Photo by Mike Marsh

Running perpendicular off the marsh grass, the long mound of shells had a very prominent hook at its end.

The water inside the hook looked plain fishy. An oyster bar fronted the marsh grass and schools of baitfish swam around inside the confined three-sided pool. If a hungry game fish made it inside the pool, all he would have to do is guard the entrance where he could eat anything that tried to leave until he was full.

My bet was any staging fish would be holding where the tide wrapped around the point of the shells.

The first cast of the MirrOlure yielded nothing. I worked it back in a jerk-and-settle fashion, only to see it through the clear water limping back toward the boat without drawing a strike.

However, the next cast hit pay dirt.

I worked the bait back in the same manner as the first cast, and before it began to settle for the first time, it was nailed. The medium-light spinning rod bent, and it was that all-familiar and pleasant sight of a bent rod and a hooked fish swirling against the backdrop of a marsh.

The 3-pound spotted seatrout’s spots were brilliant in color as the fish came to the boat. The 60-degree water shocked my circulatory system when I slid my hand under the fish’s belly to cradle and unhook it. One more glance at the fish’s sleek slivery body, and it was off.

This seatrout fishing trip was winding up another year of great South Carolina fishing. It had started back in the cold of January, continued through the promise of spring and the heat of summer and was finishing with the shortening days of fall.

It does not matter what month is flipped open on the calendar: There is something biting in the salt water of the South Carolina coast. Most of the cooperative species are located inshore, but what’s going on offshore outside of the traditional spring runs of tuna and dolphin might surprise even veteran anglers. Here’s a look at five species that should fill your calendar year of fishing.

SPOTTAIL BASS
By far the most popular fish in South Carolina is the spottail bass. This is a local name, and the fish also goes by red drum, redfish, channel bass and puppy drum.

It has wide appeal for several reasons. To the untrained eye, a large spottail could almost be mistaken for a carp. It features bold, reddish-gold scales and a sloping, chiseled head, but the similarities end there.

Beyond the copper back and just before its tail, the fish features a bold black spot, sometimes many more than one. The trailing edge of the tail has a distinctive blue hue to it.

Besides their striking appearance, spottails are known for their fighting abilities. The fish has the attitude of a back-alley brawler that will torture any tackle too light for the task. If you land one and decide to keep it, spottails are pleasing to the palate no matter how they’re cooked.

If that wasn’t enough, the fish can be caught 12 months of the year. They might be sluggish in February, but you can usually find one that will bite. You can land them on flood tides during the summer, and in the fall, as it is only a matter of putting a bait, nearly any bait, in front of one’s nose to catch it.