Captain's Choice

Reds in transition

This month's "Captain's Choice" article comes courtesy of Capt. Ben Alderman, a full-time inshore guide since 1996 and a pro angler on ESPN's Redfish Cup tournament series since 2003.

The dictionary defines "transition" as a movement, development or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another. April certainly qualifies as a transition month for Charleston redfishing, so be ready to change your tactics to stay in tune with the evolving season.

Gone are the days of crystal-clear water on wintertime flats and tightly packed wads of easy-to-spot reds. In comes warmer water, with reduced visibility from blooming algae, and a multitude of new food sources to make the fish-catching equation a little more difficult to solve. Thankfully, along with the difficulties come increased opportunities, as the fish's higher metabolism leads to more aggressive feeding.

If you're fishing with live or dead bait, cover all your bases. There's nothing worse as a guide than to know your guests could have had a better day if you had been better prepared. It doesn't do me much good to only have a well full of shrimp when the fish are eating crabs, mullet or minnows. The same works in reversei- I better have those shrimp if that's the bait of the moment.

You can narrow down your choices by reading some recent online fishing reports or looking back through your old logs, but don't always count on what's working one day to work the next. Blue crabs and cut mullet are my go-to baits in the spring, but I also like to carry some minnows or shrimp just to be on the safe side. The bite can change with every passing weather front, so I find it's best to be over-prepared.

If you're not big on bait fishing and prefer fooling them with artificials, it's time to stock the tackle box. Transition periods are times to experiment. Search-baits like spoons, top-water plugs, spinner baits, and even plastics under a popping cork can bring aggressive fish out of their hiding places to attack an easy meal.

Fine-tune your presentation and narrow down what elicits the most reaction by varying the speed or action of your retrieve. For example, I find fish react much better to my spinner bait when it's falling, so I like to yo-yo it up and down more than just buzz it through an area. Sometimes I get more reaction from a spoon reeled steadily, and sometimes they like it better fluttering along erratically. I have even noticed fish reacting better to the sound of one top-water's rattle over another!

This isn't to say that what draws that first reaction will continue to produce. Let the fish tell you what they want, and give it to them over and over until they tell you something else. If they stop hitting your top-water, try to sell them on a spoon or soft plastic. If that doesn't do the trick, dead-stick a gulp shrimp or crab and see if the scent will get the reaction you're after.

My favorite part of the spring transition, even more than top-water explosions, is the fact that the reds move up into flooded marsh grass and start tailing for fiddler crabs. Sight fishing just doesn't get any better!

Reds have no real reason in the winter to move into the grass on flood tides. But hungry reds with rising metabolisms go to great lengths to keep their bellies full. The lure of fiddlers in the short grass is just too much for them to handle, and they don't mind getting shallow enough for you to see them working.

Just getting them to see your bait is usually enough to draw an attack, and a wide variety of techniques will fool them. They'll crush spoons and spinner baits as they pass by, and they'll pounce on anything that imitates a crab or shrimp trying to burrow into the bottom for protection.

Obviously, real crabs or shrimp rarely get refused, and scented artificials give you an added advantage. But by no means are they necessary. Fly-fishing is particularly effective due to the fact you can place your fly closer to your target without spooking it, then pick it up and cast again if needed to adjust for a slight change in the fish's direction.

April is the very beginning of the tailing season and, not coincidentally, the time when they are least spooky and most aggressive. They may continue to tail throughout the warm months, but as the season progresses, they become more wary of anglers on their trail and start to cruise more and tail less vigorously.

Bottom line, don't view the difficulties of the spring transition as a daunting proposition. Use this time as an opportunity to learn new techniques and tweak some old ones. Embrace the changes, and enjoy the experiment in the greatest laboratory on earth : the salt marshes of the Lowcountry!

Editor's Note: This month's

"Captain's Choice" article comes courtesy of Capt. Ben Alderman, a full-time inshore guide since 1996 and a pro angler on ESPN's Redfish Cup tournament series since 2003. Alderman, shown above with a nice redfish caught in flooded marsh grass, recommends anglers be prepared to use a variety of techniques and baits to target spot-tail bass in April. You can reach Alderman at 843-906-3630 or bgalderman3@gmail.com. For more information, visit BenAlderman.com.

Charter captains interested in sharing their own "Captain's Choice" can contact Senior Editor Matt Winter at 843-937-5568 or matt@tidelinemagazine.com.

Copyright © 1995 - 2009 Evening Post Publishing Co..