FISHING bait using a cast net. Whether you are targeting shrimp or mullet, catching them along the shoreline is pretty easy. But once the water reaches the spartina grass and the bait with it, forget it because these critters are all hiding in places that will snag, rip and destroy your net in a heartbeat. If throwing a cast net isn’t your cup of tea, two local tackle shops usually have live and frozen bait. They are Southern Drawl Outfitters at Moss Creek Village and Bluffton Marine Supply located on Burnt Church Road, also in Bluffton. Most local marinas carry frozen bait only. So now let’s go fishing! It’s low tide; you’ve got live shrimp, maybe some mud minnows and a few mullet on ice. If I were you, I would target redfish first.
REDFISH
GRAPHIC SUPPLIED BY COLLINS DOUGHTIE
Redfish are creatures of habit and if you find a school in a certain place chances are good they will be within 100 yards of that spot the next time you go as long as the tide is the same. Reds prefer areas that have gentle sloping banks or “flats” as we call them with mixed
shell, mud and clumps of live oysters. Even big redfish will hunt in water that is less than a foot deep. Without a doubt, a strip or chunk of fresh mullet is a redfish’s filet mignon and rigging for them is simple. You’ll need a spool of 20-pound test fluorocarbon leader material (good for trout and flounder too), a variety if different size split shot weights, small swivels, Cajun Thunder corks and Owner 4/0 or 5/0 mutu light circle hooks and you are ready to rock and roll. I like to fish two or three rods, two on the bottom and one on the surface. Because a redfish’s mouth is under his chin, they are primarily bottom feeders while a trout’s mouth is in front so they can ambush shrimp and small fish straight on. With that in mind, a redfish bottom rig is nothing more than a small swivel connected to 15 inches of 20-pound fluorocarbon leader and then the 4/0 hook. Sometimes I add a split shot up near the swivel when the tide is flowing. For the top rig, everything is the same except I replace the swivel with a Cajun Thunder cork. Both redfish and trout are attracted to sound and because a Cajun Thunder cork has brass beads that make a
THE HOOK UP: Trout, sheepshead and redfish are three of the more popular fish in local waters. Here are three rigs you can use to catch them. July 2014 65
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