Posts Tagged ‘Folly Beach Fishing Report’

Heavy winds were the dominant theme in April much like in March. Stormy days made for choppy water and finicky fish. Fortunately, May is here and anglers can expect weather conditions to improve and be more stable. Bait is filling our fishery and that will really turn on the bite.

Fishing for redfish has been quite good. Given the weather, we’ve been using a lot of bait fished on the bottom. Menhaden and finger mullet are now available and both are happily eaten by redfish. On the flats, we have been moving until a school is located then throwing out our bait and waiting for the school to return to us. It can take patience but on days when fish are being picky, it is the way to go.

While they are usually flourishing by this time of year, trout are scarce. The catch rate is down for sure with anglers wondering if a second cold winter in a row has affected the trout stock. Last year it took much longer than usual for the trout bite to get going and hopefully that will be the case this year. In the meantime, live shrimp under a popping cork can’t be beat if you do target trout.

On a positive note, the flounder bite continues to improve. The same finger mullet that work well for redfish work well for flounder too. Slowly working finger mullet around structures like docks and rock walls will do the trick. Remember that flounder will hug the bottom in hopes of ambushing their prey, so you’ll need to keep that bait down on or close to the bottom as well. We’ve also started catching flounder on artificial lures like paddle tail grubs and jerk shad.

With the warmer water temperatures, sharks have returned to our waters. You’ll start to see the fins of bonnethead sharks slicing through the water as they seek out prey. Chunks of blue crab or live shrimp both work well on these predators. Fishing for sharks can be a great way to get younger anglers involved as sharks are usually hungry and put up great fights.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.

During March, calm weather days were few and far between. When the wind did lay down, fishing was excellent especially sight fishing for redfish at low tide.  As April often ushers in better behaved weather, anglers can expect fishing for reds to be very good this month and look forward to trout becoming part of the mix.

The large schools of redfish have begun to break up. You’ll find redfish traveling in smaller groups on the flats as well as under docks and in deeper holes. To counteract the wind, we’ve been fishing with live and cut bait on the bottom. Cracked blue crab has been especially effective. Use circle hooks in size 3/0 and enough weight to hold the bait stationary. Put the rod in a holder and wait for the reel to scream as the fish will set itself!

Trout have just started to appear in deeper water and live shrimp will be the ticket when targeting them. Working docks and shell beds with a shrimp on a 1/4oz. jighead can be very productive. You’ll want to make sure that you can get this bait deep enough to get in front of the trout. As trout become more active, popping corks cast along grass banks and over oyster beds will be a good bet paired with live or artificial shrimp.

We’ve begun to catch the first flounder of the year. They’ve all been caught on shrimp or mud minnows under docks. Finger mullet is an excellent bait for these fish. You’ll need to focus on structure when fishing for flounder. Pilings are good places to prospect as well. Flounder bites can be soft and you’ll want to let the fish eat for a few seconds before you set the hook.

Fly fishermen were the most challenged by all the blustery weather. We frequently found redfish tailing on the flats on low tides sometimes with their backs out of the water as they fed aggressively. Smaller white/chartreuse and black clouser minnow flies were the most productive. As baitfish become more prolific, larger bodied flies will become part of the rotation. Reports of redfish tailing in the grass at high tide have even begun to circulate.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 843-324-3332 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.

Spring is fast approaching! Sun filled days with temperatures sometimes reaching even into the 70′s have fishermen excited to hit the water. Best of all the bite is starting to markedly improve as warmer waters fill our fishery.

Having spent the last few months laying low and avoiding dolphins, redfish are transitioning from a period focused simply on preservation to now becoming predators again. With redfish still in big schools of up to hundreds of fish, the best fishing will be at low tide when you can sight cast to them. These fish are still spooky so stealth is of upmost importance when approaching a school. Oftentimes, it pays to anchor up when you find a school and wait for them to return to you instead of chasing them down.

Once you are in casting range, jerk shad lures rigged on flutter hooks are my go to option. These artificial lures, usually 4″-5″ in length, imitate small baitfish. Flutter hooks have a weight on their shank that let you cast a far distance and also put motion on the lure. I use flutter hooks in size 3/0 with an 1/8oz. weight.  You’ll want to work these lures slowly because the redfish are still sluggish.  Make sure to cast to the edges of the schools, if you cast right into the middle you stand a good chance of spooking them.

For jerk shad colors, I have been throwing lures with darker blue tops and lighter bellies. However, you will find at this time of year sometimes these big schools of redfish don’t want anything to do with artificials. When this happens, it’s time to soak some cut bait. I’ll put chunks of frozen mullet on size 3/0 circle hooks and just let it sit on the bottom until the redfish swim over it. Put your rod in the rod holder and resist the urge (if at all possible!) to set the hook when you see a fish begin to eat. The circle hook will do all the work for you and when your reel starts to sing you are in business.

It’s hard to have a stealthier approach than with a flyrod. This is one of the times of year when fly fishing can be the most productive means of catching redfish. A well cast fly can land making only the slightest splash. Right now, we are using smaller flies especially black and white/chartreuse clouser minnows. When the fish are finicky, you can wait until the school is over your fly before you begin your retrieve and often this will draw a strike!

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.

The last few weeks of fishing have been fantastic! Fish are devouring anything thrown at them. Whether it’s live bait, artificial lures or flies, they are all working well. Combined with pleasant sunny days, it’s no wonder why anglers love this time of year.

Redfish continue to form bigger and bigger schools. We are finding schools as big as a hundred fish and they will continue to swell in numbers. Jerk shad artificial lures are working the best and you can watch the redfish bumping into one another as they scramble to eat them. Since we are trying to imitate small baitfish, we are throwing artificials that have dark grey or blue tops and silver or white bellies. Zman’s jerk shad in Smokey Shad or Shiner are good examples and their lures are very durable as well.

Stealth is key when approaching these big schools of redfish! Being patient and quiet is very important. You’ll certainly want to turn your engine off well before you get close to a school. Trolling motors can be invaluable for getting within casting range. These schools do tend move around and sometimes the best tactic is to anchor and wait for the fish to come to you. I have also found that if you stir up a school after catching one or two, it’s best to let them settle down for awhile instead of continuing to chase and agitate them.

Trout are just plain hungry and it’s hard to beat a live shrimp under a popping cork. Underneath the popping cork, I’ll tie on a fluorocarbon leader about 18-24” long and use a size 1 circle hook. About 6” above the hook I’ll put a piece of split shot to help the shrimp sink in the water after I pop the cork. It’s important to pop the cork at a slow enough pace so that the shrimp falls in a lifelike a manner. Oftentimes, it’s on the fall when those trout will crush the bait!

Trout are also happily eating artificials and we are having the most success with paddletail grub lures. I’ll fish these lures on a 1/4oz. jighead which I tie to my leader with a loop knot to give the lure more action. The Chicken On A Chain has been the hottest color while other patterns with darker bodies are working well too. I try to bump these lures along the bottom to start and then increase my rate of retrieve to cover the rest of the water column.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.

The perfect storm that makes fishing so great in the fall is about to begin. The combination of lower water temperatures, tons of bait and fewer fishermen on the water makes for fantastic conditions. The fact that cooler days will make fishing much more pleasant doesn’t hurt either!

As usual during this time of year, redfish will begin to increasingly take artificial baits. Paddletail shad lures fished on 1/4oz. jigheads are very popular and effective. You’ll find jigheads in all different colors. I usually choose unpainted but it’s just a matter of your preference. Texas Roach and Chicken on a Chain/Fiji Chix are hot colors for the grubs but check your local tackle shop to get an idea of what’s working.  Always try changing the speed of your retrieve as well as the color of the lure.

The biggest trout continue to be produced throwing topwater lures first thing in the morning. We’ve been consistently catching trout in the 2-3lb. class using Super Spook Jr’s with the black head/chartreuse body as our go-to color. When the topwater bite dies down, we have been switching over to MirrOLure suspended lures and finding more eager fish. Plenty of smaller trout are being caught by the handful using popping corks cast along grass banks and over shell rake. Using either live shrimp or artificial D.O.A. shrimp under these corks will do the trick.

Seasonal species are still present and put up impressive fights for their size. We’ve recently had some tremendous action with spanish mackerel and bluefish crushing topwater lures. These bluefish are only 12″-14″ but can really put a bend in the rod. Live shrimp under a popping cork will take ladyfish as well as bluefish. Don’t be surprised if a rouge bonnethead shark eats that shrimp too!

Fly fishermen had excellent tailing tide action in August. We frequently found multiple redfish happily eating at any given spot. Dupre’s spoon flies in either gold or root beer worked very well. Incidentally, we have also been throwing these flies at low tide on the flats with good results. Their flash and sparkle of spoon flies can be a real advantage when water clarity is an issue.

See you on the water!

Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 843-324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.