Rick Crawford
Over the last several years, I have been trying to catch a redfish and a wave in the same day for no other reason than it would be a guaranteed good day, but lately it has become a bit of an obsession. Luckily, catching waves and redfish is at least an option here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia. That said, catching a redfish and a wave in the same day is difficult. Maybe it’s because my time is more limited as a father, but most likely it’s because I haven’t been successful…yet.
For those of you unfamiliar, the Lowcountry has anywhere from an average tidal swing of 5-8 feet depending on location, and during full moon’s and new moon’s, Lowcountry tides increase anywhere from 6-9 feet because the gravity of the sun reinforces the moon’s gravity, which is also known as a flood tide, or king tide. Generally speaking, when there is swell, the couple hours before high tide is the best time to surf on Tybee Island, GA or Folly Beach, SC, which are the general areas I have tried to catch a wave and redfish in the same day. These same couple of hours before high tide also happen to be the same hours you need to be on a flat looking for tailing redfish, and since you can’t be in two places at the same time, finding a flat near surf-able waves is another obstacle.
Another challenge is that catching a redfish on the fly during a flood tide can be difficult in its own right. As the ocean, rivers and creeks flood our marshes, gray perriwinkle snails slowly crawl their way up the vibrant green spartina grasses and redfish follow the tide to dine on tasty fiddler crabs, blue crabs and shrimp. Redfish will scour the flats looking for their next meal, and as they do, their orange and black spotted tails that look like they have been dipped in neon blue paint glide across the flat, occasionally stopping and wagging when they find a victim. As an angler, all you have to do is put the fly a couple of feet in front of the fish, give a couple of twitches and fish on! This, of course, is easier said than done when you factor in nerves, wind and potentially spooky fish. Additonally, you can go to the same flat one day and find multiple tailing redfish and back to the exact same flat the next several days, and the fish have vanished.
Factor in that the Lowcountry isn’t exactly known for killer surf, catching a wave sometimes isn’t in the forecast. As a surfer in the Lowcountry, you are accustomed to loving small waves and fortunately Folly Beach is relatively consistent. However, catching a wave and a redfish on the same day, at least for me, has proven to be extremely challenging. That said, the challenge is what makes it fun as timing, location and conditions are all legitimate obstacles. Not to mention that the moon and sun literally need to align to catch a redfish on a flood tide. I suppose like most things in life, timing is everything, so nothing left to do but pray for swell, keep my fly line and surfboard in the water and hope the stars align.