Going the social distance on the water

Daniel Island is a great place to live. Is it beautiful? Yes. Does it have wonderful amenities? Yes. Are there good schools for our children? Yes. However, it is people who make Daniel Island a special place.

I was reminded of this last Friday morning when I dropped by Publix to pick up a bag of ice. As I was towing my skiff, I parked on the street in front of Volvo Car Stadium. Walking up to the store entrance, there was a crowd of people waiting for the store to open at 8 a.m. Everyone was practicing social distancing, but all were smiling, friendly and engaging. In the middle of a global pandemic, it was reassuring to be surrounded by such thoughtful and caring people.

The tide was just beginning to fall when I launched the skiff. My plan was to target trout early then switch to redfish at the bottom of the tide. After a quick run into Beresford Creek, I began casting a Z-Man Finesse TRD to marsh points and oyster bars. The trout were in shallow water and feeding aggressively. Most were in the 12- to 14-inch range, but there were enough big ones to keep it interesting. The bite was steady until the tide went slack. Time to switch to redfish. 

It was getting windy, so I decided to target redfish in a small and super shallow creek. My Salt Marsh Skiff floats in 6 inches of water; anything less and I would have been unable to enter the creek. It may have been super shallow, but it was full of redfish chasing finger mullet. Rather than blind casting, I simply waited for the redfish to charge a passing school of mullet. Then, I cast my lure into the mayhem. The hook up was immediate.

As I fought the fish, I thought, “This is my kind of social distancing.”

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