Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Report - 1/8/2013

Lowcountry Outdoors redfish and CCA hat

First up is the news that the Coastal Conservation Association of South Carolina has announced their 2013 state convention for the weekend of February 1 and 2 on Daniel Island. To view past blog entries from the CCA State Convention click here. Lowcountry Outdoors is glad to support CCA, recently becoming a silver sponsor at the Sea Island CCA chapter banquet: for photos click here.

Fishing Report for the Coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina:
Charleston Inshore Report: Scott Hammond at Haddrell's Point West last wrote that cold mornings have kept some anglers in the house and in bed, but this latest forecast should have everyone on the water and fishing again this weekend! Sheepshead continue to be a Go-To target in January, with great success coming from locations like bridges, shallow reefs and the jetties. Fiddlers remain the most consistent bait of choice, but live shrimp will also prove deadly during the cooler months for sheepshead. Using a slip-float style rig with live shrimp along rock piles inshore this time of year is one of Scott's favorite ways to probe for sheepshead. When heading to the reefs he prefers fiddlers rigged carolina style, since you will blow through a lot of bait while out there. The trout have become more lethargic with the colder water temps that arrived around the New Year. Try working finesse baits for trout right now in 5 to 10-feet of water, like the Trout Trick or the "Ralph Phillips Special" made by Z-man. Don't know what that one is - then you better check with some Jim Isle locals!! Redfish are schooling up in big numbers, which honestly can make them a little harder to locate, but once you find a school you can work them for a while. Live mud minnows, live shrimp, Gulp baits and Zman Streakz are great options to throw to schooling redfish on the shallow flats. And when all else fails, DON'T FORGET to bring some cut mullet!! For all the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Haddrell's Point.

Hilton Head Inshore Report: Josh Boyles from Southern Drawl Outfitters reports that some of the redfish schools have developed lockjaw. Customers report massive schools of big fish that just won't eat. Josh finds that when fish are like that, the best method is to clean up your rig presentation. Josh's favorite rig this time of year is a 5 to 6-foot flouro leader of 20-pound test with a 2-ought light-gauge circle hook. No swivels, no lead weight , no nuthin' to spook the fish! Sounds like a great Pro Tip right there!! If he absolutely has to use a weight then he goes with a pinch-on weight that is only heavy enough to cast the needed distance to reach the outer edge of the school. He recommends putting the rod and reel into the rod holder, and simply waiting until a redfish comes and picks up the bait. The trout bite has been consistent using Bass Assassins on a jig head, and while everyone has a favorite color it's hard to beat the good ole' trusty Electric Chicken coloration. The sheepshead bite is going good but anglers state the the black sea bass closures have their population at a smothering level, meaning it takes about a dozen fiddlers to land one sheepshead for all the sea bass bycatch. It's simple, if you can't keep a sheepshead bait on the bottom, then you can't catch a sheepshead. For all the latest store info visit the Internet at Southern Drawl Outfitters.

Offshore Report: Scott tells us that with a good portion of our bottom fishing species under closure there has not been much activity in the deep water. However good reports of triggerfish are coming from 65 to 100-feet of water, with plenty of black sea bass and porgies to fight off along the way. In the nearshore area, the shallower reefs in 25 to 35 feet of water are starting to aggregate a lot of sheepshead right now.

Josh shares that blackfin tuna continue to be the main targeted species. The new style of vertical jigging has remained effective. The boats that are trolling are having a hard time keeping the bonitas off the hook long enough to catch a blackfin. Another option involves casting topwater plugs, after marking fish in the upper 50-feet of the water column. Start throwing plugs because it is nothing for these little speed demons to come to surface and begin thrashing your offerings.

To view past Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Reports click here.

Vero Vellini - Gun slings and more

Vero Vellini bino strap

Vero Vellini gun sling

Vero Vellini cartridge case

Cartridge case inside view

Know anyone who likes to go deer driving in the morning and then head to the treestand later in the day? How often does the change in ammo from shotgun to rifle require that hunter to search for the right shells to carry? I recently found a neat item by Vero Vellini gunslings that will serve both purposes. The brown suede cartridge case attaches to your belt conveniently and holds four buckshot shells and six rifle bullets, keeping one organized and ready for that next possible deer hunt. Of course Vero Vellini is known for their neoprene shotgun and rifle slings, plus they offer a darn good binocular strap. I have used the non-slip bino strap for the past five years and I can relate that it holds up well, and is the most comfortable binocular strap I have seen offered. If you are looking for a new gun sling I recommend the regular width sling and not the wide-top version by Vero Vellini. To see a full selection of slings and cartridge cases visit www.gunslingsdirect.com

2013 Dove Hunt on SCDNR free hunt date

Lady Hunter takes aim

Nick Infinger and his lab

Nice mess of doves

Mike Polk keeps a sharp eye for doves

The New Year was off to a sporting start on January 5 with the state youth deer hunt day, and the SCDNR free hunt day, and the next-to-last Saturday of dove season. Regarding the latter, that means that if you have any doves at all then it is time to hunt them before the season goes out on January 15. Fortunate to be with a great group of outdoorsmen and one lady hunter, we took to the dove field at 1 p.m. to try our luck. There is an old saying that states that late season doves fly high, since they are now keen to stay out of range of shotguns, and it was never truer than on this hunt. While some guns had the range to bring down a few grey birds, others did not have as much luck. Plenty of shotgun shells were fired in a salute to the dodging and tough-to-hit doves, which makes this hunt go down as a big success. It's not always about the harvest, simply having a few doves to shoot at before the long offseason is a bit of a blessing. Cold weather around the New Year helped to gather a few doves to the Lowcountry in 2013, and a winter chill in a wide open dove field is a good feeling to know.

To view past blog entries about dove hunts click here.

2013 Grand American and Coon Fest

2013 embroidery with coon hound

2013 Wild Coon Hunt - Best Pairs Award

You can get ANYTHING here

Coon by Walterboro artist Carl Wilson

The United Kennel Club  (UKC) and Amercian Cooner brought the 48th Grand American Hunt and Coon Fest back to Orangeburg on January 4 and 5. Entire families turn out to show their support of coon hounds and hog dogs and the two-day attendance can total 30,000 folks or more! The UKC is headquartered in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the UKC brings dog dealers and outfitters to S.C. from states as far away as Texas, Lousiana and Alabama. Of course, plenty of coon hunters from the upstate, midlands and Lowcountry of the Palmetto state show up to hunt, shop, eat and live the coon hunting lifestyle. Bench Show categories include Registered hounds, Dual Champion hounds and Best Pairs. A treeing contest at the County Fairgrounds on Friday is followed by two nights of coon hunting competitions with plenty of trophies and cash on the line. During the day, dog sales are a big part of the draw, with plenty of 'horse trading' going on concerning the prices for individual coon hounds. An amazing array of hunting related gear is on sale including muck boots, briar chaps, GPS dog collars, head lamps and of course dog leads of every conceivable length and color. Their is coon artwork, specialty coon craft items, pick up truck dog boxes and of course the apparel that broadcasts which kind of dog you prefer. For example, I Coon Hunt with Blue Tick Hounds, can be found on license plates, t-shirts and hats. Whether you prefer a Plott's, Redbone, Treeing Walker or English coon hound - the Grand American has something for everyone!

To view past blog entries about the Grand American click here.

Birding Journal Observations / Nov. - Dec. 2012

Rufous hummingbird on Thanksgiving Day

The fall of 2012 will go down as the best nuthatch viewing of my life. The first ever sighting of a brown-headed nuthatch at my feeders came on November 21 - and this is an easy bird to identify. He joined the red-breasted nuthatch (from my Oct. observations) as a rare visitor to the Southeast - apparently due to some type of pine cone seed crop failure in the Northeast? Of course, the white-breasted nuthatch is very common here and I have had two or more of them at the peanut feeder along with the other two nuthatch visitors. SPLENDID! The fall of 2012 is the second in a row that I have welcomed a rufous hummingbird to the feeders and this was the first year that the visitor lingered all the way through November, with some memorable viewing on Thanksgiving Day. My last rufous observation was on November 30. Other first sightings for 2012 included a Ruby-crowned kinglet on November 18, and Christmas day brought a flurry of four goldfinches. Despite the finches feeding at the thistle station, they left that same day and have not been seen since. I have heard of other sightings of goldfinches on 12/25 followed by empty feeders, which signals to me that those finches were headed South. My first fox sparrow and a dark-eyed junco showed up on 12/27. Climactic conditions improved in late December with four inches of rain over the last 2.5 weeks of 2012. Other sightings included tufted titmouse, cardinal, downy woodpecker, carolina chickadee, brown thrasher, red-headed woodpecker, chipping sparrow, white-throated sparrow, dove, yellow-bellied sapsucker, mockingbird, sharp-shinned hawk, Northern parula warbler, carolina wren, Canada goose and redhead duck.

To view past Birding Journal Observations click here.

New Year's Day doe with long, curved hoofs

Surprised to see long, curved and elf-like hoofs

Doe hoofs that are much longer than normal

Fortunate to be hunting for white-tailed deer on New Year's Day, hunters can seize the day as the final opportunity to harvest some venison, or a trophy animal. During the first man drive of the morning my stand was in a likely spot for success and I was able to harvest two does. What happened next was quite peculiar. The second doe came to a crashing halt with her four hoofs sticking up, which almost never happens. (I can't recall ever seeing this before) Upon inspection of the animal, I could see that the hoofs were elongated and curved upward at the end, almost like the shoes of an elf ?! While other shots rang out in the woodlands, I became aware that I had harvested something very unique. Few things in nature are as uniform as the hoofs on a deer, which is the tool that serves them well whether they are crossing terra firma or swampy terrain. With a bit of research, I learned that this condition is called 'foundering' and is brought on by diet, or perhaps by the animals inability to process a portion of that diet. Another hypothesis states that the animal has ligament damage that requires it to walk on the back of the hoofs, which inadvertantly lets the front of the hoofs grow without normal wear. Whatever the reason, anything as unique as these curved hoofs is considered a trophy, making this is a great way to start the 2013 deer season! These hoofs will be preserved via taxidermy, and the memories of the group effort that brought about this special harvest will always be shared with those who view them.

This view shows how odd the hoofs look

To view another version click The Sportsman Channel.

Long-hoof doe as she came to rest in the woods

To view past blog entries about man drives for white-tailed deer click here.

2013 Deer Season gets off to a good start

New Year's Day harvest with the man drivers

Spencer Clark and Angus Lawton Jr.

Father and son Bo and Jackson Wood,
they each shot a doe on the drive

Annual New Year's Day man drives for white-tailed deer, play out on countless properties in the Palmetto State, offering a great way to get a head start on the 2013 deer season! Summoned to Jasper County for a traditional end of deer season hunt, the assembled hunters ranged in age from 13 years old to a venerable 90 years old!! Talk of first deer memories from this property for some of the hunters circulated, and the huntmaster gave a safety talk about what animals are on the harvest menu and what is the definition of a safe shot. Once the standers were all deployed, the drivers began whooping and hollering in an effort to stir up the deer. At 9 a.m. a small doe came rocketing right by my stand, which was in the woods next to a privet patch, offering the deer a sporting chance. She dodged my first shot with her warp speed pace, but I was able to wheel and deal on my second shot and was VERY fortunate to harvest the doe! Thirty minutes later another doe tried to use the same game trail and I was able to utilize another doe tag. Taking two does on one drive - what a way to start the 2013 deer season! A total of six deer were harvested during the hunt, and everyone who wanted venison for their freezer was able to take home some meat.

Two does and two bros, with Julian Clark

To view past blog entries about man drives for white-tailed deer click here.