and the sandbar I’d fished from pretty much submerged, with 6-7 knot currents scouring it as escaping water rushed out to meet the ocean waves.
So that’s how all these neat sand sculptures are formed, this one with a crab hole in the center!
I started fishing on the inside of the inlet, but it was pretty quiet. I decided not to own real estate (thanks Ken!), and finally spotted a nice bull redfish, right where he was feeding the day before by the jetty at the end of the river. Dropping back twelve feet from the edge of the water so I wouldn’t spook him, my first cast was right on target about four feet in front of his path, and one strip as he slid forward was all it took to fire him up. He turned on the crab and hit it so hard you could feel the vibration of the strike through the sand, and took off for deeper water in a burst of speed that was truly impressive! Five minutes of powerful runs later, he finally surfed gently up on the sand and I was lucky enough to have somebody close by for the “Kodak moment.”
The next bull redfish of the day was my largest of the trip; between 30-35 pounds; requiring all the muscle my Reddington 10-wt. could find to manage the fight. You had to get down and dirty and use the butt section of the rod to turn his head, and it was nice to have a 20# tippet, 300 yards of 30# backing, and nothing but open water with sandy bottom to shift the odds in your favor. Unfortunately nobody was around to take the picture, and this guy was simply too rambunctious to manage with one hand while handling a camera without injuring him or losing the latter. No big deal, there will be plenty more in the years to come, as evidenced by one of my former United 777 Captain friends on a recent trip to the Louisiana, Mississippi River delta.
I had enough time to catch two more nice redfish before heading back to the boat ramp for my sea-trial, both of them caught in rips in the surf where the river spilled out past the point. There were more folks down on the beach to catch the afternoon sun, and at least I got one more nice shot of these absolutely magnificent fish! If you’ve never fished for them, I would highly recommend doing so - it’s hard to get more bang for your buck anywhere, and they hang out in truly spectacular places.
As I already mentioned, the main purpose of my trip down to South Carolina was to take the boat I found in the classifieds for a spin; a sea-trial to make sure she could handle the conditions she was designed for, and to make sure everything was in working order before finalizing the deal. Unlike the last time I went to Houston on a similar mission, this time I hit the jackpot. The Panga Marine 18’ I’ve decided to buy weighs in at a mere 850 pounds, and her 4-stroke, 50hp Suzuki motor has no trouble getting her up and going. Fuel efficient doesn’t begin to describe this rig, the boat cruising at 23mph at 9-10mpg. She can go offshore for tuna, fish bays and estuaries, or go sight-fishing on the flats in 8-9" of water. She has a side console, which leaves lots of room for fishing, and even camping overnight (her 23’ push pole; running from the bow to the top of the poling platform; supports the tarp tent) or transporting kayaks to remote locations. An i-Pilot, 75# thrust Motorguide trolling motor up front with dual batteries and on-board battery charger should come in real handy holding on kelp paddies and inshore structure, especially if I have to go solo. The addition of a long-range VHF radio and antenna, plus a chart plotter fish finder/GPS will make her perfect! With any luck she’ll be back in California by August, just in time for the big tuna bite. Buying the boat also gives me a reason to clean out the garage, so my wife should be happy too. 
Watch out fish, Daddy’s got longer and faster legs!
Leaving Charleston just after the 6pm, Friday afternoon rush hour, I battled several waves of thunderstorms all night on the drive back to my crash pad in Bethesda, arriving at first light after a refreshing 2-hour nap just outside of town. No good in waking everyone up on a Saturday morning while I was putting the kayak away, and heading up to bed.
Tight lines!
Kim Z.
Conditions: Weather- Hot and muggy days, with little relief at night. Temperatures ranged from 78F - 102F mid-day. Afternoon thunderstorms inland resulted in sea-breezes of 15-30 knots, much higher than the expected 6-8 knot breezes. Water Temperatures- 76-80*F. The warm water felt really good when it got windy and you’d have otherwise taken a chill. Water Visibility- 1-2’ in the low country at best, but excellent near the Folly Island west river-mouth. Flies- baitfish patterns were not very effective. Kwan and SF shrimp did the most damage in the marshes, while the tan #2 jiggy crabs won the day in the sandy spots on Day 3
Excellent report. You killed it.
Copy and paste the link to the inshore fishing section. I am sure some people would love to read this.
Thanks
Gas Can
For sure probably the most excellent post in a long while! Well done man.
I don’t know why, but I like how you replied to your own post to tell the tale of the tails… Thanks for sharing!
Fishing Nerd
“you win some, you lose some…but nothing beats getting some!”
Amazing report. That 30 lb fish had to be a blast…nothing like getting towed in a yak…especially on the fly
Connor Malark
Wow!! Probably my favorite ready so far on the forum.
Just going through the whole story taught me so much about the fishery and the diverse ecosystem these fish live in.
Great Job, looking forward to your next post
That was great. Beautiful boat too
Amazing post!