Pacemaker Fishing Forum

What a trip!

This will be a long read with lots of pics.

My cousin Juani and I decided we wanted to try for redfish down in the Savannah area.  He had done a bunch of research on the area. Did you know that the Port of Savannah is the 4th busiest in the US?

And another thing, unless you are going to participate in the festivities, don't go down to Savannah around St. Patrick's Day. There were thousands of people there for the parade, one of the biggest in the country. Look it up.

Of course, I knew a Captain down there, Capt. Scott Wagner. We affectionately named him: Scott's Adventures Outfitters (made up name)- "We go where others dare not". More on that later. He was introduced to me 20+ years ago by Capt. Donnie Davis of DOA (Nags Head). They were college roomies at ECU.  I used to fish with Donnie quite often.

Juani and I have now fished together 4 times: Susquehanna River for Smallies, Long Beach Island for big blues and the Chesapeake Bay for stripers. This was a great trip and we are already planning the next one to who knows where.

The weather on Sunday was stormy and it looked like Monday might be a blow out. So we decided to hit Tybee Island for some low country food (The Crab Shack).



Yes, it was good.





Scott texted me and said that the wind might let down a bit and for us to meet him at Frank W. Spencer Boat Ramp at 1:30p. We met him, said some pleasantries and off we went on the Wilmington River and on to a very choppy South Channel Savannah River. It was a chilly, bumpy, rough ride to where we were going in SC.  We would be fishing the old rice field canals. They "played a crucial role in the state's economy and history".


Many of the canals were man made. Incredible engineering.













The 1st place we started, Scott was polling against the current and wind. He would make about 4" per pole push. He almost went into the drink twice. The grunts and groans (and other words) were epic.

Then...Juani hooks up!









More of the canal system.





We actually floated down that chute above. When we looked at it from the up side, it did not look like we were going to make it. But we did!

Here is the 1st of several times that we were stuck. The wind helped move the water out and left us high and dry. The tide swings between 6' and 8'. It's incredible. When you fish these shallow spots you can only do 4-6 hours which is what we did each day.



I hooked a nice red that unceremoniously got off right before I could get the leader to the Capt. I also lost either a spec or a striper. Yes, there are stripers there. They call then river stripers and they get big sometimes. We did not catch any.

One of the most memorable moments was when we were stuck in the mud. Juani was looking up another small canal and we saw the back of a redfish in less than a foot of water. Juani made a great cat and the redfish ate the bait but spit it out. Disappointing but exhilarating nonetheless.

We asked Scott for a diner recommendation and off to Sundaes Cafe in Tybee Island we went.








The next day, we met at the same ramp but this time we went east, towards Hilton Head Island. The 45 minute ride there was smooth as we went though miles of creeks and cuts. Like a bunch of S strung together. Cool as it gets!

We got to the 1st spot and it was a clear water grass flat.



Scott told us that once up on the platform, there was to be no movement except for the cast. Your feet had to stay still. How do I know that? I moved my foot 30 degrees and spooked a red that was in my sight, close to the boat. Scott didn't have to say anything...

It did not take long for us to hook up!





This next one is my fish.



And then the bigger one!





And a nice spec for the cuz!



Of course, we got stuck again and I had to go to work!



We did catch a few more fish but movement was restricted so we were only "allowed" to get the nicest ones.

For dinner, we went downtown to the River House, right on the busy seaway. We saw a huge container ship moving down river while at dinner.





Day 3 was a driving day. We drove 90 minutes to the Edisto River and then took a 30 minute ride downriver to some more S curved creeks. We met at noon.

This is how it's done.



This is what it looks like.

















This is what it can produce!





We caught a few more but they were not picture worthy.

As we were heading out of this creek, I made a cast to a drop off next to an oyster bed. I got slammed and started the fight . We saw the fish and it was nice. We had it trapped and he decided to make a run for it, out of the creek. I knew I was in trouble because the reel seized up and then we heard that disgusting sound..."ping". Gone. It needed to take line and there was none to give.

Spectacular place!






This is the flats boat we fished in and ran all over SC with!



For dinner, we went into Beaufort which is a really nice place. We went to a waterfront restaurant.





I just got this text from Juani, who stayed down there for a couple more days: "Sitting at a bar in Hilton Head talking to a guy who lives on a house boat in this marina and fixes boat engines including for many charter captains. Says they've been bitching a lot about getting skunked. I told him how we did and he said that is the most production he has heard in at least a month." I believe it because of how hard Scott worked. The man is insane in a great way.

The sad part is that in GA, there is a 5 fish limit (slot) for reds. It's 3 in SC. For comparison, in FL, VA & MD, it's 1 fish, in the slot.

We were sight fishing 2 ways. In clear water, we would look for fish and quietly make a cast to it. They will eat for sure biut the rest of them around the caught one will spook. The other way is looking for wakes. Any movement in the water is a potential fish! Again, stealth and quiet are the name of the game. Intense!

While the numbers were not there, we caught some quality fish. Of course, we told no one. If they asked, we caught a couple of small ones. Zip!

This was a memorable trip in many ways, and some can't be spoken about!