February Fishing Forecast - Charleston, SC

2017-02-01

Lower water temps = clear water = sight fishing heaven

It is now February in Charleston, South Carolina and the water has finally gotten colder. So far this year the weather has been incredible with days in the 70's and even 80's! We have some days reaching the 70's this week if you want to fish! I have been fortunate to fish these warm days (and some of the coldest too) and the fish are still quite active. Catches of redfish (known as spottail or red drum), trout, sheepshead and black drum have been exceptional. Now that the water is dipped below 50 degrees in many places, the fish are overall less active. Not to worry, there are many advantages to this...

Inshore/Redfish

First of all, the water gets amazingly clear in Charleston when its colder. This makes for the BEST sight fishing of the year. Imagine a school of 200 redfish cruising by in gin clear water. You may only catch a fish or two before getting back on plane to heading to another school but it is an incredible sight that is only available certain times of the year. If you simply want to get on the fish and catch em (for example a charter with kids on board) we can switch tactics from stealthy sight fishing to target schools fish are less spooky and more likely to keep biting.

Second, there are fewer boats and charters out on the water so it is easier to go from school to school til we find some fish that are hungry. Most days we only see a handful of charter boats compared to summer crowds.

Sheepshead, Black Drum, Trout

These species have slowed down a bit with the recent cold front, but a warm day can turn them right back on so sometimes we will target these as part of a regular inshore fishing charter

Nearshore (Ocean)

If you are looking to get out and catch some sustainable species to eat we do have some options as well. Many species are shut down due to spawning season, overfishing, commercial interests, etc. but give me a call and we can discuss possibilities. There are some options for inshore as well but due to my own observations and updates from SCDNR we only keep fish in a responsible manner.

Capt. Mike Illig

Avid Angling Fishing Charters

Charleston, SC