June 13, 2008
It has been a great week of fishing and today was about the same. We have been hitting the Spanish early on the falling tide and nice weather. From the North jetty to the shipping channel, Castle Pickney, and behind drum island the mackerel fishing has been great. We have used a variety of different jigs. Deadly Dick and Gotchas and we have used small wonder hair clousers for the fly. Today I was chumming with live bait and got some nice Jacks up to the surface behind the boat. The trout bite has also been outstanding. We have mostly been fishing small pogies on a cork. Three fish over five pounds this week and one topping off at 5lbs. 10 oz. Also caught some nice reds today using the pogies on the cork as well as on the bottom. They seemed to be a little more frisky today maybe with this cooler weather coming. With the light tides the water has been clearer and the bait a little thicker. I don't think it will be long before we start seeing the Sliver King or hearing something about it. I will fish for them some next week and post a report after if you are interested in whats going on with them.
Captain John
June 6, 2008
Got a nice early start this morning to get ahead of the crowds. Had an excellent trout bite for most of the morning. Weighed a trout in for a customer today went 5lbs 10 oz. All of our big fish today came on live menhaden. Those nice sized ones have been thick behind morris island.
Captain John
June 5, 2008
Had a great time fishing out at the 60 today. Caught some big fat AJs on the fly rod. Its nice to tie into something big on the fly from time to time. We used some differemt flies but poppers seemed to work the best for us. Some thing in blue with a lot of flash should be fine if you are thinking about trying it.
May 17, 2008
When will the wind quit blowing. Only one person knows that and its not me. Sight fishing has basically been out for about ten days now. Not your typical May weather. The bottom fishing however has been good. The fish have been large in size but the catch rates have been down from last year. Since the seasons beginning I have seen fish in the boat 57, 51, 47, 45, and quite a few in the thirties. Only four fish in the twenties. Looks like this week could be better for sight fishing. We will see. We are certainly due for it. If you are coming here to fish please try to due your part and help the DNR with some DNA studies. Its a simple and easy thing to do and the fish get released unharmed. The kits are available at most tackle shops and its a great way to support the future of this great fishery.
Captain John
May 6, 2008
Cobia fishing has begun and the sight fishing has been outstanding over the past few days. Two fish on the fly on Sunday. One pictured here 47 and another 45 caught that day with many shots at fish. Yesterday was more of the same. Today was a little windy in the morning and sight fishing was out. We mostly chased redfish all day and did well as we have been the past few days. Looks like the next few days maybe a little rough. Hopefully some more good sight fishing conditions will appear again by Sunday. Water temp today in the Broad river 71. Looks like some warmer temps ahead and with this black moon behind us I expect fishing will improve greatly over the next week.
Captain John
April 21, 2008
Sorry it has been so long since my last report. Just getting going with the busy season and fresh off a great trip to Belize. Trout are biting very well again. The past couple of days the fishing has been great.One trout eysterday right at three lbs. Five reds on the fly today and then we went out to the reef and caught some good Spanish as well. Water was cleaner todayand the fish were eating well. The Cobia action is starting up and I will be heading down on Sunday to spend the next six weeks there. I will try to write a report once every Saturday night so you folks know whats going on down there. Thanks for you patience on the reports. Ill give you guys something a little more through on the reds and trout tomorrow.
Captain John
March 13, 2008
Well the incomng in the am seems to be where its at. Fished the upper Wando today. Saw fish constantly for four hours. Felt like we should have done a little better. It was a little tough with the fly. It was real slick. Had a great caster but the fish didn't seem ot want to cooperate with us. Stuck one a the clouser. The fish were puching bait hard up against the shells a little out of range always. They were SHALLOW! Stuck one late in the grass on the DOA. For the most part a little frustrating today but beautiful and lots of fish.
Captain John
March 12, 2008
Fished the Wando River today with Phil Frech and a friend. Fished mostly chuncks of mullet. The has been a lot of bait on the flats and we saw it well this afternoon. The bite wasn't as good as I tought it may be. The redfish seem to be keyed in alot more in the morning on the rising tide. Will give it a try tomorrow am and see what happens.
Captain John
March 11, 2008
More of that great spring time waether. The water sure is warming up quick it seems. Saw some temps around 60 today in some areas. We fished the falling tide in the afternoon. The breeze kicked up a little late but it was still a great day. Saw a ton of fish and scouted some areas I haven't been to in a while. Bob stuck his first nice redfish on a fly. Very exciting.
Captain John
March 2, 2008
Fished the folly river today. The weather terrorists got us today. It started out OK but hit twenty no problem just about an hour into our trip. Caught three very nice fish all on cut bait. Its supposed to stay warm water temp was 58 in the folly river today.
Captain John
February 29, 2008
Great day of fishing today. Put in close to 12 hours and we were around fish all day. Seeing lots of bait and the fish were really chewing. Saw fish tailing over the shells and turning upside down. Things are starting to wakeup a bit and spring is just around the corner. Looking forward to a good weekend. Its supposed to blow a bit on Saturday but Sunday looks great. Hope we have an early spring. 16 fish over ten Lbs. today.
Captain John
February 25, 2008
Had the pleasure of fishing with George Hyams and his son Vincent today. Caught three small redfish and a few bigger ones had one nice double on some good fish. Water was clear and the weather was beautiful. We saw plenty of small bait and the fish were charged up again on that in coming tide. Great fishing and great company.
Captain John
February 24, 2008
Well the weather man was wrong as usual. So much for light winds. Out of the north at about 15-20. Had a fly guy who really wanted to give it a go. The water was nice and clear and seeing fish was not a problem. Getting a fly to them was however very difficult. We used the sapphire shine on the flutter hook. Caught six. Good for a windy February day.
February 23, 2008
Worked the Folly and Kiawah areas today. Had a great day caught 12. Half on bait half on artificials. Used the watermelon seed Exude rigged on a flutter hok. One of the best days in a while. A little windy but the fish were a little more willing then they have been in the past few weeks. Saw some very small bait and the fish were keyed in on it at the first part of the rising tide.
Captain John
February 20, 2008
Fished the Ashley river today. 1/2 day charter early. Fished on the falling tide. Threw mostly chunks of mullet today. Tried a few artificials with no luck. Caught five nice reds up on the flat. Water was fairly clear and the fish were eating well.
February 17,2008
Fished the Wando this morning above 526. Saw lots of fish shallow everywhere we went. Tried all different kinds of Gulp! for a while finally resorted to the live bait. First cast fish on. Spent the whole day poling. Caught one really nice fish and a few smaller ones. Wind started to pickup mid day but had a nice window early. Water temp is 56 today in the wando.
Captain John
February 16, 2008
Fish the Folly, Stono, and Kiawah areas today. Did well on bait. We saw some nice schools of fish in the Stono. Fished under the cork with minnows and also blue crab on the bottom. They weren't feeding real hard but we managed to get about twelve to eat. Couple of real nice fish to the boat and some smaller ones. Nice weather.
Captain John
February 3, 2008
Back to the Ashley. Had the pleasure of taking a biologist from the DNR today. We did some DNA sampling and I learned a great deal about the fishery that I did not know. We caught eight fish again. It seems to be the magic number. All the fish were caught on the falling tide.
Captain John
February 2, 2008
Fished the Combahee river today. Trying to avoid the crowds a bit. Saw one other boat all day and hundreds of redfish. Absoluetly beautiful day. Felt like the drive was a good choice when I drove by Wapoo about three and saw people parked on the grass. Good company and great fishing.
Captain John
January 28, 2008
Fished the Stono above Limehouse bridge today. Thought we would try for some trout in some deeper water. We didn't do much with the trout but found some nice reds. Not real bunched up though. Some small groups of nice fish. Beautiful day, nice and warm.
January 27, 2008
Finally cleaned up a little this afternoon. Caught some nice reds on the fly. The water was suprisingly clear. Had some great shots at some big cruising fish. Nice to get a break in the weather. The next few days are looking nice hope it holds for a bit.
Captain John
January 26, 2008
Another brutally cold day. The windy was nuking to. I would have been on the couch if my good friend Rick Grube wasn't visiting from Greenville. Didn't do much with em.
Captain John
January 25, 2008
Fished Folly today very windy and cold. Fishing was decent. Ended up with four reds all over 22" and one 31". Tough weather and conditions. Fished the cork with a mud minnow. Looks like a good weekend to hang out at the boat show.
Captain John
January 23, 2008
Fished the upper Ashley again for Stripers today. Fished the falling tide around Middleton. Caught eight stripers and one redfish. It was very productive at first when the water was moving well. Still working on trying to figure out this forgotten part of our fishery. Think it could be great in the coming years if the fish they are stocking survive. Most of the fish are around 16". With a couple of fish around 20 to 22". If you are looking to do something different its worth a stab. Or if its a windy day its pretty sheltered and it doesn't seem to effect the bite to much.
Captain John
January 16, 2008
Fished just a couple hours between this rough weather we have been having. In coming tide a Folly. My friend Chris caught three on the fly in a wicked northeast wind. Fish were happy. The rain is coming.
Captain John
January 9 and 10, 2008
Thought we would try the stripers in the upper Ashley on the 9th. It was great so we did it the next day as well. Caught 28 Stripers over 2 days as well as 4 reds, and 4 large mouth. Its like Christmas your not sure what you got till you get it to the boat. Most of the fish were caught on Redfish Magic spinnerbaits. A great experience and would definitely give it a shot. Its a beautiful area. Go up the river very far when you think you have gone far enough go a little farther. Fish all the structure you can find. Heres a pick of one of the better Rock fish.
Captain John
January 8, 2008
Saw a lot of fish early on. Another great day weather wise . Very slick again, made it tough for the fly. The water got out a lot faster today and clouded up quickly. Didn't see the numbers like we did the day before and there was very little water left where we were at the end of the tide.
Captain John
January 7, 2008
Had great luck in the Wando today. The fly was effective and the fish were feeding well. Put nine in the boat today all nice fish. Four with the long rod and 5 on the Gold spoon. Another very nice day. Looks like we are giong to have some weather later in the week.
Captain John
January 6, 2008
Fished north again today. Stayed mostly in the waterway. Saw some nice schools of fish today but not much luck getting them to eat the fly. Beautiful day, warm, slick. A little to slick coudln't quite get the fish into range for the fly. Caught one on spinning late.
Captain John
January 5, 2008
A little warmer today. Fished Hamlin and Copahee today. Was in Copahee on the falling tide and saw a bunch of fish in the northeast side. They were super bunched up and eating well. Caught four 30" + fish out of a nice school there. Fished Hamlin on the rise and saw some nice small groups on that back edge. Caught one really nice fish there.
Captain John
January 4, 2008
Happy new year! Well I have to say I haven't been that cold in while. Had a massive brain freeze before we went 100 ft. Saw a good number of fish today. Fished the waterway above IOP also Hamlin and some of Gray on the rising tide. Caught one nice one on fly. We were using brown copperheads. On spinning the fish like the Sapphire shine. Looks like its supposed to warm back up by monday. Can't wait.
Captain John
December 29,2007
Much better fishing today. Wasn't to thrilled about starting to fish just before high tide but we did. Gave the trout a try right off the bat. It was great. Lots of fish and good size to. Caught them all on mud minnows under cork. They were running the bait aroud and feeding great for about an hour and a half. Had some great fly guys so we gave the flats a shot later in the trip. It was raining and the viz was pretty poor. Saw a couple of schools while the water was still pretty high in the grass. Tough conditions thanks goodness for a great late season trout bite.
Captain John
December 28,2007
Slow day for me today. Threw the fly a good bit and didn't do much. Caught three redfish on bait all fairly small. Saw some big fish on the flats in the upper Stono could not get them to eat a thing. Threw just about everything in the box with no success hope tomorrow is better.
Captain John
December 27,2007
Another beautiful day today. Fished the Wando most of the day today below 41 bridge. Caught some nice redfish still using the Sapphire Shine GULP! on the flutter hook. Had one nice fish a little better than 10lbs the rest were small. Seemed to bite well when we found em. Water was super clear and nice slick calm. Spent most of the afternoon poling. Caught them good when the water got right on that grass edge then it cleared out pretty quick.
Captain John
December 23,2007
Coming off some much needed rain and couple of windy days we resumed fishing today. 75 degrees in late december thats nice. Fishing was slower today then it had been a week ago. Caught five fish today. All really good size though. Two on bait and the rest on a GULP! jerk shad. Sapphire Shine on flutter hooks worked well. Had some nice fish out of a good school. Fished Stono and some in the upper Kiawah. Most of the fish we caught were in the Stono. Pretty stiff wind, cloudy water. and a cloudy day not great conditions but the fish we found ate well. Happy Holidays!
Captain John
December 14,2007
Incredible day to close out the amazing weather we had. Boated over 30 redfish today. Mostly fished bait under corks on the falling tide. Did some poling towards the end of our trip. Saw a good number of fish but not much success getting them to eat. Caught one nice one out of a small school. Also threw the fly a bit with not much success there either. Looks like the last day of this unbelievable weather. Fishing has been outstanding this cold front should settle things into some more stable patterns. See you after the wind blows.
Captain John
December 12,2007
Slow day today. Scouted some areas at North Folly I havent fished in a while. Saw a few fish but no large schools. Water was dirty compared to early in the week and some other areas we have been fishing lately. Poled about four hours and covered some serious ground. More areas that need to be checked out but much slower action then I've had in other areas.
Captain John
December 11, 2007
The nice weather keeps up with the fishing being equally as nice. Caught two big Redfish on the fly today as well as many on bait and artificials. The Gold spoon proved outstanding as well as flutter hooks rigged with a white GULP! jerk shad. Had 11 fish over 10 lbs today. The fish caught on fly today came on a gold copperhead looking fly. Got on some fish on the flats and thats where the Gold spoon worked well. We used a Johnson 1/4 ounce as well as Bayou Bucks Gumbo spoon. Nice weather seems like it will hang around for a few more days. Looks like a cold front arriving the end of the weekend.
Captain John
December 10, 2007
Fly Fishing for Redfish was first on the agenda today. Spent much of the day poling. Its not too often you find yourself sweating in December. The old marsh gnats made a strong appearence today as well. Saw a good number of schooling fish today. Had a beginning fly angler. But we finally prevailed. He got his first Redfish on fly. Caught the fish on a rootbeer copperhead. Water was beautiful and clear. More good weather on the way
December 9, 2007
Fished the Ashley on the outgoing tide this morning for a couple of hours. We did well on the trout again. Caught most of our fish on 1/4 ounce heads on a variety of colors. Have a serious cold time for some much needed rest.
Captain John
December 8, 2007
Fished the upper Stono River today. Got into a great trout bite today. Scouted some new areas in Wadmalaw. Great weather in December it really coudln't be nicer. Looks like we have beautiful weather into next week. Trout bite should continue.
Captain John
December 6, 2007
Fished the Cooper today. Hadn't been there in a while. The wind was pretty stiff out of the northeast. The Cooper River is always a good place during that kind of wind. Caught fourteen Redfish all on bait. Cold windy day. Looks like some good weather coming up this weekend and into the beginning of next week. Trout are still biting good and some warmer temps will help keep them biting good for a while longer.
Captain John
December 5, 2007
More of the same like Sunday. Oh how great Folly, Kiawah, and Stono are this time of year.
Captain John
December 2, 2007
Another great day with the Redfish. Went through 6 dozen baits and put upwards of 70 fish in the boat. All fish were caught on bait under a cork. Used shrimp and mud minnows but I really don't think it really mattered the way these fish are feeding right now. Water temperature seems to still be pretty warm for this time of year.
Captain John
November 31, 2007
Slow for us today. Found some clearer water up top of Kiawah. Saw one very nice school of fish .Things were going well until a strange thing occured. A deer, a small deer was on an island maybe 300 yards away. The school of fish was between us and the deer. As soon as the deer saw us(I don't know what he was thinking) he started running towards us. He got in the water and swam right at the boat, through the school of redfish and then spooked at the last minute. Strange occurence, strange day. First time for everything.
Captain John
November 30, 2007
Fished Charleston harbor and some surrounding areas today. Trout bite was excellent on the rise early. Caught a few right at 20" and one 24". Fished an afternoon charter. It was over cast and the sight fishing was tough. We did well on live shrimp under a cork all aftrnoon. Catching a few trout and redfish. One very nice trout. Poled a little bit later in the afternoon and saw some schooling fish in the Wando. Caught one nice fish off the flat. They were laid up not moving around too much. White Gulp! jerk shad on the flutter hook was what we caught that fish on the flat off of.
Captain John
November 29, 2007
Fished out of Folly today. One of the best days of the fall. Lost count of how many redfish we caught. Many over 10 lbs. Most of the fish were caught on live shrimp under a cork. A few on DOAs and a couple on the white jerk shad. It was windy and muddy but the fish didn't seem to mind. Excellent day for two of my favorite clients.
Captain John
November 27, 2007
Went out a ways today and trolled some numbers in front of Folly and Kiawah. Caught one nice King and a handful of Albacore. Was rough most of the day. The fishing seemed to heat up in the late afternoon. Had a few other bites and a couple of cut offs. Water was a little cold . Lots of bait still seems to be some good fish around.
Captain John
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November 26, 2007
Excellent day today. Boated too many redfish to count. Anywhere from one pound fish all the way to a couple that were 14 lbs. Caught them all on plastics. I seemed just about anything would get the job done. We caught most of our fish on Gulp! white jerk shad on flutter hooks, and a variety of Bass Assassins on 1/4 ounce jig heads, A few also came on the DOAs in gold flake and rootbeer. Caught a couple of trout in some other areas. Never left the Folly River today. Great fall Redfishing.
Captain John
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November 24, 2007
Not much to report the last couple of days. Weather has been tough. Today northeast 20 to 25 and cold. Hopefully things will pick back up by tuesday. Thinking of heading to Harkers. First of next week if the weather improves.
Captain John
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November 21, 2007
Went to the Cape again today. Not as much action with the big Redfish. More surf and the conditions seemed better but less action than Wednesday. Caught a few nice sharks on the incoming tide. Fished the outside bars till we coudln't stay any longer then fished the beach in front of the light house. Probably a couple of good days left the water temp was about 62 out in the breakers.
Captain John
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November 20, 2007
The weather does not get any nicer. Slick and beautiful. Caught a little bit of everything. Some nice redfish on the falling tide first thing this morning. Caught them all on artificials shallow. Ran into some giant schools of small redfish on the flats today. A few trout on the incoming and one very nice black drum.
Captain John
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November 19, 2007
Cape Romain lived up to its great reputation today. Not much surf, we didn't catch a lot but when we did they were some good ones. The water was a little cold but still fine for bare feet. Will be back on Wednesday. Fished about 3 hours today fish were caught on finger mullet on the incoming tide. Photo is Joe Benton with an outstanding Bull Redfish. Props to CMD.
Captain John
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November 18, 2007
Great weather, great fishing. Nice and warm today. The trout bite was outstanding. Caught them on live shrimp as well as DOAs in gold flake and rootbeer. Fished the rising tide till about 2:30. One of my best trout days of the year. Headed to the Cpae Tomorrow to try and catch some fish in the surf check back tomorrow. Great fall fishing!
Captain John
November 17, 2007
Well it coudln't be any better. That great fall
fishing is swinging into full force. The fly has been outstanding as
well as a variety of artificials on spinning. Fly wise I have been
using many different patterns. Mostly lots of clousers, copperheads,
shrimp patterns as well as some top water stuff at the right time. The
redfish have been schooling in great numbers and along with the clear
water the fishing is as exciting as it gets. The Speckeled Trout have
been at their best as well. Have been using lots of DOAs in a variety
of colors. I'm liking the Rootbeer as well as the Gold Flake seem to be
the best colors. Also have been catching some on the Bass Assassin in
the 3" rat tail glass minnow color.
Captain John
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October 21, 2007
Some great trout fishing today with a few very
large fish. All caught on bait or DOA's under the popping cork. Here
are some nice pics from today of some great speckeled trout. Caught a
lot of small fish as well on bait.
Captain John
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October 12, 2007
A nice cold front brought some excellent conditions are way this week. The trout bite was excellent as well as the reds. Spent the afternoon poling some flats south of the harbor and found some schooling fish. We had many good shots with three nice fish coming on fly and one on the DOA. Seems like fall is here I hope the weather stays cool. Good things are starting to happen and they will only be getting better.
Captain John
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September 11, 2007
Well the last couple of weeks have felt a
little bit like fall. The fishing has been outstanding as we have seen
some cooler temperatures a some steady rain. The trout seem to be
everywhere. Its hard to float a live shrimp anywhere without catching
one. DOA shrimp in the Gold Flake color has worked well along with
various Bass Assassins.
Captain John