We have had a great last month here in Charleston, SC. The weather has been relatively warm and thankfully the wind hasn’t been a huge problem on most days. FishWater Outfitters and Captain Braden Powell have been very fortunate to meet a lot of new faces and also spend time on the water with some of our local anglers. As I continue to see the massive amounts of snow adding up in the mountains of SouthWest Montana, which makes me very happy and excited for our upcoming summer in Ennis, fly fishing the Madison River, I can’t help but be grateful that I am able to be in Charleston looking for Redfish throughout the winter months.
There is such a vast amount of marsh surrounding Charleston, SC which includes oyster mounds, beautiful spartina grass, stands of pine trees and rivers and bays full of fish. FishWater Outfitters primarily focuses on the Folly River, Kiawah River, Stono River and The Wando River throughout the winter and spring months. Especially fly fishing the Folly and Kiawah River areas which have large mud flats and oyster mounds where the redfish will go to not only find food and shelter from the dolphins but also warm themselves in the colder winter water.
Throughout this past month FishWater Outfitters has still been targeting the mid morning low tides around Charleston, SC. Ideally, we are looking for a 10 am low tide so that we will have a few hours of the falling tide and a few hours around the incoming tide until the water gets too high and we can’t see the redfish anymore. We have been using various different flies and different color options, such as white clousers, black clousers, black/purple toads and tan/olive kwans. Our most effective fly and typically what we use the most throughout the winter months fly fishing Charleston, SC is the black clouser. I tie this fly on a Gamakatsu SL 11 3H size #2 hook with medium sized lead eyes. I will however tie multiple different flies with different sized eyes dependent on the depth of water that I will be targeting Redfish. Sometimes I prefer to use medium sized bead chain eyes on flies that I want to land especially soft in very shallow water as to not spook the redfish coming our way. I then just use Denier 210 black thread with black extra select craft fur and a small amount of pearl or red krystal flash. Its a very simple fly to tie and works well for many many different species of fish, but especially well for the winter time redfish in Charleston, SC.
If you are planning a spring break vacation to Charleston, SC, Folly Beach or Kiawah Island and want to get some time out of the house and on the water please don’t hesitate to give Captain Braden Powell and FishWater Outfitters a call or email. We can assure you that you will enjoy your time on the water and get to see some of the beautiful marsh and waterways that surround this beautiful city and our barrier islands.
If you are starting to plan your summer trips to Montana, their are still a lot of available dates to fish with FishWater Outfitters on The Madison River in Ennis so don’t hesitate to give us a call or send over an email. We will be more than happy to help you with your fly fishing trips.
