Fished for an hour Sunday morning on the last of the incoming tide. Caught five nice trout. Two were over 20" and all were caught on a green and white bend back fly and a sink tip line. All released. The trout really put up a good fight and hit hard. Had several other hits before the water stopped moving. Had to use flies I’ve tied because I haven’t seen the flies from the fly swap yet.
Ya’ll got skunked on the flies. Fritz has a nice collection now. Just curious, what weight rod were you catching the trout on?
Rook, I use a six weight on the trout and a very fast sink tip line. Fly was a green and white bend back. Went again yesterday and got six trout, a red and a flounder. All on the fly all released. Tried a muddler on top but no takers so I switched back to the green and white. The trout are really frisky and slam the fly. Not the subtle winter bite. Looking forward to the return of the ladyfish and spanish!
MM,
Tell me more about the ladyfish and the spanish. I’d like to catch some of those.
Thanks,
Mike
Mike, the ladyfish and spanish will be thick in the inlets as soon as the anchovies, menhaden and mullet show up in big numbers. They will frequent the same rips that trout do. The ladies will be easy to find because they are usually busting topwater. The spanish will come through in schools and it is feast or famin with them. They both are most numerous on the last hour or two of incoming tide and flood tides bring more bait and = more fish. The biggest problem I have is boat traffic. If there is a lot of boat traffic it will put them down. Fishing the early morning or late evening tides is best as that is when the traffic is least. You can find ladies further up the creeks than spanish, so sometimes I hit rips I know from experience usually hold ladies and trout. The trout, ladies, spanish and small blues all like the same feeding areas. From later this month until the middle of June before the water becomes to hot you can catch five or six different species on the same rips. Once the water warms and the bulk of the migratory baitfish move north it’s mostly ladyfish, trout and blues. You never know what you are going to catch during this period in the inlets. These fish will key in on the bait that is most prevalent and if you are not using the right imitation you’ll get nada. I have seen the fish gorging themselves on small glass minnows which artificals have a hard time imitating but with a fly you will slay them. I have also seen worm hatches this time of year that can turn on the fish to strike with wreckless abandon. The next two months are my second favorite time to fish Charleston with October/November being first. Look for fish breaking the surface or birds that are very excited and acting eratically. A six weight and small streamers or minnow imitations work most times. When you find a place holding these fish remember it because unless it physically changes it can be good for years. Good luck!
Wow, thanks for that info. I’ll look forward to trying to find some of these places.
Mike