Well if I wanted to catch a true King Tide down here in the Lowcountry I think I did it. It was this September's Harvest Moon that was one of the biggest tides of the year. Couple it with some constant, but not like the northeast if getting, north to northeast winds, and the water was way up.
It's been a bit since I have gone fishin' in the dark. Well, actually it wasn't fishing but it was getting down to the flat before the water rushed in. With high tide say around 10 I arrived
and was on the mud by 7 am. When I got to my spot I had the moon behind me and first light in front of me. It's funny how lit up it can be when you turn around when the sun has the west lit up, but then how dark it is when you're looking east as the sun rises.
Something I noticed was the difference in the mud and the flat as I walked around before the tide rolled in. Usually I am covered in mortar-like mud as I walk around. But yesterday, at least here, it was different. The mud, or ground, was more compact, and easier to walk around in.
I don't know if it's because of the moon tide that moves loose detris, silt, and mud from the upper layer and puts them somewhere else, or is it just more compacted? Not sure. Down here that's like forgetting your fly rod. I'm thinking it might be because it's due to the cooler temperatures and gentler sun. When it's like sun is beating down like we're near the equator it dries everything out on a low tide, creates splits and fissures, and then the water fills in and makes it sloppy. So my legs weren't covered in mud but they were in no-see-ums as I rushed and forgot to apply bug spray.
Soon the water started to fill in but I didn't seen a tailing nothing, in fact there was less life than I had seen in the past. And then it just flooded, like higher than I've seen in the dozen times I've been at this spot. One thing I can also say that on a big tide everything that can be picked up and pushed to the banks does, which makes the first 20 feet full of reeds and anything that floats.
I knew my window was shut so I headed back to my truck. I met a few fly guys who had got some intel that this was a good spot. We kind of ran some thoughts between us and they had learned the ebb tide was good, but I don't know about that. For me, I would think the fish come up on the flood, hungry, and do their best chewing up until the high tide, and then retreat as the water recedes. Yes, they could set up in the fingers or channels as the bait gets flushed out, but that's in deeper water that is hard to access while on foot.
As I headed out I thought there must be tailing redfish somewhere so I passed home and drove towards Beaufort. Not only was I looking for fish I wanted to see what big tides looked like there.
Well you can see I couldn't get very far. There was water everywhere and driving down along the bridge was out of the question. To compare look at the image below and where the water is, that's a picture from a few weeks ago.
On that day I think I parked way up, and it was most likely shortly after I sunk the Suburban in a large hole that always seems to hold water. Below I just added my truck stop the picture so you can see just how floody the flood tide gets in this spot.
There was a touch of wind but it was flat enough where you could see if any redfish were tailing or a crab fart. I saw nothing, no birds, no crabs, no fish. And I also didn't see any boats out there, and like usual, no one out on foot.
Above is one of my favorite places to walk and wade that was completely under water. I watched for awhile looking down from the bridge thinking I would see redfish swimming along or coming up and over the bar.... nope, nada, nothing. So, my day, as far as fishing, was no casts made, but I'm glad I went and learned even more about the places I've fished over the last month.
And of course I had to pass "the truck" on the way home. I know, enough already. But with us heading back to New Jersey on Thursday either this is going to happen or it's not.
Today she gets a good spa treatment from the detailer and tomorrow a visit to the mechanic where she'll be put up on the lift and taken for a test drive from someone that's in the know. All this over a 16 year old pick up that is past it's prime. I can't wait for it to be over no matter which way things go.
And then I saw on Facebook a post from a dealer in Hilton Head. They were congratulating Adonis from Beaufort who just purchased a new 2026 Silverado 2500 HD. That's a lot of truck and has a price tag of about $60,000.
I don't know what Adonis does for a living but either way, buying or leasing, those payment have to be well over $600 a month. So when the dealership posts, "Enjoy the new ride", I think they should have said, "Good luck with the payments". If he leased it this truck will be one of those that will show up in a few years with 60,000 miles and a price tag of $45,000. And that's why I'm looking, and grateful I found, the truck I'm obsessing over.
With Theresa out for her Sunday search for a good church I took it upon myself to swing back over to the trailer park and pick up those Hardie boards that I found posted on Marketplace.
They've been out there for awhile but for $40 I'll take my chances. A 5/4 x 12 x12 board runs $70 brand new, and I scored three of those, plus three 1 x12 x12, which go for $48 each. He threw in door trim and a couple of pieces of other stuff.
I'm glad I did this move without Theresa because she was out the minute we rolled into the guys driveway on Saturday. After the seller and I loaded them in the waft of moisture filled the Suburban so I just took it all to The Fly Barn, cleaned them off, and stacked them with wood between them to air out. This isn't wood, but concrete fiber, so they should be fine. Hey, these aren't for our house, and I hope to find more stuff on Marketplace, just maybe ones that hadn't been out in the elements for so long.
And while I hate to use the Suburban as a transport vehicle, most of these Hardie products come in 12 foot lengths, ones that I will have a hard time fitting in the 5'6" bed on the new truck. It's all part of my Master plan, a plan, like so many, that Theresa is sick of hearing about and living through. Saving money is saving money, especially on stupid stuff like siding for The Fly Barn.