12-17-2001, 07:16 PM
South Carolina Weekly Shallow Saltwater Fishing Report<br>Week of 12-09-01 through 12-15-01<br><br>This was a really quiet week as far as bookings went. Only one brave soul came out to fish and he was rewarded with a really good day. There was only a little wind and the bugs were not so bad. He caught several small reds at our first stop while using a 1/4 oz. jig. The tide was low at mid morning so we pushed up into a small flat that has been producing a few fish. The water coming out was 64 degrees and there was bait everywhere. We could see several big fish pushing around some shell beds near the back of the area and we started for them. As I got about half way to them, I saw 3 big ones right in front of the boat and only a short cast away. I got us stopped and the client made one of those perfect casts with the little crank bait he was using. It landed lightly about 6 feet to the right of the fish and when it landed, one of them turned and started easing towards it. I told him not to move the bait until the fish was right at it and when the fish was about 1 foot away, it stopped and was looking straight at the bait. I told him to start with a light twitch and then a slow retrieve and when he did, the effect on the fish was beautiful to see! The fish, which turned out to be a 9 ½ pound red, seemed to have been shot out of a cannon the way he hit the bait. He hit like a run-away freight train with a huge splash of water, and with the screaming of the drag, it was enough to make a grown man’s knees buckle. He landed that one, and proceeded to catch three others, in the 6 to 9 pound size. By then, the tide had fallen so low we had to leave the area or be grounded for the remainder of the tide. We went out to a deeper area and managed to find 3 trout and 2 flounder before the day was done. We caught the trout and flounder on 1/4 oz. jigs with curly tailed lures.<br><br>The totals for the week were: reds totaled 8 fish; trout totaled 3 , and flounder totaled 2 .<br><br>Thanks, Gene Dickson<br><br>Delta Guide Service http://www.deltaguideservice.com<br>Georgetown, SC<br>1-843-546-3645<br><br>Our new e-mail address is: Delta-Guide-Service@sc.rr.com <br><br>We are a saltwater fishing guide service located on the coast of South Carolina.