More often than not, I learn more from my anglers than they learn from me. On Saturday, Deb Brusini and Tom Kuppens taught me that fishing is like glue. It reconnects old friends and bonds together new ones. Deb and Tom are Bishop England High School alumni. While attending a recent reunion, they discovered fishing was a common interest. So when Deb returned to Charleston for a visit, the three of us went fishing.

Conditions on Saturday were breezy and cool with water temperatures in the upper forty degree range. As we ran to the first flat, I had a sense it was going to be one of those days. Shortly after staking out the skiff, I knew it was going to be one of those days. We saw plenty of fish, but were unsuccessful in getting them to eat. My confidence fell with the tide. After thirty minutes of casting everything in my tackle box, we left seeking more cooperative fish.

The second flat had a small creek that was draining over a large oyster bar. Water clarity was poor (due to the wind) and we spooked the school as we approached the area. The fish broke up into smaller pods and refused to bite any of our offerings. Deb and Tom were diligent in their efforts, but we were just having one of those days.

On the third flat, we resorted to using the mud minnows that Tom had brought along. Both Deb and Tom quickly broke the ice. The fish were not large but we were happy to get the skunk off the boat. At last, we had found a school of cooperative redfish. Deb and Tom each caught and released a couple more fish before the wind picked up and drove us off the flat.

Feeling the need to warm up, we hit a small (but deep) tree lined creek. The bite was kind of slow, but it felt great to be out of the wind. The time between fish was filled with the comfortable banter shared by old friends. We fished for a couple more hours, but the time seemed to fly by. Our fish count for the day was 15, but the number that really mattered was 3 (for 2 old friends and 1 new one).

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

Spottail Bass: Good. Haddrell’s Point reports that winter redfish are schooled up in large numbers. Gulp! shrimp or jerkshads are always effective, but lately a lot of anglers have gone to ZMAN swim baits and are putting a smear of Pro-Cure bait scent on them. The Pro-Cure will stick amazingly well to soft plastics and lasts for dozens of casts before another application is needed. Sheepshead: Good. Haddrell’s Point reports that good numbers of sheepshead are being caught around bridges and rocks piles near inlets or deep water. Soon good numbers of sheepshead should also be found at near shore reefs. Fiddler crabs are available at Haddrell’s Point.