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Beaufort and Hilton Head - December 16th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Great
Tides South Carolina [click here]
Lowcountry redfishing has come alive in the last two weeks. Water temperatures have been pretty stable and the fish have responded accordingly.
My friend Tracey Burttram was with me yesterday as we stalked big reds on the flats south of Hilton Head Island. The wind was brisk from the west and sight conditions were not exactly ideal but we were determined and forged ahead. Tracey is an experienced fisherman in deeper water but is in the learning stages of shallow water sightfishing and man he is hungry to learn.
We fished the first flat a few hours before low tide and found a nice school of reds after I pushed into the middle of them (nice job Capt. Stevie Wonder). Tracey put the 3" GULP Shrimp in front of them and it was immediately whacked by what turned out to be a pig redfish just under 9 lbs. Tracey was grinning like a mule eating briars. We worked that flat for a while with Tracey doing a good job on the rod casting and sticking fish when they bit. We had a negative tide so the flat soon dried up to nothing and we moved to another spot I had found some fish on earlier in the week.
I pushed about twenty yards and found a big wad of reds in about 8 inches of water. Tracey put the bait in them. No takers. Cast again. No takers. Change lures. Cast again. No takers. You get the picture. I finally staked the boat and we both cast to groups of fish with perfect head-on shots and got nary a bite. I did everything I know to do, short of tossing a short stick of danamite(that's how we say it). No bites. Theses guys had the lockjaw in serious fashion. Well, I know when I've had my butt cut so we picked up and moved to yet another flat. I hate to leave fish to find fish but it doesn't pay to waste hours on a school that's not in the mood.
We jetted to this other spot and spotted a bunch of seagulls crashing the surface, a surefire sign a school of reds was under them. We were able to get in perfect position and slipped up to the school without a sound. Tracey put the bait on the edge of the school and Booyow. Instant hook up. Again and again. Photo documentation with a low setting sun made for beautiful pics. You couldn't scrub the smile off Tracey's face with a wire brush. To top off the day, we watched a drop dead gorgeous sunset on the way back to the hill. The Lowcountry at it's finest.
It's going on down here y'all. Let's go fishing..................
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - November 25th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Great
Tides South Carolina [click here]
Fall has finally arrived in the Lowcountry and fishing patterns have changed accordingly. The stag Reds have marched offshore but the inshore fishing has really taken off. Most flats have multiple schools of redfish ranging in size from 3 to 12 pounds.
The bite was slow at the beginning of the week but water temperature stabilized and the bite turned on towards the end of the week. I was fishing with some new baits manufactured by Bekeley called GULP. We used several different colors of crabs and two colors of shrimp. These baits are made for the saltwater species, are biodegradable and the reds ate them like it was thier last meal. We worked the shrimp in short hops and the crab was pitched in front of the fish and moved just enough to make the bait "quiver". Booyow. Lots of violent takes and the reds were frisky in the 63 degree water.
The most unusual thing of the day and a first for me was when my friend Dennis was blind casting near a point of dead shell and a fish ate the GULP shrimp. It fought hard and looked to be a corncob size speckled trout. Dennis pulled the fish into the boat and it was a MULLET. That's right. A 3/4 lb striped mullet hooked in the mouth, not foul hooked. I've never seen a mullet caught by eating an artificial bait. I've read of folks using doughballs or some such silly stuff but have never seen a mullet eat a bait.
Sight fishing for redfish is on and will continue to improve thoughout the fall and winter. Let's go fishing.........................
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - November 5th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Good
Tides South Carolina [click here]
Fall has been slow in coming to the Lowcountry this year. Water temperature is still around 68 degrees and the "Stag" Redfish continue to hang around while reds on the flats have been slow to school in their normal patterns.
Lots of trips for the big reds have yielded good numbers and some trophy catches as well. Two of my dearest friends, Mack and Carol Padgett zipped into the Lowcountry for their yearly whirlwind fishing excursion. Mack, formerly a pig farmer from Jacksonboro, SC, moved to Anchorage, Alaska some 23 years ago where he met Carol. Both are avid fisherpeople and spend many days on the water. Mack definitely married over his head and Carol has confided in me that she married him because he could chew Red Man AND reel in a 50lb King Salmon WHILE drinking an icey cold Pabst Blue Ribbon. A great American indeed. We whacked a few big reds and visited before the lure of the bar at Boathouse Restaurant called us in. As always, a good time was had by all.
Excellent stag action this week as I fished numerous officials from from the major tackle manufacturers that were on HHI for the American Sportfishing Association summit. John and Donn, president and CFO of Eagle Claw were onboard for a good day and John landed a trophy of 40 lbs on light tackle. The bite has been best on fresh cut menhaden with few bites on live baits. Bluefish and Black Sea Bass have been munching on the smaller baits so keep the cutbait in larger chunks to attract big reds.
Sunday afternoon was one of those special days as I fished with J.D. and his girlfriend Michelle. He has a voracious appetite for fishing but hadn't had much luck with the big Reds. We changed all that. As the tide switched, rods went off and stayed bent for the next 90 minutes. JD whacked several Stags over 30 lbs and one over 40lbs. Michelle caught two over 40 and a bruiser of 50lbs....maybe a little heavier. We left them biting in hopes of returning to do the same again soon.
Flats fishing will soon be in top form and the Stags will be here for a few more weeks. Let's go fishing................
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - September 19th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Good
Tides South Carolina [click here]
Mother Nature is playing havoc with the marine life in our Lowcountry waters. H2O temperature has dropped to around 78 degrees from 83 which is a substantial enough change to make gamefish a little funky. Pogies have been scattered around but plentiful when you find them. I've seen a few tarpon this week but nothing like the numbers we were seeing. If this storm moves on without great effect to us, the tarpon bite will likely be hot for the rest of the month.
The better news is we whacked the redfish this week while the poon bite was slow. Actually it was the best of both worlds. We caught good numbers of slot fish and then slipped to a "secret" spot to try the big boys. Stags. Bulls. And they were there. Not in huge numbers but enough to make it fun. We caught 6 bull reds in the 20 lb range in about an hour and a half. Not bad but will get better as fall progresses.
A little tip for you folks if you haven't tried it. Redfish LOVE cut pogies. Oh yeah. Put some pogies in the freezer and on those days when shrimp or mudminnows are being refused, pull out the secret weapon. Fresh cut pogies are better for sure but frozen can be the key in mid-winter. They can be the master key for lockjaw.
THE REDS ARE COMING! THE REDS ARE COMING! Let's go fishing......................................
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - September 11th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Great
Tides South Carolina [click here]
It's been awhile since my last post. The modem on my computer got fried by a lightning strike and I lost all info. I had DSL installed so my new e-mail address is ospreycharters@comcast.net.
I'm looking forward to the end the hurricane season. I can only imagine how the folks in central Florida must be feeling.They took a left from Charley and a right from Frances. Good luck to those affected.
Tarpon is still the story here in the Lowcountry. The bite was phenominal until Friday when we were all blown off the water. My friends from Philly, Jeff and his son Justin have fished with me a number of times and each time brings a new twist but ALWAYS good luck. We fished together again on Sept. 1 hoping to put up a few 'poons. What we experienced was a sight to behold.
There was bait in the creek and we were lucky enough to get a "floater" right off the bat. A floater is what happens when you cast a 10 ft net over a wad of pogies and there are so many in the net it actually "floats" to the surface. Live well full and chum bag full with one toss. We took off to the Port Royal Sound and on the way out, I saw a tarpon blow up in a school of pogies. Then another and another. I shut down for a minute and we watched about 100 acres of pogies getting bombed by hundreds of tarpon. We moved down current from the action and set up in anticipation of wonderful things. For the next 90 minutes, pogies and tarpon flowed around us in every direction. 'Poons rolling and busting bait everywhere...and we couldn't buy a bite. Too much bait will sometimes yield the same result. We blasted off to another spot after the show was over and managed two good hook ups but didn't get one to the boat. We moved out to an ebb tide spot later in the afternoon as the wind lay down and things got calm and quiet. Tarpon began to show almost immediately and we could see them in all directions and all over the sound. I pulled the anchor and decided it was too sweet not to be sightcasting in these conditions. Clean water, slick calm, bright sun and daisy chaining tarpon. Man o man. We cast to dozens of tarpon with Bluewater Thunders and live pogies. Chaining tarpon tend to be a bit fussy about eating but we manged to put up six in short order. Jeff and Justin did a great job on the stick so the day was about perfect though I would have given a few digits to have had a fly rod on board. More tarpon in September with schooling redfish right around the corner. Get your affairs in order and let's go fishing........................
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - August 20th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Good
Tides South Carolina [click here]
We dodged a pair of bullets last week when it appeared we were the bullseye of then both. Tropical storm Bonnie barley grazed us and Hurricane Charlie passed just far enough off the coast that we only had a little rain. Unfortunately, Punta Gorde, Florida took it in the face. Having been through Hugo in 1989, I feel thier pain. Good luck to all affected.
We were able to get in some really good trips before the storms. We filmed a show for BF Goodrich Outdoors and Fox Sports Net that turned out great. We jumped four tarpon and brought one to the boat, about 90 lbs. It was particularly fun for me because I was actually on the rod when the fish ate. Good jumps close to the boat and I had her boatside in 18 minutes. Fun, fun, fun. We also chased a monster cobia on the surface but she didn't get to be so big being stupid so we never actually got a shot at her and we hooked up with a stag redfish of almost 20 lbs that burned off line like a small tarpon. We had another huge tarpon hooked up that dumped 260 yards of a 280 yard spool before she broke us off on some structure. That took about 15 seconds. I was holding the rod and running the boat, another guy was reeling in lines and the camera man was dumping the anchor ball and filming. I was backing away from the anchor at 1/3 throttle trying to keep the tarpon from dumping the spool but she was on fire. I couldn't understand why we were losing ground so fast until I looked forward and we were still hooked up to the ANCHOR! I calmly instucted the camera man to please release the anchor ball in a way only Lowcountry gentlemen could appreciate. Too late. It was funny as hell afterwards.
More tarpon on tap this week. Keep your fingers crossed the storms stay out to sea. Let's go fishing...........
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - August 9th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Good
Tides South Carolina [click here]
Tropical Storm/Hurricane Alex threw a curve to us in the Lowcountry this week. The storm created just enough disturbance in our weather to kill a really good tarpon bite. Such is life. The full moon brought spring tides to further compound the problem but things are settling down now.
Early morning low tides had the fleet running many miles in search of menhaden. All of the above mentioned items contributed to the bait being scattered far and wide but we found it and gathered what we needed.
Some of you have heard the adage,"Some days you drink the wine and some days you stomp the grapes." Well, I was a grape stomping SOB on Wednesday. After putting in 47 miles on a bait run, we set up for tarpon and not long after got tight to a 'poon in the 140-150 range. A battle of about 40 minutes resulted in a pulled hook and a boatload of people with the poochy mouth. No more tarpon bites and the trip was over at midday. We pulled anchor and headed to the dock. I found out later that afternoon that tarpon showed up all over my "spot" about 20 minutes after we left. A guide buddy of mine moved over and went 4 for 6 on 'poons. That's why I encourage folks to book at least a six hour trip when fishing for tarpon.
Yesterday was drop dead gorgeous but the bite was a bit slow. We jumped a big tarpon and had her on for a while but she finally broke off.
I've said many times before that you never know what you'll see in the salt. After we lost the tarpon yesterday, we were back on the anchor and I was chumming and chunking bait when directly off the stern(that's the back of the boat Padgett), a Tiger shark pops up. A giant Tiger shark. He slowly moved around the boat a time or two no more that 20 feet away. This guy was 16 feet long if he was an inch. Sometimes I think I need a bigger boat..............
Blowout today with North winds over 20kts. Tarpon Tournament on Saturday. Spanish macks, redfish and tarpon next week. Let's go fishing................
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - July 20th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Great
Tides South Carolina [click here]
One of the reasons I love summer fishing in the Lowcountry is the number of species available nearshore and inshore. Spanish Mackerel are plentiful off the beaches and inside the Port Royal Sound as well. Bluefish, Jacks and Ladyfish are chasing glass minnows and the occasional tripletail can be found floating on the surface. Tarpon and a variety of species of sharks are eating everything we feed them. So many fish. So little time.
We have had lots of bites on the surface from 'poons and blacktip sharks. It's always exciting to see 100 lb fish blast a surface bait. It can get a bit "squirrelly" when you have a tarpon on one rod and a surface bait gets blown up at virtually the same time. Point in case: I recently fished with another guide buddy of mine on our day "off". A tarpon ate one bait on the bottom so my buddy grabs the rod and the 'poon jumps and generally goes nuts. I immediately beginning winding up the other lines when another 'poon blows up the surface bait I have yet to bring in. This bite is on a baitrunner reel in free spool so line is ripping off the reel. Now, picture this. My bud is hooked up to a big tarpon, I'm reeling furiously on other rods to get them out of the way and a surface bait gets blown up. All this in about a seven second period. Chaos? Of course not. We're both professionals.........and then my bud reaches over to the screaming baitrunner, turns the handle and engages the reel on a tarpon that's at mach II with his hair on fire. The hook sets on the 'poon, the rodholder can't hold the rod and the rod gets launched over the stern like a missle. I made an ESPN highlight dive for the rod,missed and wound up hanging over the transom as the rod hit the water 25 feet away. There goes the poon and a $400 outfit. My buddy is still hooked up on the other fish and having a coniption fit of laughter. Other guide boats nearby call on the radio asking what the hell is going on and of course, we do not respond until we get our story straight. Bottomline is this. We get the first tarpon to the boat, a nice 115lber and then I spy the float from the "launched" rod. We run over to the float, grab it with a gaff and pull the line up. We get the entire outfit back minus the tarpon! Sometimes it's just better to be lucky. You never know what can happen in the salt.
We're wasting time. Let's go fishing...............
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - July 15th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Good
Tides South Carolina [click here]
There is no doubt summer is here to stay for awhile. A recent heatwave has temperatures in the high 90's and coupled with the humidity and light winds, the heat index has been as high as 110 degrees. You gotta love it because the fish do.
The tarpon bite was a bit slower this week but some really good fish have been caught each day. Several in the 150lb class and bunches of 70-90 lbers. 'Poons are eating menhaden both live and dead but we jumped more fish on live baits on the surface. I use a Bluewater Thunder float with 80lb mono leader and a 5/0 shortshank live bait hook for the surface. The lighter leader and smaller hook gives the pogie more life and a little more wiggle. We had a number of bites on the surface from cobia, king mackerel, spanish mackerel, blacktip and spinner sharks as well.
We have been experiencing a phenomenon of sorts over the last few weeks. There has been an incredible influx of Tiger sharks in one particular area we fish for tarpon. Big Tigers. My new friends, the Klingenbergs, found out the hard way on Friday. We dropped anchor on a favorite 'poon spot and soon Mr. K had a 75-80 lb Spinner shark jumping and spinning. He put on a good show and the shark did too. Soon after, I picked up the Cape Fear 14-25 rod as it was being lightly tapped. I slowly came tight(the line)and set the hook. The Fin Nor 20 then went into nuclear meltdown. This fish was dumping the spool of 30 lb Power Pro like a race car. Mr. K's eldest son grabbed the rod as I tossed the anchor ball overboard so we could chase the fish. We got the fish under control by good rod work and the fact that my 150 Yamaha is a faster than the fish. To make a long and sweaty story a little shorter, The K's swapped off on the stick until finally the fish showed off the bow. A monster Tiger shark hooked in the corner of the mouth. When the shark was brought to starboard, it was easy to see the fish was just about half the length of my bay boat which is 21 feet long. Nine to ten feet of El Tigre. Dark blue with stripes and half the lenghth of the boat. Intimidating but beautiful. The K's did a hell of a job fighting this fish and bringing it boatside in under 50 minutes. Another Tiger was caught next to us that was fought for over three hours and the captain estimated its lenghth to be 12 feet. I'm not sure why these guys have shown up in such numbers but I will further investigate.
The Spanish Mackerel bite was good yesterday trolling Clark Spoons and casting Sidewinders into schools on the surface. We even had a Black Sea Bass hit a trolled spoon. Damned if I know. Anything can happen in the salt.
Yes, it's hot but what else are you gonna do? Shop the outlet malls with the In-laws? Play golf on a course with no breeze and sweat like a dog? Come on, let's go fishing.........................
Weather and Lunar Phases
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Beaufort and Hilton Head - July 11th, 2004
supplied by: Capt. Mike Upchurch
FISHING: Great
Tides South Carolina [click here]
There is no doubt summer is here to stay for awhile. A recent heatwave has temperatures in the high 90's and coupled with the humidity and light winds, the heat index has been as high as 110 degrees. You gotta love it because the fish do.
The tarpon bite was a bit slower this week but some really good fish have been caught each day. Several in the 150lb class and bunches of 70-90 lbers. 'Poons are eating menhaden both live and dead but we jumped more fish on live baits on the surface. I use a Bluewater Thunder float with 80lb mono leader and a 5/0 shortshank live bait hook for the surface. The lighter leader and smaller hook gives the pogie more life and a little more wiggle. We had a number of bites on the surface from cobia, king mackerel, spanish mackerel, blacktip and spinner sharks as well.
We have been experiencing a phenomenon of sorts over the last few weeks. There has been an incredible influx of Tiger sharks in one particular area we fish for tarpon. Big Tigers. My new friends, the Klingenbergs, found out the hard way on Friday. We dropped anchor on a favorite 'poon spot and soon Mr. K had a 75-80 lb Spinner shark jumping and spinning. He put on a good show and the shark did too. Soon after, I picked up the Cape Fear 14-25 rod as it was being lightly tapped. I slowly came tight(the line)and set the hook. The Fin Nor 20 then went into nuclear meltdown. This fish was dumping the spool of 30 lb Power Pro like a race car. Mr. K's eldest son grabbed the rod as I tossed the anchor ball overboard so we could chase the fish. We got the fish under control by good rod work and the fact that my 150 Yamaha is a faster than the fish. To make a long and sweaty story a little shorter, The K's swapped off on the stick until finally the fish showed off the bow. A monster Tiger shark hooked in the corner of the mouth. When the shark was brought to starboard, it was easy to see the fish was just about half the length of my bay boat which is 21 feet long. Nine to ten feet of El Tigre. Dark blue with stripes and half the lenghth of the boat. Intimidating but beautiful. The K's did a hell of a job fighting this fish and bringing it boatside in under 50 minutes. Another Tiger was caught next to us that was fought for over three hours and the captain estimated its lenghth to be 12 feet. I'm not sure why these guys have shown up in such numbers but I will further investigate.
The Spanish Mackerel bite was good yesterday trolling Clark Spoons and casting Sidewinders into schools on the surface. We even had a Black Sea Bass hit a trolled spoon. Damned if I know. Anything can happen in the salt.
Yes, it's hot but what else are you gonna do? Shop the outlet malls with the In-laws? Play golf on a course with no breeze and sweat like a dog? Come on, let's go fishing.........................
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