First Billfish
Several years ago when we had our offshore fishing boat, Cooper Jordan, Thomas Jordan, Dawson Jordan, Ryan Stephens, and I planned a trip to Georgetown to fish in the Gulf Stream.
Several years ago when we had our offshore fishing boat, Cooper Jordan, Thomas Jordan, Dawson Jordan, Ryan Stephens, and I planned a trip to Georgetown to fish in the Gulf Stream.
I haven’t launched the skiff in Georgetown since the fall and was glad to be back in the East’s most remote section of coastline.
Fishing can be as complicated or as simple as the fisherman makes it. People have special knots, floats, weights, rigs, and lures that they believe in. The basic rules are that fish like structure and that live, natural bait is usually better than artificial bait.
This winter brought bitter cold weather to Dillon County. The weather was a frequent topic of complaint except from the duck hunters.
We were in a tent, wearing whatever dry clothes we could muster, wrapped in warm liners, and our feet towards a fire. Matt Jordan and I were on an island surrounded by the swift and icy French Broad River.
Winter is a great time of the year to fish in the Santee Cooper System for striped bass. This reservoir is fed by the Congaree River and is made up by two connected lakes, Marion and Moultrie.
The water was clear on the morning of Black Friday and The Eastatoee River was void of fishermen. I thought that the lack of fishermen was due to the 27 degree weather but Dawson believed the other fishermen were taking advantage of Black Friday fishing gear sales.
Dillon has a surprisingly large amount of shrimpers compared to other inland SC counties.
There are many reasons why we look forward to the fall. Cooler weather, changing leaves, football, and bull red drum. October and April are the best times to fish for these giants, whose size averages at over 20 pounds.
The South Carolina Shrimp Baiting Season came in on Friday, September 8, at noon. Hunter Jordan, Richard Calhoun, and myself planned a trip to Georgetown on Friday night to try our luck.