Fishing methods

[ronaultmtd]

This week I fished Pawley's Island, SC with kayak fishing guide Mike Eady- the methods there are so different for the same species I routinely fish for here-Speckled Trout and Redfish- Mike showed me some new tricks (actually old tricks I used decades ago) for catching pressured fish- Even on a week day, the fishermen were out at Pawley's Island- and Mike's reputation made us an easy target for boaters trying to find the fish- they would simply wait until we setup and then come and fish right on top of us- It was flattering but irritating at the same time- we used several different types of live bait and rigs to catch fish depending on where we were and what they were feeding on- I had success with everything we used- fiddler crabs, sand fleas, live finger mullet and cut bait. Being the only experienced kayak fisherman in the group Mike left me to my own devices and his buddy, Jon, fished with me. We switched over to the lures I use here in Maryland and had some success, but not as fast or furious as the live bait. Jon used a cast net to catch finger mullet and we broke off to find less pressured fish in the flats next to the inlet- The rig used was very simple a 1/2 oz egg sinker on the main line running to a swivel tied directly to the main line- then a 1/0 aberdeen long shank snelled hook is attached to the swivel to complete a "fish finder" rig. The live bait is hooked through the lips and cast out into the oyster beds in two to three feet of water with a moving tide- Huge schools of finger mullet are moving all around and the reds and specks are chasing bait- Bonnet sharks (a sub species of hammerhead shark), bull sharks, and small bluefish are also prowling the oyster bed flats- so you never know what is going to pick up your bait and run with it- I noticed this method of live bait fishing was also used a lot in Florida in the Indian River Lagoon around Merritt Island, too. They simply use live shrimp, live mullet, live pinfish on either a bare hook or a fish finder rig- Lots of sight casting to moving fish on the flats with small live crabs and live shrimp-

[Poolz1]

Some of the best kind of fishing! Unfortunately I only get to do it once a year..sometimes twice. Will be heading down to Sunset beach in a few weeks which is just North of Myrtle. I have usually used finger mullet, mud minnows or sometimes live shrimp. Never fished with live crabs. As much as I love freshwater fishing, if I had my choice, I would take this type any day. Congrats on a successful outing. Any fish for dinner that night?

[Nitefly]

Thank for sharing! Were the sharks small or were there full grown Bulls running around in there?

[ronaultmtd]

We had seafood just about everyday- fresh shrimp, fish, etc. Bonefish Grill was one block from the Mar Vista Grande, where we stayed- Calabash Buffet was a mile down US 17. The sharks we saw swimming were medium sized 3-5 feet long- 25-75 pounds- mostly at the inlet by the rip rap rock jetties- The flounder were smaller than I wanted to keep- I released all my fish- the speckled trout were beautiful colored fish- almost neon..

[Slobber Bob]

Thanks for the write up.... I'm heading down a little south of there to Edisto Island in early October for my honeymoon. We have a house rented right on a tidal creek that feeds to a small inlet on an undeveloped barrier island north of town. We're driving down so everything is getting piled on and in the vehicle... both of our kayaks, rods, crab pots, cast nets, clam rake, surf gear, you name it... Luckily my girl enjoys all these activities as well and since I'll be missing a good portion of the big red drum run in the Assateague surf for the wedding and honeymoon, I was given exclusive rights to spent a couple days down there just fishing!!!! Can't wait!!!

[scorpioreno]

Thanks Ron Great report. It seems like live bait is the ticket I experienced the same ratio of catching using live bait vs lures with schooled Reds at point lookout at the inlet and around the old dock pylons.My question is, when you where using your lures was is blind casting or throwing around bait and also do you think what you learned there will sway you to using live bait or did you learn how to use your lure techniques different or better?

[ronaultmtd]

My trolling techniques were absolutely the most effective way to find the fish- I caught the most fish of anyone in the group and I used mostly lures- stopping only twice to bait fish- using the XRap XR10 bunker crank bait and the redfish magic was the real deal, dragging lures-once we were on the fish, casting to concentrated feeding fish worked like a charm...and the fish were accommodating once you found them...the live bait was effective because the schools of redfish were constantly sweeping in and out of the oyster beds- Speckled Trout were hanging in the edge of the channel- right at the drop off in about four feet of water- totally different location than the flounder and redfish. When you found schooling fish, if you threw it in front of them they would hit the lures like a ton of bricks....and then they would move and you would search until you found them...what I also found was that it has been over a year since I have paddled a kayak...my shoulders told me about it the next day...give me my HOBIE!

PS- the Jackson Coosa is a very comfortable kayak to sit in and seemed pretty stable even with the seat up-