Water temperatures in the 50s are perfect for catching fish

My son, Elliott, is home for the holidays. So, Elliott, Brody (the amazing fish-finding dog) and I are making up for lost fishing time together. Thankfully, the weather has been warm, and the fish have been hungry.

With surface water temperatures in the upper 50-degree range, redfish, trout and flounder are patrolling the shallows looking for easy holiday meals. This makes them predictable and much easier to catch.

Elliott and I have been using the trolling motor to quietly search oyster laden creek banks and casting Z-Man Finesse TRD (Hot Snakes) lures to the base of oyster bars. When Brody barks, we slow down and fish the area thoroughly. Elliott and I are unsure if Brody knows where the fish are or if the fish are literally everywhere and we simply catch more fish when we slow down. Personally, I am betting on Brody.

On one of our trips, I was running the trolling motor on high, quickly moving the Pathfinder to the next set of oyster bars. Brody jumped up on the deck and barked a couple of times. I laughed and told Elliott there were no fish in this featureless section of the creek. He cast to the bank anyway and hooked an upper slot limit redfish. As Elliott and Brody posed for the picture, I thought it was good to have Elliott home, and perhaps Brody really was an amazing fish-finding dog.

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

WANT TO GO?

The Cold-Water Fishing Class will be at the Daniel Island Library on Tuesday, Jan. 21 from 6-8 p.m. Seating is limited. Please confirm your seats with an email to captgregp@gmail.com. If you want to learn more about locating and catching fish in cold-water conditions, this is the class for you.