Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Report - 12/24/2013

Craig Lupton at Buck, Bass and Beyond in Beaufort has submitted our Christmas fishing report!!

Have fun trying to name all of these saltwater species!!

The TROUT bite has been hanging in there. I have still been getting reports of large numbers of fish being caught with several bigger than normal keepers. Live shrimp fished under an adjustable slip cork seems to be the go to technique. The BILLY BAY LOWCOUNTRY LIGHTNING adjustable depth popping cork is super effective for keeping your bait in the strike zone, whether the trout are 40 feet deep or 4 feet deep. As for the artificial lure fishermen we have been selling a lot of the ZMAN Scented POGYZ and Scented PADDLERZ in the Electric Chicken color or any of the more natural colors like Pinfish or Redbone. Another hot bait recently has been the TRIGGER X  Paddle Tail Minnow in the Electric Chicken. Try fishing the soft plastics on 1/4 oz. and 3/8 oz. jig heads in red or white. Fish them slow and make sure to fish the deeper holes as I have been getting reports of Trout being caught in holes down to 40 ft. I have been hearing of Trout being caught from St. Helena Sound all the way up the Combahee past the HWY 17 bridge.

The REDFISH bite is same as usual. Lots of Reds being caught on the mud flats and the creek intersections around oysters and grass edges. The GULP shrimp in the New Penny color has been responsible for catching some nice Reds recently. Rig it on the same jig heads as you would use for the trout.

BLACK DRUM fishing has been super lately. The Broad River bridge is always a safe bet for some good action as is the P.I. Reef on the Broad. All you need is a medium heavy rod/reel combo. rigged with a fish finder slider, 1 to 2 ounces of lead, 1/0 to a 2/0 circle hook and baited with some cut Mullet. Fish close to the structure and deeper holes near structure.
If you get lucky and catch a keeper Black drum, filet the fish but leave the skin and scales on one side of each filet. Spice meat side with your favorite seasonings like garlic lemon pepper, butter and fresh lemon juice and place a few lemon slices on the fish. Place filets on hot grill scale side down cook for 5 to 7 minutes till fish is firm. The scales act like a plate and the meat separates from the skin perfectly when cooked right and there is minimal grill cleaning when finished. Serve with some New Potatoes and a fresh green salad.

To view past Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Reports click here.