You hit the nail on the head Scott! I went last Tuesday to a trout drop I have and caught 35 within an hour. Kept 6 for my family for supper for 2 nights. Threw the rest back to do their thing. I spent the rest of the trip (7 hours) searching for reds. I went up 7 creeks and poled 3 flats and not one sign of a redfish, even though everything they need was in those creeks and on those flats. The redfish numbers have dwindled to near non-existence from what they were 20 years ago. I actually heard a guide out of Savannah talking the other day about running across the Savannah River to behind Daufuskie, catching a GA limit and then running back across the state line because all his holes on this side are extinct. A lot of the problem is a culture issue. When I tell anyone I went fishing, caught 35 trout, of which at least 15 were harvest length, they think you have lost your mind. I think its just a release to the grease mentality and having the end of day picture with 15 fish strung out with no thought of what happens as a result of your actions. I will not freeze a fish. It is going to take some grass roots effort to inform the public about the waterways and the impacts that recreational harvest are having on the fishery. There is one flat out of the marina I am assuming you were going to that was always a given to catch a school of reds on. Now it is 1:10 trips to see any signs of life on it. I sure hope it changes to where I can take my boys when they are older to experience what I had as a child. Stay well and keep safe on the water. Hope to see you out there one day. -Steven Smith
My husband fished off Cumberland n has state record for Re͏d fish. See Howard Davis, he has one . I believe it’s at his store where he sells guns in kingsland. With photo.had six. Gave him one n Martin Gillette, use to be probate judge, two. After he died. Huge fish.
