Copahee: An Overwinter Retreat

Captain Dave, with Malibu Kayaks, recently invited my business partner and me to try one of his new Stealth 14’s. I couldn’t think of a better place for a test paddle than Copahee Sound. I had stalked Copahee’s flats for redfish multiple times during the summer, and I was excited to return to such an amazing and inspirational place.

Copahee Sound is a labyrinth of marsh grass and oyster beds, puzzled together by hundreds of ethereal creek-channels that only reveal themselves at the lowest of tides. With an area of almost four square miles, Copahee provides one of the best habitats for overwintering redfish in the Lowcountry. The relatively shallow sound is uninviting for large predators and allows the water to warm considerably on cooler sunny days. Redfish aren’t the only game fish to enjoy this winter retreat; trout, flounder and drum also frequent the area. Countless organisms depend on intertidal estuaries to protect their young, but at low tide, this turns Copahee Sound into a giant game of swim or be swallowed!

We began our angling adventure by drifting on the outgoing tide and started fishing the larger creek mouths, slowly making our way into the oyster labyrinth. The Lowcountry is known for dramatic tide changes, and the oyster beds appeared to rise out of the water creating razor sharp obstacles that seemed to have a magnetic force with my kayak. As we rode the current deeper into the puzzle, the oyster mounds continued to grow and the water started getting skinny. Sitting down, I could barely see over the top of the oysters and a couple of times, I had to back paddle sand to push myself
into deeper waters. Standing up, however, gave me a view of Copahee that could only be experienced in a kayak.

I could see deeper creek channels and started maneuvering towards small patches of green indicating deeper water. I staked up at the bottom of a hole that received bottlenecked drainage off of a large section of salt flat and started slinging that electric chicken. I began working the outter edges, and my third cast went right down the middle of the hole.

BAMM! He hit it hard, and by the way my reel was screaming, I could tell he got all 220 volts of that electric chicken. I’m sure I looked pretty electrified myself. Line peeled off my Stradic as he torpedoed along the backside of an oyster bed that was directly in front of me, and holding my rod above my head I was able to turn the fish back in my direction. His direction might have changed, but his velocity stayed the same and I had to reel like a mad man to keep the line tight and off the oysters. From a distance, I probably looked as if I was doing some frantic form of the twist. This process repeated itself twice before I could get the fish close enough to see. Sciaenops ocellatus gets its name from the eyespot (oculi) that is found on the tail of most redfish and right at that moment I saw a big one wink at me. All I can say is time stopped. I had been searching for this fish all year, and finally, there was my monster red. Instantly, I knew that this was my biggest redfish ever. My senses seemed to take in every single detail as we promenaded around the tops of oyster beds and along shallow channels. Our watery dance went on for a couple of minutes
more, but after our little encore, I was finally able to tire the rowdy red and scoop the massive fish into my kayak.

Time immediately caught up with me, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. “Eddie!” I yelled to my great friend and business partner as he casted aimlessly in the oyster maze beside me, not catching fish. “Come take a picture!” I yelled impatiently. Eddie and I both knew that this was a trophy redfish, and his excitement was as vivid as mine. After our impromptu photo shoot and an uneventful release of the beautiful redfish, Ed and I both resumed fishing…Well, I caught another big redfish, and he casted a whole bunch more. Hahaha, just kidding. But seriously. True story.
That’s really about it. We were only out for 4 hours, and I caught two trophy redfish. Capt. Dave caught a couple of nice reds, including a trout and Edwardo got skunked! I don’t know where on earth you could call that a bad day. Copahee is a challenge to fish, even for the pros; and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can end up in an unfortunate situation. Having a plan and being prepared is crucial in this type of fishing. A six-foot tidal fluctuation is big, no matter where you are. This is advanced angling, and having a kayak that I could stand on while navigating and casting from was essential in our adventure. I just want to say thanks to Capt. Dave for the invitation, and I invite you to try a Malibu Kayak for yourself. Malibu makes a variety of recreational kayaks for all activities, and the Stealth 14’ was designed specifically for anglers. I challenge you to find a more stable, economical fishing platform in the business. If you do, call me. We’ll go fishing.

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