Redfish on South Carolina's Coast
 Fishing
for redfish in the Lowcountry of South Carolina is a year round proposition. Spottails,
redfish, red drum, and channel bass are common names for this bulldog of a fish
that averages around 5 pounds with lots of catches of 8 or 9 pounds. Most of our
redfishing is done on shallow water flats in depths of less than three feet. Shallow
water means sight fishing or casting to fish that you actually see before you
cast. It's as much hunting as it is fishing.
 The
spring and summer months on the flats offer multiple shots at single fish and
small pods. Flies and spinning gear can be used. During "spring" tides
(full or new moon) the high tides are higher than normal and flood the spartina
marsh in area not normally flooded. Redfish push up into this area in search of
fiddler crabs, grass shrimp and other goodies. When they nose down to eat in the
flooded areas, their tails break the surface of the water and wave around like
flags. We call these "tailers" (imagine that) and stalk these fish either
by flats skiff or by wading. Flies and spinning tackle work here also.
As the water temps drop in the fall, reds gather in much larger schools and
 offer
shots a large numbers of fish. These schools get tightly packed on the flats to
escape predation from dolphins as redfish are a favorite of "flipper".
Winter has some of the best redfishing available. The water becomes gin clear
and the fish are traveling in large schools providing outstanding sight fishing.
Weather patterns are less predictable so it's harder to get a good day but sunny
days in the winter are usually killer days on the flats.
 Tackle
for reds include medium weight spinning rods and reels with good drags. Ten to
fourteen lb test monofilament and 8 or nine fly rods are the ticket. Fly line
should be floating and have a 9-10 foot tapered saltwater leader. Fly patterns
vary according to the bite but clousers , shrimp and crab patterns are the orderof
the day.
Dress accordingly concerning the time of year. Hat and polarized glasses along
with non marking soled shoes are absolute necessity.
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