FISHING AT PINE ISLAND
Now that the Pine Island / Dolphin Head Beach work has been completed and the area is again available for fishing, a question comes up: How do you fish there, what do you fish for, is fishing good? We don’t really know the answers. The only thing we have available is some history of fishing these waters but the history is anything but consistent.
Fishing along the beach between the Dolphin Head Recreation area and the spit opposite Ribaut Island has never been very productive. The water has been shallow for quite a distance-well beyond normal casting distance. Most catches consisted of species such as ocean catfish, stingrays, and small sand sharks. Most productive fishing took place at the inflow of tidal water at the end of the beach.
The daily incoming tide floods the marsh on its way to Spring Lake and Bear Lake. Game fish such as red drum and sea trout follow the tide into the marsh to feed on bait fish. In the 1990s, the tidal flow was strong, the water was deep, and the inflow was wide, too wide for a cast to reach the Ribaut docks. The answer to the question of how to fish this water was to wait for the tide to flow back to the sound. As the water level in the marsh started to drop, the game fish sensed a need to retreat and leave the marsh before the water disappeared. That started a steady flow of fish past the docks. To reach the Ribaut shore, we waded in waist deep water. Waders were a necessary in colder seasons to stay warm and dry, and to avoid a trip to the emergency room as a result of stepping on one of the many stingrays populating the bottom.
Fishing was often spectacular. Almost every trip resulted in a keeper red drum or flounder. Some fisherman waded further up-stream where they had discovered an area populated by seatrout. The Ribaut shore downstream of the last dock was a gathering spot for flounder, reachable only from mid-stream. It was a great fishing spot.
It wasn’t an easy day. Walking that distance in waders, carrying rods, tackle boxes, bait aerators to keep the live bait healthy and an empty pail wasn’t easy, but we were younger then!
Then came the hurricane and a complete destruction of the spit. The area was unrecognizable. The inlet was even wider, flow patterns changed. Reclamation work was required and the area was rebuilt. Whatever was done, the fish were no longer there. Fishing was never the same.
Now we are faced with yet another new rebuilt area. Will the fish return? Will the installation of anti-erosion groinshave an effect on fishing along the beach? Only time will tell.