Trolling Deep for Big Fish, Turning Lemons To Lemonade, Have A Plan B

"Plan B" Pays Off

Ever planned a fishing trip 3 months in advance? You get all your ducks in a row. Tackle rockin' and ready. Got a great place to stay. Spent hours with the charts and moon phase and tide tables to pick the perfect day(s) to fish.

Then, you drive 6 hours, and check the weather when you get there, only to find out that everything is going to hell in a handbasket. Fronts are moving in, winds are picking up, seas are getting big, rain in the near term forecast... not good.

So now what do you do? You turn Lemons Into Lemonade ... or at least you try.

Now make no mistake, I'm not suggesting you should ever venture out in conditions that are beyond your skills as a skipper or the capabilities of your boat.

Today was one of those days. The seas were rockin offshore, so we developed a Plan B. Inshore was going to be windy, but fishable. The creeks and backwaters would shelter us from the wind slightly, and we would have to endure a slight chop on the way to the fishing holes and back. Overcast skies loomed all day. We listened to NOAA on the VHF at regular intervals, but never got any rain. However the air temp was chilly and the constant 10 - 15 mph wind with some significantly stronger gusts made us glad we brought our PolarFleece and slicker suits.

We were on an adventure with The Fishin' Coach, Capt. Dan Utley, in the backwaters around Hilton Head Island, SC.

Low tide was a 8:30am, so we were able to sleep in just a little this morning. We met at the docks at 8:30 and headed out in his Century bay boat to a couple creeks that had been productive for him in the past few weeks. Our mission --- to find and catch some Bona Fide Whopper Redfish. Our first stop had us well up a creek, fishing a bend in the marshes. The tide was just starting to turn as we eased into the bend, casting Whoop Ass jigs tipped with Gulp Shrimp. We were well below the marsh grass tops, so that helped to shield us from the wind a bit.

Coach started things off with a nice TOADFISH !!!!

Then within a few minutes, Coach made a perfect cast and was slammed by a big fish with some big shoulders. This was also a 'smart' fish, as it made a couple passes by some barnacle encrusted pilings, and proceeded to part the line. Fish wins.

A few more casts and Coach is hooked to a slot-sized red. Boated, video, release. We're finally on the board, at least Coach is. A few more casts and I'm hooked to a slot red, and Coach hooks up again as well. The tide was starting to crank now, and as they say "You never leave fish to go find other fish" So we toughed it out for a little while longer. The bite quit, and Coach said we should look in a couple other places. We moved to a place near the main river, and placed precision casts near the edge of the marsh grass. Oyster bars played havoc with our leaders, but we forged on.

I hooked up and pulled in a nice S.C. flounder -- definitely table grade. After a little video commentary, he was returned to the brine. Coach caught a nice speckled trout and that completed our (combined) inshore slam. Hot dog! We're definitely on our way to a good TV show.

Another flounder comes to the boat, and we're starting to feel pretty good about Plan B.

Lunchtime came, and we ran back to the docks to pick up a long time buddy of Capt Dan's --- Glenn Ulrich, a retired SC DNR fisheries biologist. Glenn has been working on the adult redfish tagging program for years, and we thought it would be a great addition to the show to have him along and discuss the program and actually tag a big bull red. So the plan for the afternoon was to target the big boys out in the bigger water of the river. That meant a short ride in the chop and anchoring in the wind.

Coach had a couple 30 lb class spinning outfits and we rigged them with big chunks of cut bait. Three rods constituted our spread over rocky bottom and it was now a waiting game.

It wasn't long before the rods got active and one of them bent double. Glenn reeled in a nice Atlantic Sharpnose shark. Fun, but not what we were looking for. Then another reel bends and Coach hauls in a clearnose skate. Again, fun, but no cigar. A little while later, one of the rods gets active and I pulled in another shark. OK, this is crazy. The tide was now virtually slack --- high tide. We just needed to wait for about an hour or so for the tide to start churning on the way out. Another rod goes off and here comes another beautiful clearnose skate. It's getting late. We've got a great story to tell about tagging redfish, but no monster reds to tag. Not a bad day, though, all things considered. So we shot a close for the TV show, and put on our next layer of outergear because it was really getting cold and the wind was picking up.

OK, 15 more minutes and we've got to get outta here. Skies are getting dark and it looks like the weather may be moving in on us.

Then... thump, thump, thump and the port rod tip goes down, almost touching the water. Coach gave me the rod while he and Glenn cleared the other two. Another shark? Oh boy. How about a bigger skate? That would be lovely.

Nope, this was a Bona Fide Whopper. The fish took line several times, got waaaay to close the motor, and tried to cross under the boat. Somehow I managed to keep the fish on the hook and led the big boy into Coach's waiting net.

Now, we had truly turned lemons into lemonade. We hauled this gorgeous 42 inch redfish out of the water, went through the tagging process, took a quick picture and returned the bronze bruiser back to the water. Here's a shot of the tag Glenn placed in the big red hanging near the dorsal fin.

High fives all around. We had achieved nirvana. And on a day when most folks would have stayed on the porch. I just love it when a plan comes together.

So, it just goes to prove that having a practical Plan B comes in really handy.

Want to catch some

Good Ol Big Un's like this? Contact Capt. Dan Utley, The Fishin' Coach the next time you're planning a trip to Hilton Head, S.C.