Any advice on finding grouper/snapper within 20 nm of Charleston Jetties?
R.D.S. IV
Wait til the water is colder and it will be a lot easier than it is right now.
If you have a maps unique, look at where “black banks” is. That is the closest candidate. You will have to watch your sounder as you troll all around in that area and mark spots that look like structure or are holding a lot of bait on the bottom. Go back to the spots and zoom in on the bottom and look closely for fish. Location location location. Sometimes something 5x5’ will be what you have to get bait on.
Snapper like to be over hard bottom and rock, and they will usually be sitting off on the side of clouds of bait up off the bottom on your sounder’s screen. The grouper will be right on the bottom and sometimes not even visible because they are up in holes under ledges, etc. If there is bait and structure, you will see it while running over it though.
Luke 8:22-25
Thanks for the advice, I’ll try and get the coordinates for black banks.
R.D.S. IV
Phin- You are what the CF site should be all about - sharing great “how to” experience to those that are less knowledgable or less experienced than yourself around the local fishery in Charleston. I have enjoyed reading your posts and always feel like I’ve gained something useful when I do!
HATRASSR
Trailco Equipment Sales & Service
Greensboro, NC
I second the thoughts from HATRASSR! Those of us who are new at the offshore thing greatly appreciate the advise
A-Salt Weapon
Grady 282 Sailfish
phin. do you use anything to mark sturcture when you find it, i.e. floating bouys etc.? do you usually anchor or just drift fish? just curious.
The older I get, the better I was.
Marking with gps is easier. You can mark 3 or 4 pieces of it and then mark where you threw out the anchor on the first try. Let your anchor course get settled in, and note where you end up on your GPS. If you are not right over the stuff you want to fish, adjust your anchor point to coincide with how far off you end up from your fishing marks. When I was little, my granddaddy used two marker jugs to mark what he wanted to fish. No need for that now that we have gps accurate to a couple feet.
You can drift fish for grouper or snapper when it is very calm and there’s very little current. If not, the snapper don’t like to bite if the bait is moving by them too fast- they know something ain’t right. The problem with drifting for grouper is that your lines won’t be straight down below the boat, and you will get a bow in your line where you can’t feel the bite or the fish has the angle on you to go right under a rock and cut you off because you couldn’t pull him straight off the bottom when you first set the hook.
Fish for these fish with a tight drag and heavy enough line and leader, too. You can’t let them take line around structure. Once you get the fish away from the bottom, loosen drag and take it easy on them. Keep the rod as steady as possible and reel as fast and as smoothly as possible. If you bounce the rod or don’t reel quickly, the fish can become unhooked easily. If you can’t keep the rod steady after you have the fish up off the bottom put the tip in the water and rest the rod on the gunnell while you reel if you have to. I put the butt of the rod up under my armpit with the reel handle close to my chest and my left hand close to my chest under the foregrip of the rod. With big grouper at first, it sometimes takes both hands under the rod lifting and very quickly reeling in what you can take from him and lifting again. After the first 15-20’ stop lifting the rod and keep it steady.
quote:
Originally posted by IvyAny advice on finding grouper/snapper within 20 nm of Charleston Jetties?
R.D.S. IV
This time of year, most keeper grouper are 20 plus miles out. Same with snapper. You can find some grouper occasionally in 65 feet in the warmer months, but mainly they are 85’ or deeper. NARS for the most part are 90’ or better.
Do you know what hard bottom looks like on your sounder and do you know what a secondary return is?
This is not a chawade…
We need total concentwation…
This may sound self serving but it is none the less true…take a charter or pay a licensed captain to show you on the water… in the long run it will save you time and lots of money.
I have a network of charter captains and really good fisherman I am always talking to about stuff. (One day Phin will be in my network:wink:Just kidding.) This helps me tremendously on so many levels. Continue to ask questions. I still do it every chance I get.
There is much to bottom fishing, but it is lots of fun.
Email me if you have more specific question. Phin and Cracker are great guys too. They can help tremendously.
Purpose One Charters
Captain Rick
www.purposeonecharters.com
purposeone@comcast.net
Thanks for the help fellas
R.D.S. IV
Like PurposeOne said, charter a boat that will take you strictly bottom fishing. A good boat to do it on would be purpose one because he runs a 26’ center console, so everything he does will be directly applicable to your own situation (assuming you are comfortable running your boat where it must go to catch these fish this time of year).
The Teaser II, Thunderstar, and Gulfstream also do almost strictly bottom fishing, but they’ll be a little harder to get the knowledge from because the capn will be on the bridge or in the wheelhouse looking at the bottom and the compass; then, the mate will be very busy helping all the other customers and get ticked off when you ask him what knot he just tied in your rig. 
quote:
Originally posted by Phinthen, the mate will be very busy helping all the other customers and get ticked off when you ask him what knot he just tied in your rig.
I hear the guy that mated for p1 over the summer was kind of weird though. 
“Don’t worry, I have a plan!..
Great a plan, Custer had a plan.”
All Rise - 31 Contender Fish Around with a pair of 250 Yamahas
Great Report!
Nothing but a “SMART-ELLIC”!