Sunday Afternoon At Catfish Creek

Late Sunday afternoon I decided to hit Catfish Creek to see if the fish were biting.

I left the house at around 3:30 pm and was driving in the refuge 10 minutes later.  As I drove past the second set of culverts, I met up with Ron, a friend of mine who had his canoe in at the first pond.

He hadn't caught anything but said there were some nice oversize reds busting baitfish around the shoreline.  They apparently weren't hitting what Ron was offering.

I left him and drove into Catfish Creek Loop to see who was fishing that area and met up with a couple more anglers who weren't catching anything but catfish.

I tossed a Chug Bug and a gold spoon around several areas but didn't get any takers, so I continued until I met up with Bernice.

Bernice was fishing live shrimp and had picked up a couple of small redfish in a cove that I sometimes fish.  I stopped to talk awhile and while we were talking, another redfish hit on one of her rods.

 

She asked me to grab the rod until she could reel in the Badonk Donk topwater bait she was fishing wtih, so I set the hook and gave her the rod when she was ready.

A short time later she landed this 17" redfish which was promptly released after the pictures were taken.

It was getting late so I moved on up to another shallow cove and started fishing with cut ladyfish steaks.

In about 15 minutes a redfish hit the bait and dropped it just as quickly.  Evidently it felt the rod pressure.

I re-baited and watched as several redfish cruised along the shoreline in the shallow cove.  None were interested in the cut bait, and I was silently kicking my butt for not picking up some live shrimp.

Anyway, I took a brief video of some of the fish that were cruising by and a couple of the sunset as I waited in vain for another bite.

It was getting dark and people were leaving the area.  Bernice drove by and said she had caught three more redfish about the same size as the one in the picture.

I was getting bit up by gnats so I reeled in the ladyfish steak, packed up the rods and headed for home.  I took this last pic of the beautiful sunset.

My back was still killing me and I couldn't sit and wait for another bite.  Maybe next weekend I'll be more into fishing.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Sport Shrimping On The Fishing Piers

Sport shrimping on the fishing piers this evening was less than stellar but that didn't stop everyone from having fun.

When I decided to visit the pier it was just turning dark and the band was playing at the pavilion.  The smell of frying seafood coming from the restaurant immediately made me hungry and if I was a drinking man, I would have joined in on the revelry.  Everyone at the bar seemed to be having a great time.

Even though this was a "fact finding trip" I brought a rod with me tipped with a paddletail bait, just in case something was biting.

Both fishing piers had groups of sport shrimpers standing by the rails tending their dip nets, waiting for a shrimp to cruise by.  Unfortunately, the winter shrimping season in this area is just starting and there was not much action.

The people in the deeper water seemed to be dipping more shrimp than those I spoke with who were set up in the shallows.  However, as everyone told me "it was still early".

I took a few pics and a short video of people hanging off the rails and made a few dozen casts with my paddletail bait. 

There were sea trout in several areas and some needlefish but no large trout or redfish that I could see.

I went to the end of the lower fishing pier and made a few casts to the bridge piling.  I had one solid hit from something right on the bottom and I shook off a couple of undersize sea trout at the rail.

One of the guys at the end of the pier heard me talking about the big black drum and redfish that hang around the pilings and showed me a picture of a 44" bull redfish that he caught the day before on half of a blue crab right at the spot I was fishing.

I thanked him for the information and we spoke a bit before I decided to head for the house.

The band was still playing their tunes as I left the area.  It was still early.

On the way home I passed the park where there was a "Lights Of Hope" festival of some sort going on.  I could smell food but decided to continue home and focus on Turkey.

I'll be spending more time down there when the shrimping starts to get into gear but until then; Tight Lines.

Peacocks Pocket Road Is Closed

As you can see by the signs below, Peacocks Pocket Road is closed again for the waterfowl hunting season until February 15th .

 

The annual closure that began several years ago is an aggravation to anglers who like to fish the area during the winter months, but it does have the benefit of easing up on the fishing pressure.

The reds, sea trout and black drum in the wildlife refuge get beat to death during the rest of the year and since I have been fishing the area, I have noticed a declline in the amount of fish and how easy they are to catch.

Catfish Creek Loop is still open to the public and is also a good area for reds, sea trout and especially Black Drum.

The water in the marsh area is up and many areas that are normally above water are now submerged.

When I took Elmo and Odie for a drive through the area today, I stopped to ask several fishermen how they were doing.  Most were just enjoying the weather and only one lady angler said she was catching fish.

When I stopped to talk to her, she told me she caught a couple of barely legal redfish on live shrimp.  She released both fish and was in the process of rigging up a top water plug to try a change of pace.

The area she was fishing holds some nice black drum, and during the spring, sea trout.

I bid her farewell and wished her luck before driving around the rest of the refuge.

Live or fresh dead shrimp is the bait of choice this time of the year for black drum, redfish and sea trout.  Cut baits will still produce but with the cool weather and the beginning of the winter shrimp run, shrimp is definitely the bait of choice.

On my little scouting drive I noticed only one redfish that was pushing a wake in shallow water and since I didn't bring a fishing rod along, I made a mental note of the area and headed back home to rest my back an have another portion of turkey.

Maybe Karen and I will take the "boys" out tomorrow and wet a line.

Till next time,  Tight Lines and don't eat too much turkey.

Fizal's Catch

Fizal's catch was sent on 11-17-2014 in response to his comment on "Another Rainy Saturday Afternoon In The Refuge".

another rainy Saturday afternoon in the refuge

Another Rainy Saturday Afternoon In The Refuge

Another Rainy Saturday Afternoon In The Refuge

Another Rainy Saturday Afternoon In The Refuge

Another Rainy Saturday Afternoon In The Refuge

Trout Dinner

Slot Drum

Drum on Shrimp

 

Windy Weekend Fishing

It was a windy weekend fishing but after being on top of a mountain in South Carolina all week, it was still great to get out on the river.

I didn't get to wet a line until late Saturday afternoon and when I finally got out to the wildlife refuge the wind was blowing just enough to make casting a real pain.

I started fishing with Chug Bugs and would up trying jigs, paddletail baits, a Johnson Sprite, and even cut ladyfish as a last resort.

I missed several sea trout before finally landing a couple in the 19 inch category, and nailed a two foot long ladyfish on a Chug Bug that danced all around a small pond before coming to the bank.

I was after redfish but I only saw two in the marsh canal and they were not taking my lures.

Sunday afrternoon, Karen wanted to take Elmo and Odie out to the "swamp" for our weekly dog outing.

We left the house at around 3:00 pm and dropped the first line in the water at around 3:20 pm.

I love where I live!

We were heading to a pond where we sometimes catch reds but I had to stop a couple of times at some likely looking spots to throw a Chug Bug around.

At the first stop on my second cast with a Chug Bug I missed what looked like a nice slot redfish.  The fish nailed the lure about three feet from a submerged grassy island and I made the mistake of trying to set the hooks.

Several casts to the same area resulted in a followup but no more hits so we moved up Peacocks Pocket road to the spot where we originally planned to fish.

When we got there, Odie got out of the car but Elmo wanted to sleep on the seat.  I baited up three rods with cut ladyfish steaks smeared up with some Pro-Cure Saltwater Formula Gel
"for effect".

The air temperature was around 71 degrees and there was a slight breeze on the water.  Perfect for topwater baits but after an hour of casting with no hits, I gave up and watched the cut baits with Karen.

Karen and I both missed two fish before I finally hooked a hard head catfish which I released.

It was almost dusk when I got a nice bite from what I thought was a big sea trout.  When I finally got the fish to the bank it turned out to be the biggest Sailors Choice I ever caught.

The fish was almost a foot long and had teeth like a sheepshead.  Anyway, I took a couple of pics and sent it on its way to piss off some other angler.

  

It was getting dark and we were not getting any more bites so we decided to pack it in and head for the house.

At least we didn't get skunked but I can do without another windy weekend fishing in the refuge.

Till next time,

Tight Lines to you all.

Another Rainy Saturday Afternoon In The Refuge

It was another rainy Saturday afternoon in the refuge but I still decided to get in some fishing before dark.

The air temperature was 69 degrees and there was a very slight wind blowing this afternoon when I drove into Peacocks Pocket Road.

The marsh canal was full of action this afternoon but I wasn't sure the fish would be eating.

When I saw the first group of redfish pushing water up the canal, I started fishing with a DOA paddle tail bait loaded up with Pro-Cure.  Unfortunately the redfish were not interested in the bait, so after several unfruitful casts I was ready to pick up and move on but an 18" sea trout stopped me.

I quickly landed the fish and continued fishing the Bass Assassin "electric chicken" paddle tail bait.

When another small group of reds came up the marsh canal from the other direction, I continued tossing the bait to them but they were still not eating.

Frustrated, I moved up the road to another culvert where I spotted a sea trout swirling in the shallows.

Several casts to the fish  produced a hit but the fish didn't get hooked.  I started walking back to the truck when a family in a van pulled up and asked me how I was doing and if I was John. 

Fisal said he was an avid follower of this blog and we talked awhile about the fishing. He said some fishermen up at the Peacocks Pocket boat launch area caught a dozen or so black drum and that they were having a "contest".  I didn't know of any fishing tournaments today but who knows?

Anyway, after awhile Fisal and his family moved on and I continued fishing.

I had planned on fishing the small ponds in the marsh but I kept spotting moving redfish and black drum in the marsh canal so, I changed plans.

The next school of fish that pushed down the canal were black drum.  I could hear them "drumming" from the bank so I decided to fish one rod with a cut ladyfish steak to see if I could pick one up.

It took only a few minutes before another group of fish passed by and something picked up the bait and took off.  I hooked the fish and as it got to the bank I saw it was another sea trout about the same size as the previous one.

I unhooked the fish, took a pic and released it.

I saw a large redfish in the shallows and switched to a Chug Bug to see it it was interested.  After a couple of casts I knew Chug Bugs were not on the menu today.

I got another sea trout on a Johnson Sprite gold spoon and decided to move on up the road.

When I tried to start the truck, it was stone cold dead.  I left the radio on and the battery died on me.

Fortunately another fisherman in a Dodge Ram pickup gave me a jump and tole me he caught a slot rod and some catfish.

I thanked him profusely for the jump and continued fishing with the truck running.

I caught a couple more sea trout in the 18" to 22" range, missed a nice redfish on a Chug Bug, and on the way out of the refuge, hooked an oversize redfish on a ladyfish steak just at dusk.

The redfish peeled off line and made two nice runs before swimming directly into some mangrove roots.  I fooled with it for a while trying to get it loose, but it finally broke off my hook and swam away.

It was almost dark and I didn't feel like snelling on another hook so I headed for home and a nice meal.

Maybe tomorrow will be more productive.

Till then, Tight Lines.

(On 11-18-2014 Fizal shared these pics of his catch.)

Drum on Shrimp

Slot Drum

Trout Dinner

Tight Lines!

Tossing Chug Bugs On A Chilly Sunday Afternoon

Tossing Chug Bugs on a chilly Sunday afternoon turned out to be 

Our first real cold front moved through the area last evening and the fish in the wildlife refuge were not eating.  The bite was slow to nonexistent but  the fish were out there.

I totally forgot about the time change and lost an hour of fishing time, but since the redfish and sea trout weren't cooperating, I didn't care too awfully much.

I only saw one other fisherman in the refuge this afternoon and I totally forgot to get his name.

He was tossing Chug Bugs like I was doing most of the time.  We talked

The air temperature this afternoon was in the 60s and there was little to no wind on the water.  It should have been a stellar day for sea trout on top water baits but they were not cooperating.

I had a couple of followups but no hookups when the other fisherman drove up.   The first time we talked he said hadn't caught anything.  He was "jump fishing" like I was; moving from spot to spot and not spending too much time in any one location.

He moved on and I did the same.

I wasn't having any luck with Chug Bugs so I switched over to a paddletail bait smeared up with Pro-Cure.

After several casts with the paddle tail bait I finally picked up a small sea trout that I pulled off at the bank.  I moved up the marsh canal and fished several other areas with the bait and missed two more fish.

They were hitting the paddletail bait as long as I fished it slow.  I had two hits with the bait laying on the bottom but missed both fish.

I passed the other fisherman and stopped a little past him as I spotted a swirl at the bank.   Several casts didn't get me a hookup so I decided to move on.  As I put the rod in the truck, the other fisherman pulled up and showed me a  picture on his smart phone of  a 29 " redfish he just caught on a Chug Bug. 

I told him about this site and asked him to make a comment.  It would be nice to get his name and a pic.

Anyway, it was getting dark and I was ready to call it a day so I moved up the road as he turned around to head out of the refuge.

As I got to a place my wife calls "bobcat bay" I spotted a redfish in the canal and decided to toss a Chug Bug to the fish.

After three casts the fish hit the bait but not enough to get hooked.   I tried a couple more casts and just as I thought the fish lost interest, it nailed the Chug Bug almost at my feet.

After a brief fight I landed the slot red, took a quick pick and released it to fight another day.

I was getting chilly, the light was fading, and my wife called to tell me it was time to get home for dinner.

Exit Stage Left!

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Tossing Chug Bugs Into The Wind

Late Saturday afternoon when I finally decided to hit Peacocks Pocket Road, I didn't expect to be tossing Chug Bugs into the wind but that's exactly what went down.

As I was crossing the Bennett Causeway Bridge I could tell that fishing was going to be a challenge. 

When the windsurfers and para-sailers are having this much of a blast on the North side of the causeway, the fishing usually sucks. 

I pulled over and took a few shots of the action before driving into Peacocks Pocket road but from the strength of the wind gusts, I didn't expect to have a re-run of yesterday's action.

I fished the ponds with Chug Bugs but the wind was causing a lot of problems with my presentation. 

At my second stop, I managed to catch a nice Ladyfish which I kept for bait.  I managed to hook up with a small sea trout but when I got it to the bank it flipped off.

At the next stop, I changed lures and decided to fish a Johnson Sprite.  It was easier to control and was an acceptable bait for a couple of redfish that I spotted in the grass.

The gold spoon, one of my "go to" baits, netted me three sea trout, all about the size of the one below.

After about an hour and a half of tossing Chug Bugs into the wind and later the spoon; I decided to call it a day.

I drove all the way through Peacocks Pocket road and never saw another person.

Maybe God was trying to tell me something?  Anyway, when my wife called and asked me where I was, I was on the way.

Till next time, Tight Lines.