Fishing over the Thanksgiving week was the most part was very obliging. The day before Thanksgiving was the toughest with strong winds and little current. When the weather deteriorated small sea trout were the norm. On other days the bite was good with large reds one day followed by schooling red fish the next. The sea trout bite in Wassaw Sound has been good! Sea trout are feeding on shrimp on flats. Sea trout can be found well off the marsh grass. Nonetheless when the bite slows, towards the top of the tide, its usually a good idea to fish close to the grass. Floats like Cajun Thunders can be very effective in drawing up strikes. Best sea trout bites can be found in places with clean water and current. When currents are slow, fishing slow can be effective. Those who enjoy pitching a fly rod last week did well on sea trout and red fish. Sometimes pitching a fly requires commitment. When the bites are not happening a simple statement like – I hope the fish don’t interrupt my fishing. Sounds a silly but before you know it fish are striking! Perhaps its as simple as relaxing and letting things happen. A slightly warmer day can mean red fish are turned on and on the feed. When this happens fishing can be easy. On the other hand when you find yourself fishing through a front nothing might seems to work. You might see fish tailing with little results. On these days you might try moving to another spot to find active fish. Making a change of location is likely appropriate. If nothing else your expectation has changed. Sometimes a move is all you need. The point is not to over commit.
Look for signs. One fishermen said he found fish last week by fishing where birds were working. More commonly mullet being pushed out of the water is a give away that red fish or sea trout could be close by. Just one mullet coming out of the water at crazy angle could belie a fat sea trout or red fish. If nothing else seeing a mullet pushed out of the water can mean you need to give it a few more minuets. When you catch one fish all the thrashing and crashing can draw other fish to your area. Another frequently overlooked sign is a shrimp popping out the water. As water temperature drops there is greater likelihood of a nice fish pushing the shrimp or mullet.
In summary fish has been good! When conditions warmed after Thanksgiving red fish could found schooling and feeding. Red fish were charged up with blue tails flashing! Red fish bites were hard as sea trout on the feed! On these days red fish will eat literally anything including a bare hook. When finding an ideal red fish bite temperature and currents are exactly to their likely. Following Thanksgiving this meant a warming trend and rising barometer, close to ideal conditions.
Tides are building this week to 8.6 feet on Thursday morning. Definitely a big tide. Nonetheless, there will opportunities to find and catch fish. The trick is to have a few back up plans when winds kick up. The best bite has been towards the sounds but as fall wains anticipate the best bite to be up river. Some small stripers being caught. Whiting fishing is still good when wind has lain. .
Hope this of help! Fish On! Capt. Jack McGowan