Paul Manutes is happy to catch a redfish.

Fishing with the Manutes family is always an enjoyable experience. We have been fishing together for several years and have gotten to know each other pretty well. So I was very happy when Bobby and Paul (father and son) scheduled a fishing trip for last week.

On the day of our trip, I launched the skiff a few minutes early in order to catch some live shrimp for bait. Recently, shrimp has been the key to catching redfish, trout and flounder. A single cast of the net (near a small creek mouth) produced enough shrimp for bait and enough big ones for dinner! The upcoming shrimp season is looking very promising.

Returning to the dock, I was pleased to see Bobby and Paul carrying a cooler (they always bring the best food). The tide was approaching dead low, perfect for sight fishing redfish in ultra-shallow water. After a short run to an oyster laden flat, we began looking for signs of feeding fish. Primarily, we were looking for pushes (made by a moving redfish) and jumping shrimp. Whenever we saw this type of activity, Bobby and Paul would cast a live shrimp (hooked on a ¼ ounce lead head jig) into the area. This often produced a pretty aggressive strike.

Initially, all of the fish were smaller in size. However, as we moved into more shallow water, the average size of our fish increased dramatically. Unfortunately, I messed up the photos of the larger fish (it is hard to see the screen on a digital camera in bright sunlight). If anyone is interested in seeing pictures of headless anglers holding 30+ inch Redfish just let me know (I have several).

The fish were still showing themselves, but a thunderstorm moving in our direction forced us back to the dock. It was a short but very enjoyable day.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at captaingreg@shallowwatercharters.com or (843) 224-0099.

Spottail Bass: Very good. Haddrell’s Point reports that redfish continue to feed heavily, and they can be found all over the estuaries right now. On the flats they can be caught around low tide on a variety of baits and artificial lures, and they can also be found tailing in the grass on high tides. Try throwing a ZMAN jerkshad at tailing fish. On moving tides the mouths of feeder creeks are good places to look, and live bait under rattling floats will catch fish. Carolina rigs baited with mullet, mud minnows or shrimp are good bets for fishing around structure.

Trout: Very good. Haddrell’s Point reports that trout fishing has been very good in the last week, and lots of smaller fish have been caught on a rattling float and live shrimp fished around creek mouths and shell rakes in 3-6 feet of water. Some three and four pound fish are being caught here and there.

Tarpon: Good. Haddrell’s Point reports that anglers continue to hook up with tarpon, particularly around Bulls Bay and the North Edisto Inlet. Fish live menhaden or large mullet on the bottom around sandbars.