Got them old SC Lowcountry wintertime shad roe blues: So close, yet so far away

I don’t know about you folks but, simply put, I get antsy once February rolls around.

Luckily, thus far the 2019-2020 winter has been pretty darn mild in the South Carolina Lowcountry, and since I absolutely despise cold weather, these mild days have kept me from going stark raving mad as is usually the case, year after year.

So, why so antsy? I guess the best way to answer that question is all the things I love to do, especially on the water, are just weeks away from popping, and impatience is my No. 1 villain. So close yet so far away.

With that said, I try every kind of distraction to get me through this home stretch.

Yeah, I do go fishing, targeting sheepshead and an occasional redfish mostly, but on those days when the wind is blowing and it’s darn right cold, I pick up one of hundreds of fishing magazines I own (usually warm-weather issues) and read about brighter and warmer days to come.

For some reason my wife loves to attempt to pitch a handful of these treasures in the recycling bin, hoping that I won’t notice but I have gotten wise to this ploy of hers and eyeball the bin daily.

When she realizes they are back in my possession, the same question always arises: “Come on, Collins, those magazines are five years old!”

My answer is always spur of the moment, along the lines of, “Yep, but that issue has an article on a new technique for catching wahoo.” Seeing as it is five years old, I am surprised she hasn’t thought to say, “Well than the technique is way past new!” I can only hope she doesn’t read this.

Other distractions include pulling out every single lure I own and re-rig each and every one. Once again, it drives her mad because our house is quite modest and my collection of lures, especially those I use for offshore fishing, is in the hundreds.

Add to that extremely sharp hooks, spools and spools of various leader sizes, rubber skirts, crimping materials and more occupy every table we own and every square inch on the kitchen counters. Just last week she walks in with a treble hook barely attached to her bare foot. That’s cause and effect of my antsy … oops.

Thankfully, shad season starts in a week or two.

I think I am but a handful of people from around here who fish for shad. It involves road trips, dragging my boat to get to shad-getting places and finding a companion to accompany me is tough.

“Shad? Those stinky things, no thank you!”

Actually, they are a blast to catch on light tackle, and sautéed shad roe is something I grew up craving every February and March. An acquired taste, my dad was quite the chef and his preparation made me a lifelong shad roe freak.

One meal of shad roe probably contains a year’s worth of cholesterol, but what the heck, you only live once and because of this downside, maybe not as long if you were to take it off the menu. Oh yeah, I freeze the rest of the fish because cobia love to eat shad meat. So there.

Also, right around the bend are fishing tournaments that I usually fish or help organize.

The S.C. Wahoo Series has begun, though I haven’t heard of anyone getting out to the Gulf Stream yet. Boats can fish any three days they choose until it ends in mid-April but if you are not familiar with these fish, the hottest bite is most definitely during March and April.

This year I will be fishing with Hilton Head Boathouse manager Grant Kaple and seeing as he doesn’t have a boat right now, once again so close yet so far. Hope you are beginning to see a pattern that only aggravates Mr. Antsy.

Lastly, I stopped by the Waddell Mariculture Center in Bluffton a day or so ago for two reasons. I wanted to check on the newly remodeled wet lab that houses the cobia, trout and such, and secondly to talk to the staff about whether I would organize another “Run For The Bulls” mahi tournament this year that raises much-needed money for them.

The new lab is awesome! The large cobia are like pet dogs, as are the tripletail and smaller cobia. As soon as I stood above the tanks, they would all rush over begging for food.

As for the tournament, the major sponsors are all in so I’ll keep you updated on whether I have the energy to do it one more time.

I feel better right now, having spilled the beans on my antsy self, and hope I didn’t bore you. So close but …