Hot fishing lurks in cooler waters

By LEE STOKES
rodcrafter@islc.net

The best areas reported this week were: Bryan Creek, May River and Broad Creek. The mud flats and active grass reaches along these waterways showed outstanding action for large trout and spottail bass. For those preferring a slower pace -- but with excellent returns -- large flounder were also taken from May River along the mud banks.

Baits vary among anglers, but for flounder the first choice has been mud minnows. For trout and bass aficionados, their preference is shrimp.

I doubt you will have much trouble hooking up once a prime spot has been located. With cooler water, most gamefish are bulking up for colder days ahead. At the first sign of temperature change, trout move over deeper waters and go into a type of suspended animation -- an attitude that is highly predictable for veteran anglers.

During the first run of cold weather there will be little action. Then, with a few days of like temperatures, trout will begin to move back into the shallows -- but still close to deep water escape routes. Once conditions remain steady for an extended period, trout will range at all depths eager to strike anything that resembles a food source. This is the time for artificials, light lines and filet knives.

Spottail bass, on the other hand, have never been one to shy away from the weather. Only extreme conditions seem to deter the drive this gamefish shows for moving baitfish along the shallows.

The biggest challenge to anglers is curbing their enthusiasm when a school is located. More often than not, large schools are forced to move long before that first tug on the line due to improper boat handling. Always approach schooling gamefish with stealth. Have your rods and rigs baited and ready, and never crowd gamefish from an escape route. Doing so will result in a loss of valuable fishing time.

Flounder will be holding close to the bottom at this time in areas where currents ring the dinner bell. Lying in ambush in shallow waters close to mud banks and sandbars, flounder have been found stacked like cordwood. Much like a crowd of crows that takes flight at the first alarm, flounder will do the same, leaving a mud trail in their wake.

A slow troll along these reaches with a flounder rig, tipped with shrimp or minnows and harnessed to a mid tapered 7-foot spinning outfit will serve your needs well. With the use of a few marker buoys you can stay in the zone. When that first flounder has been taken, toss over a buoy, move the fish away from the area as quickly. Taking a 90-degree turn ensures you will remain close and stay on your mark. At the same time, you will not spook the balance of the school.

Anyone who has fished for sheepshead knows full well it can be frustrating. What is worse is targeting the species if they aren't cooperating.

A few old tricks can help you, though. Sheepshead can be taken when cold waters become stable, provided surface waters are calm and the structure is aged. Old docks and bridge pilings may seem the better choice, but rock beds should not be overlooked. On sunny days, large rocks exposed during tide changes will be a few degrees warmer. Small crabs and baitfish move into the pockets and sheepshead follow, remaining until temperatures dictate their move. These periods can last for hours, and anglers have an edge over the bandit for once.

Inshore sheepshead do not strike as hard as those offshore, and it has often been said that "you must set the hook just before they strike." If we could do this, we would never come home empty handed.

Your edge in the fight is that the food-source opportunity exposes itself among the rocks for very short periods. Sheepshead must manage to route their prey from among the rocks before it escapes. For this reason, strikes will often be hard and well forecast, making the catch ratio more in favor of the angler.

You will need a long, stout rod, short leader, short shank hooks, a mess of fiddlers crabs and strip baits of mussels, oyster or clam.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Another year in the Dolphin Tagging Study is coming to an end. With more than 1,300 fish tagged so far in 2008, the total number of dolphinfish tagged in this research effort stands at more than 9,900.

Marine fisheries biologist Don Hammond reminds anglers to get their tag cards in to be counted for the year-end awards. Completed data cards need to be in by Jan. 12 to qualify for a chance at the four Shimano TLD 50 2-speed reels on Star Custom crafter standup rods.

• Al Crowther won the Sea Island Fly Fishers semi-annual fly fishing tournament, landing two redfish with a total of six spots. He will have his name engraved on the club's trophy and will receive a $100 gift certificate at Bay Street Outfitters in Beaufort. Two new anglers caught their first redfish on fly tackle in this event, Rick Kocuba and John Holbrook. Although new to saltwater fly fishing, they are now hooked on the sport.

• The Sea Island Fly Fishers' next meeting will be a program on Bahamas Bonefishing at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 at Bay Street Outfitters. Anyone interested in learning more about fly fishing is welcome to attend.

• The annual Kids' Thanksgiving Tournament will be held Nov. 28 at the Fripp Island Marina and is open to all children with an adult sponsor. For more information, call 843-838-1517.

TACKLE TIP

A spooked fish often will reveal the species by the mud trail it leaves behind. If you move into the shallows and something moves out quickly in front of your boat, look closely. If the mud trail is a series of individual clouds of mud that move a short distance before settling, it was most likely a flounder. The individual puffs of mud were caused by the up and down tail action of the flounder. If the trail is more like a set of unbroken parallel lines, you more than likely jumped a spottail bass. If you do not see mud, but only a wake or ripple on the surface, you still have a clue. A zigzag pattern indicates the presence of a variety of species. A mullet will produce a wake with a more pronounced "V," while a spottail bass will show a more rounded wake.

MYSTERY CATCH

A recent trip to Hunting Island Lagoon by a group of tourists routed a call to my phone. It seems Tommy Reese, 13, sister Fay, 12, and younger brother Riley, 8, had caught a number of fish that could not be identified by parents Gordon and Regina.

Visiting the shoreline on their travels back to Virginia, the group decided on a layover. The kids easily landed numbers of small, silver fish using frozen shrimp. Given the tackle employed, I felt sure their catch was small spots, but this was the first I had heard of any activity in a good while. A call to friends at Fripp Island soon had the case solved: they were, in fact, small spots. Now knowing the fish to be edible, our northern visitors had a delightful dinner among new friends and fellow anglers.

Offshore action and other active species include: Triggerfish, Snapper, Grouper, Blackfish (large schools), Bluefish, Black Drum and Kingfish.

NWTF HELPS OUT

The Edgefield chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is helping less fortunate families in the area by offering hearty meals this holiday season. Through the Turkey Hunters Care Program, the chapter provided 173 turkeys -- a total of 1,038 meals -- to families in the area to help complete the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

"The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are times for family, but they are also a time when many families are in need," NWTF CEO George Thorton said. "Turkey Hunters Care is a great way for the NWTF's volunteers to help these families during some of the most celebrated holidays of the year."

Volunteers distributed 45 frozen domestic turkeys to the NJROTC from Strom Thurmond High School and 50 turkeys to the Edgefield Department of Social Services on Nov. 18 at NWTF headquarters in Edgefield. Chapter volunteers then delivered 66 turkeys to the Johnston Food Bank and 12 turkeys to Edgefield Baptist Church.

For more information about the NWTF's Turkey Hunters Care Program, call 800-THE-NWTF.

BEAUFORT FISHING TOURNAMENT STANDINGS

Standings for the Beaufort Fishing Tournament, with species, boat, angler and weight in pounds:

LARGEST SPECIES RESULTS

Amber jack: C-Spoon, Todd Bradley, 66.78

Barracuda: Sea Wolf VI, Joshua Price, 25.26

Black drum: Roll-N, Karsten Dutton, 10.58

Blackfin tuna: Artemis, Ted MaMunes, 11.00

Black sea bass: Mikes Marine, Mike Spade, 4.72

Bluefish: TopGun5, Taylor Taylor, 11.62

Cobia: Happy Dog, Tennant Houston, 50.44

Croaker: My Time Out Jr, Frank Gibson, 0.68

Dolphin (dorado): Tortteaser, Lovick Hornsby, 50.32

Founder: Roeme, Scott Willard, 6.82

Grouper: Sea Hawk III, Frank Gibson, 19.18

Jack crevalle: Fish Call, Frank Gibson, 13.94

King mackerel: Marvs Outboard, Bernie Vinoski, 41.94

Ladyfish: 3 Capt's, Swanton Anderson, 2.62

Little tunny: TopGun5, Tom Thomas, 14.78

Pompano: Fish Call, Frank Gibson, 0.88

Red drum: No Name, Ashby West, 5.10

Red snapper: Mikes Marine, Mike Spade, 18.00

Sea trout:Mikes Marine, Mark Clifford, 4.3

Sheepshead: Miss Fripp, Frank Gibson, 8.82

Spadefish: TopGun5, Tom Thomas, 8.20

Spanish mackerel: Marvs Outboard, Sibet Copeland, 6.2

Spotted seatrout: Roeme, Scott Willard, 5.24

Spot: Wally Phinney, Nick Polowy, 1.32

Toad fish: Mikes Marine, Frank Gibson, 3.14

Triggerfish: No Worries, Larry Andrews, 9.11

Vermillion snapper: No Worries, Seth Andrews, 3.02

Wahoo: No Worries, Steve Roll, 53.16

Weakfish: A+B, Ben Vegar, 1.04

Whiting: Reel Control, Joe Marshall, 1.24

FEMALE ANGLER

Amber jack: Hold-N-On, Melanie McCaffree, 28.90

Barracuda: Miss Fripp, Phyllis Gibson, 14.30

Black Drum: Jean Rae, Jean Linker, 9.3

Black sea bass: Desperado, Monique Lambert, 2.46

Bluefish: Sea Wolf VI, Katie Gambla, 1.96

Cobia: Jean Rae, Carol Currin, 33.16

Croaker: Froggy Daddy, Carol Currin, 0.64

Dolphin (dorado): Artemis, Pam Roy, 9.18

Flounder: Artemis, Pam Roy, 4.10

Grouper: Artemis, Pam Roy, 13.36

King mackerel: Dr Hook, Marsha Vinoski, 27.56

Ladyfish: Miss Fripp, Phyllis Gibson, 1.50

Little tunny: Sea Wolf, Chris Odioso, 12.7

Red drum: Mikes Marine, Bobbie Spade, 4.14

Red snapper: Mikes Marine, Sarah Florez, 6.44

Sea trout: Froggy Daddy, Carol Curren, 2.68

Sheepshead: Jean Rae, Jean Linker, 4.72

Spanish mackerel: Marvs Outboard, Sibet Copeland, 6.2

Spots: Lil Looer, Holly Carslake, 0.18

Toad fish: Artemis, Pam Roy, 1.96

Triggerfish: Artemis, Crissy Hinson, 4.60

Vermillion snapper: Mikes Marine, Sarah Florez, 2.07

Weakfish: Froggy Daddy, Carol Currin, 0.74

Whiting: Froggy Daddy, Carol Currin, 1.14

10X10 YOUTH

Bluefish: White Whale, Peter Trask, 1.84

Croaker: White Whale, Peter Trask, 0.12

Jack crevalle: Sea Wolf VI, Matthew Moore, 2.18

Ladyfish: Miss Fripp, Kane Thorp, 2.0

Spotted sea trout: Just Because, Zach Wilson, 1.2

Spanish mackerel: Reet Hot, Mason Coner, 4.20

Whiting: Just Because, Zach Wilson, 0.88

YOUTH

Amber jack: My Time Out III, Kane Thorp, 16.30

Barracuda: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 17.04

Black drum: Prez, Andrew Carr, 2.46

Black sea bass: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 3.30

Bluefish: Sea Wolf VI, Taylor Poole, 2.46

Cobia: Sea Hawk III, Wes Chesnutt, 42.66

Croaker: White Whale, Peter Trask, 0.12

Flounder: Sea Buyyou, Tommy Buskiek, 4.56

Grouper: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 10.86

Jack crevalle: Sea Wolf VI, Matthew Moore, 2.18

King mackerel: TopGun VI, Zach Brown, 23.4

Ladyfish: Sea Wolf VI, Taylor Poole, 2.46

Red drum: Reel Chance, Billy Amick, 4.86

Red snapper: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 14.32

Sheepshead: Sea Wolfe, Shelbi Sasse, 2.88

Spadefish: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 6.16

Spanish mackerel: Sea Wolf, Hunter Pylant, 4.60

Spotted sea trout: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 3.34

Toad fish: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 1.01

Triggerfish: Mikes Marine, Brice Spade, 3.62

Vermillion snapper: No Worries, Seth Andrews, 3.02

Whiting: Reel Control, Megan Craig, 0.54

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