Redfish on Fly
Happy New Year! We here at FishWater Outfitters hope that y’all have all had a great holiday season and are enjoying the new year. We have had a great winter here in Charleston, South Carolina so far and are really looking forward to whats in store for the new year. We have had pretty good weather so far and we have been out on the flats fly fishing for redfish as much as possible. The fly fishing in Charleston, SC during the winter months can be phenomenal while all the fish are schooled up and pushing wakes along the flats and in the creeks. As usual we have been trying to target the redfish while fly fishing during the falling tide in the mornings. While fly fishing in Charleston during the winter time we are typically looking for a mid morning low tide. This allows us to get out in the morning when the winds are lower and find the redfish pushing wakes in search of bait. Once the tide comes back in and gets pretty high, it is much more difficult to locate the redfish and catch them fly fishing.
Low tide fly fishing in Charleston, SC
On most of our charters recently FishWater Outfitters Captain Braden Powell has been using darker colored flies including black clousers, olive clousers and black redfish toads. Even though the water surrounding Charleston, SC can be very clear during the winter months, these dark colored flies show up much better to the fish looking for small baitfish. Recently, we have been running most of our charters on The Wando River and around the Folly Beach area. We really enjoy fishing the Wando River near Charleston Harbor in the winter because the water clarity is fantastic. It seems to stay cleaner longer than most of the other areas which provides us with great fly fishing opportunities. The Folly Beach area, especially the upper ends of the Folly River and The Kiawah River also offer up some really clean and clear water throughout the winter months.
Redfish on Fly
As we continue to go forward into February, we will still see the Redfish schooled up in large numbers. The fish mostly do this to protect themselves from their main predator, the bottlenose dolphin. Assuming they’re aren’t dolphins on the flat that you are trying to fish, it will be fairly easy to see the redfish. When they are in large numbers and schooled up, they tend to make pushes or wakes on the flats and edges. If you can’t see the actual fish, looking for pushes is your next best thing. Always try to determine which direction the fish are moving and get the fly out in front of the redfish and strip fairly slowly away from them so that you are imitating a baitfish fleeing. This will most often result in a strike from the redfish. Make sure to keep your fly rod tip down towards the water while using a strip strike until you feel the line come tight. Then it is ok to raise the rod tip and continue to fight the fish.
Charleston, SC
We still have some available dates for great winter time low tides open and also dates open for spring time so be sure and contact Captain Braden Powell and FishWater Outfitters today!
Also don’t forget that summertime is right around the corner and our dates for fly fishing in Ennis, MT on The Madison River are filling up fast. If you are interested in fly fishing the Madison River this upcoming summer click below to schedule a day in Ennis, MT.
