Friday was slower butndid pick up two slots which I released. My son was fishing his boat and called me in on some trout.

All fish were put back formanother day.
Ranger z21 Intracoastal
Merc 250 ProXS
Power Pole Pro’s x2
Lowrance Gen2

big dog

11

Sorry for cutting into your post.

I fish mostly up the Wando by my house.

As a suggestion, scout the area at low tide for structure, shell banks, drops etc.

It may sound stupid but try to think like a red. Their number one enemy is flipper so they try tonget into the grass as the tide rises and the bait is up in the grass. Slack tide is the hardest so remember where you saw shell banks during slack and work them.

As the tide is falling cut them off as they exit the creeks.

big dog

12

As Scotty said you can see redfish waking as they move around in shallow water. What we call a “push”. Also, you will often see “muds” (a big puff of mud stirred from the bottom) when you have spooked fish in water too deep to see a push. It’s too late to catch these fish of course, but at least you know you’re looking in the right place.

I suspect you may be working your baits too fast as well. Reds are lazy. They generally don’t chase down their prey. When you are confident your lure is in their vicinity, twitch it a couple of times and let it go to the bottom, wait a second or two and repeat. This is particularly effective with scented plastics.

13

Thanks guys, happy to have the input. The oyster bed thing is what blows me away, they are everywhere down here around Hilton Head and Pinckney Island where I am fishing quite a bit. So eliminating water is what I’m up against. The flipper comment makes sense as I’ve seen plenty of porpoise in the area so that may be a good sign to go elsewhere?

Good to know they are lazy too. As a long time bass fisherman, I’m used to creating a “reaction” strike which sure does not seem to work on these fish. I’m all for letting a bait soak but in bass fishing I’m usually able to get a “dumb” one to show himself which tips me off to some fish in the area. Short of them “pushing” or creating “muds” I’m just guessing as to where they would be as this entire area looks fishy as can be.

Breaking down this water in to productive/fish holding vs. not is what my biggest challenge is for sure. I’m just not around them and struggling to find out where they live and why they live where they do. Thanks again and keep the comments and suggestions coming. I’ll start putting the puzzle together soon I hope. Thanks so much guys.

Chuck D - Hilton Head, SC
Ranger z21 Intracoastal
Merc 250 ProXS
Power Pole Pro’s x2
Lowrance Gen2

14

redfish can absolutely be frustrating, so ill at least try to help ya a bit. i dont have a boat so my redfishing is pretty limited to either piers on base or the surf, but still catch my fair share of them too. when on base i cast either white or electric chicken paddletails and bump them slowly along the bottom and hook up with reds, trout, and flounder. as others said scout out structure during low tides as they will hold fish when the water gets higher. ive noticed that by far most of my reds are along dropoffs just to where i cant see the bottom from the top of the pier regardless of tide. of course they will hold along pilings too. ive heard slack tides suck millions of times but ive also defied that rule many times. during high slack tides ive had decent luck bottom fishing cracked crab, finger mullet, or mullet chunks as close to the grass as i can cast and pick off the ones cruising the edge of the grass, but of course theres been many times the skunk was along the edge of the grass too. as for the surf, ive gotten 1 bull red near some rocks by a dropoff with a chunk of mullet that was 18lbs and 36", however im hitting a suck streak myself and that was the last red i caught, which was on easter sunday. however despite my lack of reds im still doing ok for flounder and an occasional trout so im not going to beat myself up over not getting a redfish but rather have fun catching other things instead and enjoy a blue crab stuffed flounder when i get home :wink: hope that helped a bit and good luck findin one!

15

Thanks again guys. As a long time bass angler I am pretty versatile at both shallow water and structure fishing. For me in a new fishery for a tournament depth has always been a critical factor in bass location as is water temp, O2 levels, and of course cover, structure, and last but not least bait/food but there always seems to be a depth that allows me to pattern fish in nearly every tournament situation regardless the time of year so am wondering how I can transfer my bass knowledge over to red fishing if at all possible?

That being said, do you guys define structure down here as things like humps, drops, holes, points, etc?

Just want to be clear on what structure means vs cover because it does not seem to me like reds get in “cover” the way a bass does and hunker down. I’ve found blow down trees at high and low tides (a critical big bass habitat) and flipped/skipped jigs and brought various weedless plastics, etc through them and gotten zero out of them which is about as “ambush-y” as you could ever hope to get which tells me that Mr Red is not territorial and does not live there regularly as the dominant bass in a fishery would set up shop on something like that immediately. I know the grass is cover for these fish but it seems like they are on the move and foraging in the cover which is opposite of how a bass uses cover which is to seek out cover so as to hide and ambush its prey if all of the other criteria (O2 level, depth, bait, etc are met).

Do reds do the opposite meaning stay on the move and hunt continuously?

Do they prefer a particular type of structure? Points, holes, shell rakes/humps, etc?

Do they avoid swift current the same way a bass does so as to preserve energy and seek out holes or eddy’s? The tides through here where I am move like a river and I mean they are moving a TON of water at a very rapid pace which moves a lot of food but being in it would seem to make a fish work really hard to maintain its position if my 101 LB thrust TM has to work as hard as it i

16

Let me start by saying I sight fish 90% of the time so I’ll leave the structure fishing questions to others. Up on flats current isn’t really too much of factor.
As far as a depth at low tide: they will go so shallow, half their backs will be out of the water. My personal opinion is, safety from Flipper is a major factor. They like places with safety(and food!) through the entire tide cycle. When they have that they will not leave.
They will definitely “hunker down” at times, especially at the bottom of the tide but out in the open of a mud flat (makes 'em (**() tough to see!). Most of the time they roam the flat and feed, moving up as the tide rises to stay out of range of Flipper.

17

Are you being quiet?? In shallow water, stealth is often most important part of equation. Reds much spookier than bass. Keep trolling motor noise to minimum, dont slam hatches. PowerPole deployment will alert them.
Making long casts?? Try being on water in dark in am, make long casts with topwater spook-type bait, fished slower than most bass anglers want (a nice steady “tick-tock”), and LISTEN for the fish busting. Look for herons and egrets running around, mullet/shrimp jumping en masse. Sounds like you are massively overcomplicating things. I have found, in general, if you put something edible in front of them, without them knowing you are in area, they will eat.
Areas with raging current are less effective for me than a more mellow flow.
Good Luck!

Newman
www.gtownkingfisher.com

18

Stealth makes a ton of sense Cap’n Newman. That’s honestly a challenge with my rig as I don’t have a poling platform and am 100% reliant on the TM. Power poles up and down spooking them is surprising but duly noted as these are pretty quiet so the sound factor may be a real deal for me. I was 5’ away from one of the sheephead in the shallows and he could not have cared less although he wouldn’t bite my stuff he was not worried about me in the least but the reds sound like they would be. Have to work on that part for certain.

Chuck D - Hilton Head, SC
Ranger z21 Intracoastal
Merc 250 ProXS
Power Pole Pro’s x2
Lowrance Gen2

19

Dear Chuck…A spotail bass is a predator. He hunts for food where food is, and he uses tide and structure to give himself an ambush advantage. He is prone to traveling in groups, but bigger fish will cruise alone. Wind plays a role and it can determine which side of the creek or river you fish on a particular day. I have found that spotails will lay in holes during a low slack tide and then move out and up into the grass as the tide rises. They like to push their prey up against the grass as they attack them on a rising tide. If you’re 3’ off the edge of grass you’re not getting bit, but if your bait is presented right up against it you’re catching fish. A few feet make a big difference. Spotails are prolific and easy to catch, but using artificials requires more attention to detail, and blind casting is tiresome and frustrating. Locate some productive structure…fish it with live bait to orient yourself to the fish…then start using your shiny, smelly, plastic grubs on 1/8 to 1/16th ounce jig heads. All of those other artificials are expensive to lose on a dock piling or oyster rake, and I am unimpressed with their effectiveness.

Sol Mate
Mako 20B
225 Optimax

20

Chuck, Boss is correct, reds are predators. They are also prey. Making them alert, especially when not actively feeding.
Your boat is fine. A few tips for a larger vessel. Focus on mid and higher tides on calm, sunny days when reds are apt to be skittish. Try to keep TM from cavitating, or contacting bottom, a constant rpm seems to spook them less than lots of gunning it and nuetral. Keep PP off shell or crunchy bottom.
Move slowly and deliberately, if visibility is good PP down and watch for a few minutes, they can materialize out of a hole or a grass edge. It would be a good idea to spend some time (not casting) in areas you fish looking for fish at various tide stages. Take your time, quietly PP down, and enjoy the scenery while watching the bait (relaxed, not so good. Nervous and flighty, good) and looking for fish.
Make long casts: use the lightest braid you can manage without constant tangles, this will also allow you to throw lighter, softer landing, slower sinking lures (DOA shrimp or lightly weighted flukes on flutter hooks) a long way. Only need 100yds on top of some sort of backing, if it tangles “terminally”, pull whole topshot off and replace (only have $7 or$8 invested). When casting, lengthen the space between rod tip and lure eye, every foot here adds 7-10ft to cast distance.
Use conditions to your advantage: keep sun and wind at your back. If you are wearing grey or dark polarized lenses, give them to someone you dont like and get some copper or amber lenses ($20 Calcuttas work fine). Cloudy, windy days, fish generally less jumpy and more aggressive, throw topwaters or cork rigs. Fish shallower areas.
Hope this helps.

Newman
www.gtownkingfisher.com