By Captain Mike Able, Contributing Writer
Whew, we made it!! Made it past March that is! For me, I feel March can be one of the most frustrating months to consistently catch fish. The weather patterns changed frequently, water temperatures changed and the fish just can’t get in a solid pattern.
Now that we are in April we start to see more consistent warming weather and hungrier fish! If there was anything that holds consistent for March and April it would be the sheepshead bite, specifically on the nearshore reefs. If a calm weather day allows, you can find yourself fishing a few miles off the beach in about thirty feet of water targeting large sheepshead, black sea bass, and even black drum. Getting(and staying) on top of good structure is key in this instance. Dropping a live fiddler crab on a carolina rig will surely do the trick for a nice sheepshead or sea bass. Bluefish and weakfish will also show up on the nearshore wrecks this time of year and a light jig or grub will surely do the trick.
When the ocean doesn’t allow it, I find myself fishing the creeks for trout and redfish. Depending on what the tide has to offer the day of, I could find myself trout fishing on higher water or redfishing at low tide. One of my favorite ways to target redfish is topwater plugs. This is a lowlight condition fishery so early mornings or late evenings are a must. A lowtide around 8-9am allows me to get to the spot at sunrise and have a couple hours of an outgoing tide to target the reds as they come out of the marsh grass. It also allows a little bit more depth of water so they aren’t extremely spooky. I love throwing a Heddon topwater plug in silver mullet color. I switch the treble hooks to in-line J hooks for better quality, and easier to get out of the fish while maintaining a great hook-up ratio. Trout will also eat these baits too! If I’m not throwing topwater I switch over to either micro shrimp patterns like the Z-Man Prawnstar in 2.5’’ or a Z-Man Slim Swimz in 3” on a jig head. Another great bait for large trout is the Mirrodine, made by Mirrolure. It’s a menhaden imitation that slowly sinks and is a great replica of the small pogies that are in our estuaries in the spring.
With more consistent weather we can now turn our focus to the offshore fishery! The wahoo and tuna bite was pretty decent! It will still continue later on in the year but now a lot of anglers start to look for the mahi mahi. These critters show up mid to late March and typically stay for a good portion of the year, while the heat of it is usually May. Getting a sea surface temperature(SST) report the day before fishing is THE BEST way to get an idea of where to start fishing. Do this every trip throughout the entire year. Looking for water changes will help you find weedlines, temperature breaks, bait, and more! Trolling small to medium ballyhoo in depths of 150 feet of water to 300 feet will be your more consistent stuff, but again a SST report may dictate that different for that day of fishing. Pulling various sizes and shapes of bait will make a difference in how it swims and what they’re eating that day. Small chugger heads, to lead heads, to seawitches will all troll different and may cause reaction bites sooner on specific baits.
I would always encourage you to reach out to either of our shop locations to get a more up-to-date report whether it be inshore or offshore fishing. The most recent and first hand knowledge trumps anything you read online! We are here to help and want to see you be successful!
Our seminars and workshops continue with things like our Offshore Saturday Session at Longshore Boats April 11th! We also continue our Women’s Wednesday Series! These are women only events(taught by women) that meet the first Wednesday of every month, alternating tackle shop locations.
Tight Lines
Capt Mike Able
Haddrell’s Point Tackle & Supply • Since 1983
843-881-3644 (Mt Pleasant)
843-573-3474 (West Ashley)
