Lowcountry Fishing Report - 10/30/12

Fishing Report for the Coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina:

Jim Goller with a Beaufort bull redfish

Charleston Inshore: Scott at Haddrell's Point West declares that It's grubbin'time! Yep, that means that the speckled trout bite has kicked into full swing and they are shredding the soft plastics right now! The old stand by of trolling for trout is producing solid numbers of fish in the 13 to 18-inch range. Most of these fish come from water depths of 3 to 6-feet near submerged shell banks. Remember the spots where trolling produced some strikes, and ease back in there to cast some Smokey Shad Z-man Paddlerz to lure other specks to bite that are 'staging.' Chatterbaits and D.O.A. shrimp are also performing well on the trout. Redfish are still chewing, though this dose of cold weather may slow them up a bit. Look for them around docks at low water using live minnows, shrimp, and Gulp jerkshads for solid results. The sheepshead bite has been picking up with the cooler water temps using fiddlers and shrimp around bridge pilings and rock piles. For all the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Haddrell's Point.

Colt Harrison at The Charleston Angler in West Ashley begins by sharing that water temps are hovering near 70-degrees. The hottest topic during this cool weather is the trout bite, with the best catches of the year being reported both in size and total numbers of fish. Early morning topwater action has been hot, and redfish can join in the fun too. Switch to unweighted jerkshads and suspending mirrolures later in the morning - or the old standby D.O.A. shrimp under a popping cork. Find the trout along main river mouths where the water is moving. When the water movement hits a lull, look for a redfish hanging on the deeper edges and shadowing schools of mullet. Fly anglers can use toad flies, which mimic crabs, to target these low-water redfish. When the water levels rise, the redfish add shrimp to their diet. Colt says to use diving sea gulls to helps locate them, and then cast under them looking for a slot red. For all the latest seminar information visit the Internet at The Charleston Angler.

Hilton Head Inshore: Josh Boyles at Southern Drawl Outfitters reports that the bull reds have begun to push offshore. He expects a few to be found inshore through the New Year, but then anglers will have to search for them at reefs and ledges. Look for diving loons and gannets as a great way to identify that areas that the bull redfish are using. Smaller slot redfish will stay inshore and settle into their winter patterns. With bait less abundant, and waters becoming more and more clear, then sight-casting opportunities begin to increase for anglers. The trout bite is strong and using a shrimp under a popping cork remains the most popular method. Anglers who opt to fish soft plastics can cover more ground though, and D.O.A.'s, Bass Assassins and Gulps are working as good as live bait. Don't overlook topwater baits either, since Josh relates that some of his largest trout ever hit a topwater target! At the nearshore reefs, if you can keep your bait away from the 'endangered seabass' then you should be able to produce impressive numbers of sheepshead. For the more information visit the Internet at Southern Drawl Outfitters.

Offshore Report: Josh relays that the few reports he is hearing involve a mixed bag of fish and not many numbers of fish. One or two dolphin, wahoo, blackfin tuna for trollers, and one or two Beeliners, triggers,  and spades for bottom droppers.

No one is sneaking out into the 'big pond' right now with late-season surprise Hurricane Sandy in the mix. One week ago Scott had reports of a decent wahoo bite, and blackfin tuna, at both the Georgetown Hole and the Southwest Banks. It's not out of the question to come across a school of mahi either, with two boats picking up a dolphin fish each. The sailfish bite has not been wide open like we have been waiting for, but 1 to 5 shots a day for sailfish has been the average thus far.

To view past fishing reports for the coastal Lowcountry click here.