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| Clients Pat and Lance with a double hook up |
The fall fishing here in Beaufort, SC has been in full swing! My favorite time of year as a local, and the best time of year to fish for Redfish, Trout, and Flounder. The months of September, October, and November provide great weather, lots of bait, and most of all hungry fish. As guides this is our most busy time of year, do to a lot of return clients coming back down for the cooler weather, and great fishing. Whether your using light tackle gear, or throwing the fly, fall fishing is the best time to fish in Beaufort.
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| Kristin with a nice trout |
When throwing the fly during the fall season, choosing the right pattern is key. There are a lot of shrimp around at low tide, and a lot of fiddler crabs around at high tide, so matching those patterns produces the best results on the fly. Poling low tide in the flats boat this time of year is a ton of fun do to the redfish being very active chasing shrimp, so seeing them on the shallow water mud flats is a lot easier for new anlgers. Focusing in 8-10inches of water, sight casting to schools of 15-50 fish at a time. The fall season is when our redfish really start to school up in high numbers getting ready for winter, so it gives you a good opportunity to capitalize on large numbers of fish.
Fall is always a great time for tailing redfish on the fly, allowing us to fish any high tide through out the day, because of the cooler water and air temperatures. Crab patterns and the Dupre Spoon fly work great in the grass for tailing redfish, having a good weed guard is key in the thick spartina grass. Casting to a tailing redfish is one of the best sight casting opportunities you can have with a fly rod, getting within 15-30ft of the fish as its feeding on fiddlers. When you put the fly in the right spot as the fish is tailing, the hook ups are automatic, and offer a very exciting take! Full day fly trips this time of year are well worth the extra money as a client to be able to experience two different situations with redfish on the fly in a single outing.
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| Nat with a tailing redfish from the boat |
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| Client Rich with his 1st tailing Redfish on the fly! |
Light tackle fishing this time of year is sometimes like catching fish in a barrel. Producing 15-20 redfish, 10-15 Trout, and large numbers of lady fish, flounder, etc in a 1/2 day trip. All of our light tackle fishing during the fall is done with live shrimp under a cajun thunder. Working grass lines, oyster beds, and any place where these fish are feeding. This is the kind of fishing that is great for beginners, kids, or the guys who like to catch and eat. For the experienced light tackle guys who like to use artificials, low tide is a great way to sight cast with gulp or D.O.A. Casting to big schools, single fish on white oyster, or tailing redfish in the grass.
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| Client Steve with a nice red on light tackle |
A new thing we started guiding for this year in the fall is Marsh Hen, also known as "Rail Birds". There are set seasons for these waterfowl, and only certain tides over 9ft allow you to hunt for them. When we get these huge high tides during the fall it brings the marsh hen up out of the high spartina grass, putting them in the open waters for us to shoot. Poling the flats boat around and looking for these birds swimming, flying, sitting on grass, or making there famous call is how we hunt for them. Using small gauge shotguns like a .410, 20 or 28 gauge makes the shot a little more challenging. The marsh hen is not a very good eating bird, but does allow a good flying target, and a lot of shooting with a limit of 15 per person.
The "Cast and Blast" is one of my favorite charters to run. There is nothing better to challenge a shooting sportsman, and also a fisherman in the same outing. Focusing on shooting marsh hen in the morning, then fishing for redfish in the afternoon is by far the best experience in the low country. I had the pleasure of spending 3 days in a row on the water this year with 2 clients that absolutely love the outdoors, who got to experience our cast and blast charter in first person. If you haven't got a chance to shoot and fish in the same day I highly recommend giving it a try, you will not be disappointed.
