10/15 am low tide

Went back out this morning to scout out a different mud flat from yesterday morning. Wasnt disappointed. Was a chilly run to my spot, but started to warm up pretty good at about 9:30. Got to the flat at slack tide, and once it turned the fish became active. Fish were skinny again, feeding in just inches of water with their backs exposed. I was fishing with a friend this morning and we caught 4 between the two of us. I caught 3 from the poling platform, all of them smaller than yesterday, ranging from 21"-23". Then my friend put a cast into a small group of fish moving at us along the grass line. His fish went 28-29". All caught on artificial shrimp. Water is still a little muddy, but starting to clear up. Saw more grouped up fish today as well.

10/14 low water

Was meant to be this morning. Alarm was set by accident for PM, but I woke up anyway. Weather was cool and in the 50's, 5-10 mph winds. Fished solo on the incoming tide on a mud flat I've had some success at before. Poled for a while before seeing my first fish, but then it was steady for the next hour or so. Mud was soft and I was pushing the boat through it, so I figure the fish were in about 5-6 inches of water. Saw probably a dozen fish and had shots at 7-8 of them. Caught 4, totaling 107 inches. Fish caught from the platform while poling myself.

10/8/06 high water

Went back out this morning to the grass flats for the 7.2 ft high. Water came in early and flooded the flat quickly. Bucky and I got up and on the road before the sun came up. We found a few tailing at the first spot on the incoming and fed two that broke off. Water came up too high to see them tailing, so we waited for the tide to start ebbing. Found a few more once the water level dropped some, and picked one small fish up of about 21"-22".

10/7 in the grass

With the full moon being last night, this morning's tide was way up into the grass and more than plenty for the reds to move up onto the flats. A front pushed through the area during the evening, bringing strong winds and a drop in temperature. Fortunately, the winds had weakened from about 30+ mph down to 10-15 mph by sunrise this morning. Up at 5:45 and on the road by 6:00, to meet up with Craig Chapman and Mac Barnes from Alabama, visiting Charleston for the weekend. We were on active fish all morning and had some decent action, despite the wind gusts up in the 20 mph range. We could see many of these fish in the water, glowing like neon red torpedoes submerged slightly beneath the water's surface. We managed one good fish to the boat, after the fish followed the fly nearly 15 feet with repeated swipes. Measured out about 27 inches and healthy, and released for another day.Dr. Mac Barnes with a well earned Carolina red

10/4 flood tide

We had a big tide this evening with the approaching full moon, and I slipped the boat in the water for a quick after work trip. Met my friend Dave Dalu at the ramp and made a short run to some nearby flats, only having about an hour before it would be too dark to fish. The water was calm and way up in the grass, thanks to the 6.4 ft tide. It didnt take long before we were on fish, and I was on deck with my 6 wt rod. I picked up the first fish of the evening as we were poling down to the flat to another fish tailing hard about 50 yds away. This fish popped up high in the water, with its back and tail exposed as it cruised into the grass. I put the fly right in front of the fish and stripped it in front of him to get the eat. Good fight on the 6 wt, fish taped out around 24 inches.

After a quick photo and release, it was Dave's turn on the front, and the fish that we had been originally headed towards was still tailing now about 25 yds ahead of us. That fish, and a few others managed to tip up and then scoot on out before we could stick a fly in their mouths. It was getting dark fast and we had worked our way to the end of the flat. I turned the boat around and began to pole back over the same water, and we were able to find a few more fish tailing. The sun had long set by now, and we could only see the silhouettes of the redfish's tails, but they stood out nicely against the moonlit surface. It was almost too dark to see, but we found one more lone fish that was working very actively on the grass line, and Dave stuck it after a cast or two. Turned out to be a nice 26"-27" red, tagged by the DNR.