I had been hankering getting back to do some sightfishing for redfish and this trip I had my friend Andy along as a companion. He brought his big boat to tackle the run across the Cape Fear River to fish around Bald Head Island.
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Southport since it was near to the Dutchman Creek public launch. We didn't fish the night we arrived, but went to recon the boat ramp for the next day's fishing.
We found this baby gator, hunting in the flood lit waters around the ramp. We found he would readily chase the disturbance of a popping bug.
The next day, fair skies greeted us as we launched on Dutchman Creek.
We worked our way up into the marshes behind Bald Head Island where I had found fish many times before. The tide was low, but we anchored the boat and waited for the tide to rise, eventually getting out to wade ashore, looking for reds following the flood in.
After a while, there seemed to be enough water for reds to push their way in, but I never saw one. The tide did not seem to fill in and get the depth that I wanted.
We called it quits, and hit the road to drive to Charleston. We stayed at the KOA in Mt. Pleasant. They have nice air conditioned cabins and the beds, with foam mattresses, are comfortable enough. You can park your boat there and they have a spigot with water to rinse off after a day of fishing.
On the first day, we searched some high tide flats on the Wando River, but the tide never seemed to get high enough for the fish to get up in there. It looked promising though...
Back at the cabin, we tied flies and prepared for the next day.
On the second day, we fished the Wando River edge, waiting for the tide to rise. Sometimes you can find tailing redfish on that edge - waiting to get up into the flooded Spartina. Not a red, but I was lucky enough to catch a nice little speckled trout.
We looked around, on both sides of the river, and followed the flood tide in search of tailing reds.
Some of that exploration into new areas revealed some beautiful, fishy-looking water.
But no fish..
Out on the main river, it was windy as hell and we struggled to find any lee or calm water where fish might be tailing. With the flood tide being pushed by the wind, the water was deep enough to hide the movements of fish.
On one flat, we did find tailers, but they were spooky and we just seemed to push them around without getting many good shots. Cruising the shoreline, we did find one small pocket of water that must've had at least four tailing fish in it. I thought for sure we'd catch one. I got good shots at at least two of them. Incredibly, I came away empty handed.
All in all, with the high winds, a strong tide, and deep water, it was super tough fishing, made all the more disappointing by the time and travel that we hade to make in order to get to South Carolina. But at Bob Hutchinson used to say, "That's why they call it fishing and not catching."
Nevertheless, it was a great time with Andy and in meeting new friends. It will just make the next productive trip all the more sweet. We'll be back!
peace
