If you want to catch fish, go fishing with Sully

The Daniel Island Kids Fishing Tournament is a great event for our community. It supports worthwhile causes within our community and engages families to fish together. While I retired from guiding a few years ago, I still take the tournament champion fishing. This year, I had the pleasure of fishing with Sully Conroy and his father (Jay).

Before meeting Sully and Jay, I launched the skiff to catch bait for our trip. Finger mullet and shrimp were abundant in the creek and it only took a few casts to bait up. Upon returning to the boat landing, Sully was already there. As we introduced ourselves, there was a Sheephead eating barnacles on one of the dock pilings. So I grabbed a rod rigged with a quarter ounce jig and shrimp out of the baitwell. Handing the outfit to Sully, I described the cast he should make. To my surprise, he presented the shrimp perfectly and caught the first fish of the trip before we even left the dock.

Once on board, we ran to a small creek that has a shallow channel and lots of oyster bars. While staking the skiff out, I explained how fish congregate in the channel adjacent to the oysters. Sully caught a finger mullet out of the livewell and hooked it on the jig. His cast was once again perfect. It was clear why he won the tournament. That kid can fish! Very quickly, Sully caught and released several Trout and Redfish. When the tide bottomed out, the bite slowed down. So we moved to another creek in quest of larger Redfish.

After setting up in the new location, I got out of the way and let Sully go to work. It was clear to me that Sully could handle things on his own. My confidence was well placed. Sully whacked the large Reds. With big Redfish checked off our list, we turned our attention to Flounder (to complete the inshore grand slam). We moved to a dock with lots of oysters and a strong current. While holding the boat in position with the trolling motor, I asked Sully to cast at the third dock piling in the water (where the oysters transition to mud and Flounder congregate). He made a great cast and completed the Grand Slam (releasing a Sheephead, Trout, Flounder and Redfish). It was a fitting end to a fantastic day of fishing.
I no longer guide. However, if you want to catch fish, get Sully to take you fishing!

Contact Capt. Greg at: captgregp@gmail.com and (843) 224-0099.