I’m not sure what is going on this year and I don’t think the fish do, either…Here it is, February 24th, and we have pine pollen in the air and azaleas in full bloom. The waters here in Charleston never really got very cold, so we never really saw the fish get in a winter pattern. The papers are saying we are at least 3 weeks ahead of time in terms of weather. We are even hearing of menhaden showing up…Well, one thing is for sure, and that is we are in for a banner trout year! I’m going on record to say that the Summerville Saltwater Anglers trout club record will fall this year (and I hope it’s me that beats my own record!)
Due to the uncertainty in the weather, the fish have been a little hard to pattern for us in our usual brackish waters that we like to fish. They are kinda spread out, like typical March fishing, but I suspect that March will be like April and that means big hungry trout fattening up for the spawn. Our recommendation is to keep your eyes peeled for bait fish and try to match the hatch with your size, color and profile and I think you will do pretty good.
I had the pleasure of fishing a club tournament and hosting my younger son Ian (age 17) and a new club member Grant (age 15) who has the fishing bug bad. It was a real pleasure with these two boys, both who know how to work a lure and cast accurately. The day-maker was Grant’s first fish while fishing off a boat – and it was a gollywhopper….a new youth club record riverine Striper at 27.5″. This fish also would have tied the adult record by the way. I was proud to have witnessed it. Unfortunately for Grant’s parents, I think he’s ruined!! Incidentally we have seen the striper busting bait which indicates the re-emergence of bait fish in the creeks.
The Inshore Journal
If you haven’t yet checked out The Inshore Journal, it’s a really cool podcast format that has interviews and product reviews. Recently, Episode 5 was on the subject of the Southern Redfish Cup. It has an interview with the owner of the tour and also Ashley Lowder, who along with partner Jeremy Espiritu won over $40,000 fishing the tour in 2016 including a win and big fish in the Georgetown leg and also a win in the Championship and Team of the Year honors. The episode can be listened to HERE and is worth a listen (it runs over an hour) but there is a great testimonial to our Trout Eye jigs by Ashley if you jump ahead to the 45 minute mark. Check it out.
I’ve caught 100% of all my tournament fish on Trout Eye jigheads – Ashley Lowder
Shop Hours Changed
We have changed our Shop hours to Monday through Friday 9AM – 4PM. Come on by the shop and chat about fishing and pick up some supplies. Remember, we have a great selection of Z-Man soft plastics including some hard to find larger profiles like the 6″ SwimmerZ and 8″ MagSwimZ that pair really well with our Striper Eye jigs for jetty or reef fishing. Some local guides have liked their performance so well that they are buying them for their charter clients to use at the reefs instead of live bait. A single ElaZtech lure can last all day and, well, Predators Strike the Eye and the results speak for themselves! We also have all our products including Trout Eye and Redfish Eye shirts, Original Trout Tricks, the new Trout Eye Finesse jigs, and our new Chrome eyes.