The early bird catches the worm...and the fish!

For years, I have been attending Easter sunrise service at the Daniel Island Children’s Park. This year, I intended to do the same. Unfortunately, there was no sunrise service at the park. However, I did witness a glorious sunrise over the Wando River. As I took a picture, I realized conditions were perfect for fishing and that is exactly what I did.

Gnats were swarming when I launched the skiff. If the fish were biting as well as the gnats, it was going to be a banner day. Running up river, the water surface was like a mirror. The only disturbance was where the incoming tide met submerged oyster bars (creating a slight current seam). As I passed one of the disturbances, I noticed a large school of glass minnows hanging around the current seam. They were easy to see because of the dimples they created on the slick water surface. It looked too good to pass. So, I cut the engine, deployed the trolling motor and quietly approached the current seam. Knowing I would be fishing near a school of glass minnows, I picked up a rod rigged with a Z-Man StreakZ 3.75 (Blue Back Herring) on a 1/8th ounce Trout Eye finesse jig. On the first cast into the seam, the StreakZ was slammed by a hungry Trout. Every subsequent cast into the current seam produced a bite. It was an epic Trout feeding frenzy and I was by myself. After releasing several fish, I called my son Elliott, and told him to meet me at the dock with his fly rod. Twenty minutes later, Elliott and I were back on station and releasing a Trout on every other cast. The hot bite continued until the boat traffic picked up and the water clarity diminished.

If you want to experience the best of the Lowcountry - wake up early and go fishing.

Contact Captain Greg Peralta at captgregp@gmail.com or call (843) 224-0099.