Many folks are surprised to learn that winter fishing in the Carolinas actually gives anglers great chances to catch lots of fish. Those who put away their rods and reels due to colder weather often miss some of the best fishing of the year.
On the southeastern NC and upper SC coast four species of highly desirable inshore fish are still very active through winter. As long as it doesn’t get bitterly cold you still have a great shot at them in Carolina inshore waters.
Speckled Trout
Specks stay inshore all year, with some of the population moving out just off the beach and into the surf. Trout do not tolerate extreme cold well which makes them prone to fish kills and stuns in the winter. But if the water temperature is in the upper 40s or above you have a shot at them.
Speckled trout hit scented artificial baits very well, and lures from companies like Gulp and Fishbites will take them if fished slowly. You can crawl the lure, hop it up off the bottom, or simply let the current carry it along.
The bite will only be on when the current is moving well out or in, so you should target creeks and structure during the tide changes. You can also fish the imitation shrimp baits under popping corks for trout like real live shrimp. Winter surf anglers can throw MirrOlures that resemble mullet and glass minnows.
Redfish stay inshore all year and are even more hearty than speckled trout. They school up in huge bunches and cruise darker banks on sunny days rooting for fiddler and blue crabs. You can target redfish with a variety of baits: Gulp or other scented lures, spoons, crab-imitation baits, or cut mullet.
The key is to remain quiet. Anchors and trolling motors will spook the redfish schools and you'll never get a chance to go after them. Expert guides and redfish pros use long push poles to position their boats quietly and cast to redfish schools without them hearing a thing. This kind of sight-fishing can be very effective and a lot of fun in the cold, clear winter water.
Stripers run up the rivers during the winter and can be caught in a variety of both salt and freshwater situations. Some rivers have large populations of roaming stripers while some lack striped bass altogether. The dam structure in the rivers is a big factor in this.
Then again, some freshwater lakes are stocked by the states with stripers. Lake Norman near Charlotte, NC is one example of this, and possibly the largest. Meanwhile, ocean stripers can be found on the fabled Carolinas Outer Banks.
Wintertime inshore striper fishing is done with soft jerkbaits like fluke-style lures on jig heads. Pearl white and chartreuse are two good striper colors. Gulp baqits are also great for inshore stripers. Crankbaits also work well on winter stripers, as do twitchbaits and occasionally topwater lures. You can also catch them on natural bait like minnows and especially cut shad or bloodworms.
Black drum never leave inshore waters and can be caught in all sizes during the winter. The smaller black drum with the stripes on them (from 1 to about 8 pounds) are especially active in the winter, which is nice since they are the size of black drum worth eating (larger black drum are wormy and not good for the table).
Although black drum occasionally hit about any natural bait (and very rarely bite lures) if you are really after them you have to find hard structure and use shellfish baits. Fresh or frozen shrimp, clam meat, cut blue crabs and fiddler crabs all work for black drum. Fish your baits right against whatever hard structure you are near be it bridge, pier, or dock. The bite of a black drum is deceptively soft, something like the pluck on a guitar string, but you'll know he's there after you set the hook.
There are other fish available for inshore saltwater fishing but these four are fund to target, and great to eat if you remember to obey local and state limits.
For more Carolina fishing tips see my new book Surf and Saltwater Fishing in the Carolians.
Comments