Early November fishing report
By Captain Geoff Bennett
True to form, fishing this fall is great. Fish are eating steadily during the cooler weather, and if you’ve been out on the water recently, you probably noticed that you have the water to yourself; even on some weekends. With hungry fish and less crowds, now is the time to get fishing!
Fishing in early November has continued to be hot as temperatures drop.
Redfish are present and active. With the fish eager this time of year, you should spend more time throwing artificial plastic lures. There are many options available. On our fishing trips, we’ll often switch between paddletail grubs and jerk shad, among others. We usually fish the grubs attached to a ¼ oz. jighead. You’ll find jigheads in all different colors. I usually choose unpainted, but it’s just a matter of your preference. Chicken on a Chain and Texas Roach are hot colors for the grubs, but check your local tackle shop to get an idea of what’s working. For jerk shad, I favor lighter colors and will use both Gulp! and D.O.A. lures. Try fishing the jerk shad on flutter hooks. These hooks have a weight on their shank that imparts additional action when you are working it in the water. With all of the above, try changing the speed of your retrieve, as well as the color of the lure. What was hot one day might not necessarily produce the next.
Redfish are responding well to live bait, too. Mud minnows suspended underneath a popping cork have been working the best for me. Casting this rig along grass banks has been very effective in locating fish. When you approach an area, try to stay as far away from the bank as possible so that your longest cast just reaches the target. Fish will sit surprisingly far off grass banks and quite far out along oyster beds, too. You can gradually move in closer if needed. As always, cuts or live bait on the bottom with a Carolina Rig is a very effective tactic. Right now, I favor cut mullet or smaller live baitfish. Cracked crab works great, but often gets picked to pieces by little fish before a redfish can get to it.
Trout will happily eat the paddletail plastic grubs mentioned above. When working an area, make sure to try a very slow retrieve every so often. Sometimes that slower speed can be the ticket for trout. It sounds crazy, but I’ve had several occasions recently when trout would only eat these artificial lures, even when live mud minnows or live shrimp were presented under popping corks. Over oyster beds, try “live lining” D.O.A. 3” plastic shrimp. Live lining just means letting the shrimp drift naturally through the water column. The D.O.A. shrimp come in a variety of weights, but I am partial to the ¼ oz. You can add splitshot above the shrimp if you want to work it deeper. I try to have enough weight so that I can bounce the shrimp along the bottom and if I can do that without adding weight to the line, all the better.
See you on the water!
Capt. Geoff Bennett operates Charleston Charter Fishing providing fly fishing and light tackle charters. Clients choose from a full menu of fly rods, artificial and live bait fishing options with charters tailored to their desires. USCG licensed and insured, Capt. Bennett is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable charter to anglers of all skill levels and ages. For more information, call Capt. Bennett at 324-3332, visit his website at www.charlestoncharterfishing.com or email him at captain@charlestoncharterfishing.com.
Tweet
