Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Report - 11/27/12

Fishing Report for the Coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina:

Perky redfish ready for release!

Charleston Inshore Report: Scott Hammond at Haddrell's Point West asks have you tricked a trout lately?? Get a bag of Trout Tricks, the latest plastic bait for specks, and you will have made a deadly investment towards landing lots of spotted seatrout. Just like the super sized tides lately, reports of quality trout have been flooding in to Scott for two weeks now! Our 'steady as she goes' weather pattern has the trout locked into the right mindset, and the waters are getting gin clear. Other options for trout include Zman PaddlerZ, DOA shrimp, Mirrolure 17MR - and for best results fish them around hard bottom and shell rakes in 3 to 7-feet of water. Anglers don't need live live bait right now for trout, but a live shrimp under a floating cork will never go out of style. Redfish continue to school up in larger numbers as the water temps fall, and are feeding aggressively in shallow water flats during low tide levels. Gulp jerkshads, cut mullet, and 1/8-ounce gold spoons are all working well on red drum. Sheepshead reports are reaching critical mass, with one boat reporting 80 sheepies in a 4-hour trip!  Sheepshead tactics include using fiddler crabs and live shrimp around rock piles and bridge pilings in 8 to 15-feet of water. For all the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Haddrell's Point.

Josh Boyles from Southern Drawl Outfitters in Hilton Head starts by saying that he just got off the water and the Tuna are HERE! He caught them trolling, jigging and on topwater too. The grouper bite was pretty good as well. Reports about the presence of wahoo are affirmative. The inshore fishing remains good and the trout bite is still going crazy. The reds are becoming spooky at low tide in the clear water, so try to move quietly from spot to spot and locate them visually before making your cast. Then work your bait or lure very slowly. If the fish are super sluggish due to cold weather, Josh recommends letting a Gulp bait just sit out there for 3 to 5-minutes to produce a better bite. SUBTLE is the key word so remember to go with the lightest weight possible, so as not to make a loud splash when casting. The bull reds are out of the sound, but are holding offshore in great numbers. The loons and the gannets will show you where they are located every time. For the latest store information visit Southern Drawl Outfitters.

Offshore Report: Scott tells us that even though many of the preferred bottom species are currently under closures, some anglers are still out there probing fro triggerfish, porgies, and some grouper. Butterfly style jigs and live baits are your best choices for grouper and grunts, while triggers will readily take a piece of squid. Two boats that went trolling recently at the ledge found the wahoo bite scattered in 160 to 300-feet of water, with a few sailfish sprinkled in from 400 to 600-feet of water.

To view past Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Reports click here.