Wednesday, February 23, 2011

It would be nice if we had these in South Carolina

You may recognize this prehistoric beast from Discovery Channel's River Monsters. But the alligator gar Jeremy Wade, River Monsters host, landed with a Texas freshwater guide, was tiny compared to this 327-pound behemoth. Read more by FoxNews by clicking on the image.

A frame from a video of the 327-pound alligator gar recently caught in Vicksburg, Mississippi.


In case you haven't seen the River Monster's episode where Wade tangos with a much smaller alligator gar, the video below will only give us a glimpse into what this angler from Mississippi wrestled with in the picture above:


Monday, January 31, 2011

Source: Black seabass season to close Feb. 12 - Tideline Magazine - The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper


It's great to see that preventive measures are being enforced to preserve the sea bass population. But it's discouraging to know that there's not enough restraint during the year-round bottom fishing season. 

"Federal regulators say the sea bass closure is necessary because anglers are on track to exceed the maximum allowable catch for this fishing year."

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Reds warm up in shallows on cold winter days

The inshore waters of the Lowcountry are barren during winter compared to the spring through late fall months. But redfish stick it out for the lean, bait-deprived winter. They move onto shallow oyster and sandbar flats in schools to warm up and stay inaccessible to patrolling dolphin.

When you find them in a school (sometimes in the hundreds), it's the best inshore fishing any time of year. 

Here's a slot fish that Pate caught (last December) after we herded a school like sheepdogs for two hours, landing seven. Several were hogs over 30 inches.