Try your luck — cast for Thanksgiving Day fish


Daniel Island Fishing Report


Early Saturday morning as I loaded my skiff for the days fishing, a brisk northeasterly wind sent me back into the house for an additional layer of clothing. My plan for the day was to run up Beresford Creek and scout for some new trout hot spots. I needed to get an early start so my skiff would fit under the bridge near Blackbaud Stadium. Idling past the docks leading towards the bridge, the brisk wind and cold steering wheel made my hands numb. Elliott, my 14 year old son, made the observation that summer is officially over!

The water on Saturday was 59 degrees and very clear. Arriving at a likely looking spot, my first cast into the 20 knot wind produced an embarrassingly large backlash in my favorite Shimano Calcutta reel. When trying to clear the backlash, a slot size redfish decided to make my life more interesting and ate the ¼ lead head jig tipped with a Gulp shrimp that I had just cast. It was a complete comedy of errors that my son found absolutely hilarious. That is until I landed the fish and he got a monster backlash on his next cast! Not wanting his father to have the last laugh, he said the backlash technique worked so well for me he decided to try it. I made a note to myself, next time bring spinning gear just in case. After sorting everything out and getting back to fishing, we released 4 more redfish and 2 small trout. Adding to our comedy of errors, we decided to leave the fish biting in search of quality trout. The next 8 stops did not produce a single bite!

Our 10th stop was the junction of Beresford and a smaller creek. The incoming tide and wind had created a current eddy that was trapping bait along the bank. This spot produced no trout. We did catch 3 nice flounder that we decided to keep for dinner. The next stop was a submerged oyster bar. This spot did hold a few trout, but no real big ones.

So off we went looking for the next fishy looking location. We decided to explore a bend in the creek that was sheltered from the wind. Not that it looked fishy, it was just nice to be out of the wind. We were pleasantly surprised to find a big school of redfish in the 25 to 30 inch range. Our main objective was to find some new trout holes, but we were out of the wind and catching fish. So we stayed with the school and released 4 more fish before calling it a day.

I learned a lot from this trip. Always bring a spinning outfit. Keep moving, you will eventually find fish. Once you find them stay with them. Plan B is a good thing.

Now if I could only find some quality sized trout!


Freshwater Fishing Trends at Lake Moultrie

Largemouth Bass: Slow, cast spinnerbaits, plastic worms and lizards along docks and structure. Also cast Rattletraps and Rapala lures around Pinopolis Point and Old Hatchery. Striped Bass: Fair, casting and trolling. Some schooling reported. Crappie: Excellent, using crickets and small to medium minnows around fish attraction areas and brush piles. Some crappie being caught on the bed with minnows and jigs. Catfish: Excellent, 9 to 15 feet deep using cut herring, stink bait, chicken livers and shiners 9 to 20 feet deep near the bottom dike edges and around the dam. Bream: Excellent, try using crickets and redworms, nightcrawlers around fish attraction areas and banks. Shellcrackers: Good. Try using crickets and redworms along the banks in river runs and along points, possibly in canals.


Salterwater Fishing Trends at the Piers


Winyah Bay Fishing and Observation Pier (Georgetown): Open 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, with free parking and fishing. Visitors also enjoy great bird watching. A Freshwater Fishing License is required due to brackish water.


Hobcaw Point Observation and Fishing Pier: Trout on cut bait and shrimp. Spottail bass caught with mullet. Some flounder also caught.


Folly Beach Pier: Open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. April through October. Whiting caught with shrimp.


Hunting Island State Park Fishing Pier: Pier is open 24 hours a day. The Nature Center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tues. though Sat. Redfish caught on minnows. Trout caught with shrimp. Some whiting also caught.


Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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