Carolina Fishing Report: Reliable Redfish Still Biting

Spectacular fishing for redfish remains in effect on days that the weather is nice. This has been quite a winter for redfish as huge schools of them have been roaming the backwater creeks and feeding on the shallowest of banks.

Most of the reports last month were coming from northern SC waters, but guides and anglers have recently been having success behind Ocean Isle and Sunset Beach. Usually the winter red drum fishing is better just south of the border, but the regulations against harvesting speckled trout seem to have kept the gill netters off the water and none of the barrier island creeks have been closed off lately. These waters are now holding the same numbers of redfish we are used to seeing in the Little River area.

The redfish are still hitting despite the fact that the water has been down to 39 degrees. On sunny days they are up against the dark banks feeding on crabs. Most of the time the schools are biting they are in very shallow (18-25 inches) water.

Redfish are responding to mud minnows (if you can find them) or Gulp and other scented lures on jig heads. You have to fish very slowly, and sometimes without a retrieve at all letting the current drift your jig. If you don't have live baits scented baits are just about a must for this kind of fishing. Use Gulp or Fishbites or other scented baits, or you can spray Gulp spray on your grubs.

There has not been any speckled trout bite at all, which hopefully only means that they are outside or that the ones on the inside are not feeding (redfish will feed in a slightly lower water temp than trout). There have been some black drum caught around a few of the docks. Nothing is stirring in the surf except the occasional dogfish or skate.

For more fishing articles see my blog A Dash of Salty and my website Surf and Salt