OutdoorSC.com

My wife says I'm hard of hearing.All husbands who have been around the block a time or two know it's called selective hearing.I hear what I want to hear. I can hear a trout rise. I can hear a spinner hit the water. I can hear the drumming of a grouse at half a mile, but I danged well can't hear her when she wants me to make the bed or paint the house.I secretly had my hearing tested just to be sure.The doc says it is great, a seven percent loss in my left ear and a 10 percent loss in my right.Very typical of anyone who does a lot of hunting with a shotgun. But I'm not about to tell my wife that.

I would like to claim this phrase as an original and belonging to those haphazard ramblings I associate with my weekly column. However, there are those more suited and well-versed for such things. One of such being well-known fisherman and author Jimmy D. Moore, to whom all credit should apply.

Fishing Trends

Cobia have finally made a commitment. For the last two weeks, anglers have been sitting on ready for the news of that first big catch. Water temperatures hung around the 68-degree mark andlarger cobia seemed to waiting on those last two digits -- themagic number usuallly is 70 degrees. Although water temperatures remained shy, crowding by anxious juveniles forced larger fish to make a move. When the stingrays began to work over the drops and along deep tapered banks, the wait was over.

At this point, the largest Cobia reported has been 61 pounds, taken by Ray Baxley of Allendale fishing in Port Royal Sound around the channel markers.

"I couldn't wait any longer," Ray said. "My time is limited and my vacation came early this year. I knew there were larger fish hanging around the marker buoys and I decided to give it a try. Fishing with Norman Billings from Augusta, we took a chance and it paid off."

Ray said he was fishing high tide when the strike occurred and his bait of choice was cut mullet on drift lines.

"I normally fish the Broad River but three days and no strikes is just to much," Ray said. "The other boats in the area weren't doing much either so we pulled anchor and took the run. There were six boats fishing the sound and within an hour after we arrived we had the cobia on board."

Cobia Sales Warning

Dave Harter of HHISFC would like to remind anglers of the rules on the sale of cobia.

"Although we all love to see fresh local cobia offered in our restaurants and at our seafood dealers during our cobia run, it's important that SCDNR is able to get good information every year about how many cobias are being removed from the fishery," Harter said.

They do landing surveys of the recreational fishermen to make estimates and the charter captains have to file a monthly logbook report, but there is a big gap in the information on how many cobias are being sold.

SCDNR issues a separate commercial fishing license ($25) to anyone wanting to sell seafood, but there are reporting requirements which help them keep track of the fishery.Up to this year there have been few reported commercial sales of cobia in Beaufort County, which is a joke.

SCDNR is advising everyone that a commercial saltwater license is required to sell a fish and that you can only sell your legal daily limit of two fish.

So, if you are on a charter or out with your buddies and load up on fish, you can only sell what you caught, not their fish too.Each of them will also have to have a license to sell their catch.

Also, you can only sell it to a SC Licensed Wholesale Dealer who has to keep track of his purchase and sales.In other words, SCDNR can ask the dealer for proof of purchase of his cobia and who he bought it from.I know that SCDNR law enforcement will be paying special attention to those fish caught in the tournaments.

Nobody is saying that sales are bad, we just need to follow the rules.Without good catch information, much of the research that SCDNR is doing to understand and protect our cobia fishery is worthless.You can apply for a license at www.dnr.sc.gov/marine.

The next meeting of the Beaufort Sport Fishing and Diving Club will be held Thursday at the Beaufort Yacht and Sailing Club on Lady's Island off Meridian Road. The social begins at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting begins at 7p.m. The speaker is our own Captain Nick Russell who will be making a presentation on Kingfish methods, techniques, baits and tackle. Captain Wally will on hand to answer questions about Spanish mackerel rigs. Both speakers will give you helpful hints on locating these species. Come join the fun, guests welcome no reservations needed. For more information, call 522-2020

Other Active Species

Spottail Bass have moved closer to shore and the schools are large. Sight casting to tailing fish is a bit slow but the flats are still the best opportunity for a hooking up. Trout continue to make the news as large gator trout have shown well along the grass edges and points of the larger feeder creeks. There are plenty of shark species now arriving and the most dominate is the blacktip. These fish are excellent tablefare and quantities are easily found with any fresh bait an angler decides to use. Be careful in the handling and keep your hooks sharp. Another dominate species making a move into shallow waters are bluefish. A concentration of blues was discovered while taking a run up the Beaufort river along pigeon point. Ronnie Nelson and Bernie Manns proudly showed off their catch of blues and large sheepshead taken from rock and shell banks in the area.Whiting are active with shrimp being the first choice, croaker remain close to the bottom and are hitting cut shrimp as well.

Offshore activity as also gained a bit of a following this past week. Larger boats making the run to deeper waters were rewarded with a mixed bag. Good schools of Spanish are present while Dolphin and a few Wahoo brought up the heart beat for Tory Chandler aboard Rock-Way.

"When they say Wahoo are fast I had no idea how fast," Chandler said. "My Penn Reel was full of line and what seemed like only seconds later I saw the black nylon backing line on the spool. I lucked out with this one but lost two others we never saw."

Fishing for Bluefin, Tory and Jamie Scotts were rewarded with two nice Wahoo, one each and a few stories to share as well. Other active species offshore include Blackfish, Grouper, Black Drum, Red Snapper and a few Tripletail.

Season Closure

SCDNR would like to remind harvesters that the oyster season will close on Tuesday. Clam season will remain open another two weeks and will close May 31. Both seasons close one half hour after official sunset. Coastal waters will remain closed to recreational and commercial shellfish harvesting for both clams and oysters until the fall season.

Freshwater

Closer to home has been the trend with higher gas prices. And while we must take into consideration the fuel needed for our boats, the cost of travel is also getting a bit close to the edge. Towing a boat reduces gas mileage, no brain strain here.Fishing closer to home seems to be the answer and while the fishing may not be as varied there is still a lot to be said for area rivers.

The Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto known as the Ace Basin has some of the best fishing in the Lowcountry. With miles of brackish and fresh water flooding old timber and rice fields species are hearty and plentiful. The scenery ain't that bad either.

Best Bets

Largemouth Bass hitting artificial lures, favored is topwater prop baits in white, yellow and chrome. Crappie want crickets and catfish want worms and stink baits, (shrimp works very well). The Savannah river is also a good choice and anglers are making good progress with bragging rights for a variety of panfish.

Tackle Tip

Snaps and Swivels: The assorted hardware most anglers associate with successful fishing can be nothing more than a bit of flash. By removing the flash from swivels and snaps your fishing ratio may increase greatly. Most fish strike the flash and miss the hook. When this happens, lost fish and short strikes occur. By purchasing black swivels, snaps and hardware your chances of the fish actually hitting the hook and not the leader are more pronounced.

Till next week,

Good fishin'

Lee