I was gathering material for an upcoming magazine article, and with Captain Mark’s assistance I was looking for some spring redfish. As usual, Captain Mark did not disappoint me and we caught and released more than our limit of redfish.
Georgia’s prolific coastal estuary is reportedly larger than that of any state along the east coast. The many barrier islands, separated by river inlets, protect a vast, pristine, saltwater marsh estuary. Literally hundreds and hundreds of named and unnamed creeks run through the marshes from Florida to South Carolina, and it was in one of these creeks that we did our fishing.
I’m a fair angler when it comes to redfish. I have been known to guide a few parties to some decent catches of reds in my time. I learned and always practiced fishing the high outgoing tide for redfish. I had my spots, and many of them are productive to this day.
What I learned from Captain Mark on this trip changed my whole perspective on redfish – actually on any fish that uses the saltwater marshes and creeks. You can learn from this trip as well.
We headed into the creek we fished at dead low tide. I was pondering what we would do for the next five and a half hours waiting for the high tide. I was glad I brought plenty of crackers to eat! But, I was to be fooled and educated today.
Lesson one came as we actually entered the creek and the boat spooked several finger mullet. Captain Mark smiled and talked about the need for a creek to have baitfish present. If he had not seen any baitfish, he would have moved to another creek.
As we eased into the creek, Captain Mark shut the engine down about fifty yards from an upcoming bend in the small waterway. This creek was so small we almost could not turn the boat around. Lesson number two was taking place.
“Too many people run their engines right up to the place they plan to fish,” Captain Mark pointed out. “In a creek this small, you have to be very quiet and never make a noise that can be heard through the bottom of the boat. Those noises and the engine will run off any fish that are in the creek.”
Lesson number two – stealth.
