This weekend brought us back again to the North Santee Inlet in Georgetown with Hunter and Thomas Jordan. We launched the skiff at the South Island Ferry on the Intracoastal waterway and drove south towards the river. We quickly noticed that a bass tournament was underway as bass boats sped past us. They were so fast that the only part of the boat that appeared to be touching the water was the engine and the very rear of the keel. Most of the drivers had goggles and gave a quick wave as the passed us. We turned onto the North Santee and were quickly separated from the boat traffic.
We started fishing at around seven in the morning. The day was cloudy at the start which was good because it hid the last night’s full moon. A full moon is not a good sign for fishing because the fish can see more, and feed at night. We did not have any bites at first and I hoped that our luck would change with the tide. The tide changed to the outgoing tide and still, not a bite. All we could do in this situation was to lift the anchor, and continue to move to other spots in the inlet hoping to find the fish. The sandbars are exposed as the tide drops and white caps form over the waves as they reach the shallows. The red fish love to be close to the commotion and patrol the perimeter of the sandbar searching for wandering bait. We anchored in a spot where the white water formed a U shape around us and put 4 lines in the water behind us.           We were using crabs, shad, mullet, whiting, and croaker as bait. Surely, the fish would have an appetite for at least one of these. We sat anchored for a time, rocking in the waves, before I heard a splash off the bow. We turned around and Hunter was gone. He reached up and pulled himself back into the boat and told me that he had lost my fishing pole. Lost tackle is a part of fishing and we continued on with 2 lines in the water behind the boat as Hunter used the other pole to drag the sandy bottom, hoping to snag the rod. Suddenly, his rod tip started jerking and Hunter had hooked a red fish! He fought it for a few minutes and my lost fishing rod poked up from the waves.
I was ecstatic to have my pole back, but it began to pull against us. I stood beside Hunter on the bow and noticed that the hook had caught the very tip of the rod. We brought the rod into the boat and felt the pressure to realize that it was the lost pole, that had hooked the fish.
The fish gave a minimal effort to escape, and Hunter quickly brought it into the boat. The red fish was probably exhausted from dragging a fishing rod around the inlet for the past 15 minutes.
We removed the hook and released the bull red fish. Catching this fish was a win-win situation for us as well as the fish. I got my fishing pole back, and the fish did not have to drag it around for the rest of his life.
Our luck changed after that, and we quickly caught three more red fish. Thomas caught one of the largest fish that we have put in the boat which was probably close to 50 inches in length.
There are many characteristics about fish and how they behave when hooked that helps a fisherman to know what he is dealing with, even before seeing the fish. Red fish jerk their head which causes the rod tip bounces vigorously. They are usually quick to rise to the surface although they never jump.
Most small sharks (3 feet) feel like a dead weight on the line until they are close to the boat. Large sting rays are the worst thing to hook because they can pull line, cling to the bottom, or use their wings to play the current when they are tired. I usually break the line when I hook a big sting ray.
We had caught our fill for the day and lifted the anchor to ride home.
A good day is when you get the boat home, a great day is when you catch fish, and  a miraculous day is when you lose a fishing pole, use another rod to hook it, and bring in a fish with the lost pole! I know that any other fisherman who spends time on the water will have his own miracle fishing tales and I love to hear them. There seems to be no end to the outrageousness of some fishing stories, but that’s what makes them believable.
If someone were telling a fib, then they would want to make it seem at least somewhat believable.