Area fishing report

Saltwater

Estuary

Look For Spotted seatrout, red drum, flounder, black drum, sheepshead

Comments Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters has found good action for spotted seatrout this week in the Little River area, with skinny-water red drum action also good. Dickson continues to use live shrimp on a float rig to catch trout from the Sunset Beach (N.C.) Bridge and the Calabash River. Red drum (spottails) are hitting live shrimp worked on the bottom with a 1/4-oz. Mission Fishin' jig head in Dunn Sound., according to Dickson. Tom Craddock of Inlet Convenience says action has been slow in Murrells Inlet with a few nice flounder landed and lots of small ones. Look for red drum and spotted seatrout along grass banks using live shrimp, live bait or grubs. Craddock noted that spots have been scarce this week.

Inshore

Look For Whiting, weakfish, spots, black drum, flounder, red drum, sheepshead

Comments Catches of whiting from the surf and Grand Strand piers remain strong with large fish in the mix. Black drum have made a good showing, particularly in the surf with some fish being landed from the piers. Black drum have a slot limit of 14-27 inches and a daily bag limit of five fish per person. A 51/4-pound black drum was caught off The Pier at Garden City. Other species landed from the piers this week include flounder, bluefish, red drum, weakfish, spotted seatrout, spots and pompano. Catches of spots have curtailed dramatically this week. King and Spanish mackerel haven't been caught along the beach in the last week and appear to be gone from the near-shore waters until spring. Craddock reports local angler Joe Bordas of Murrells Inlet caught and released an estimated 41/2-foot, 70-pound black drum caught out of Little River on a whole squid. Surface ocean water temperature was 65 degrees Thursday afternoon according to the Apache Pier Data Station.

Offshore

Look For King mackerel, wahoo, dolphin, blackfin tuna, grouper, black sea bass, triggerfish, amberjack

Comments Capt. Larry Horowitz of Super Voyager Charters notes the Voyager charter boat had success with kings on Sunday 15-18 miles out of Little River in the vicinity of The Atlantic Ledge and 65-Foot Hole. Do Work out of Ocean Isle Fishing Center produced a 30 1/2-pound king from the Atlantic Ledge on Monday. Further offshore, look for wahoo and dolphin. ``There's probably plenty of wahoo at the break, but nobody's been out there,'' said Horowitz. Bottom fishing is producing black sea bass, grunts, grouper, porgy, banded rudderfish and amberjack. The recreational fishery of vermilion snapper, or beeliners, is closed.

Freshwater

Look For Bream, crappie, bass, catfish.

Comments "The river's are a little high, [especially the Great Pee Dee] but the people fishing on the bottom are catching fish,'' said Jay Booth of Fisherman's Headquarters in Conway. Bream and morgans are taking worms in 5-6 feet of water at Yauhannah, Bucksport and Samworth. Booth calls the crappie bite "extremely good" at Samworth with fish hitting minnows in 6-7 feet of water in ditch mouths. Booth notes bass in the 3-4 pound range have been landed at Bucksport and Samworth on large shiners. Look for catfish to readily take cut mullet and live shiners, especially at Samworth and Yauhannah.

STATE FISHING

Santee Cooper system | Bream: Very good. Capt. David Hilton reports that he continues to find a strong bream bite over deep brushpiles in the 22-24 foot range. He is catching upwards of 100 fish on many of his trips but all sizes are mixed together. Nightcrawlers are a good bait. Striped Bass: Good to very good. Lil N8s Bait and Tackle in Sumter reports that striped bass fishing continues to be strong with very good numbers of fish being caught. However, few fish are over the legal minimum of 26 inches. In the morning good schooling activity is being reported and the rest of the day free-lining live bait seems to be the key. Catfish: Good. Capt. Jim Glenn reports that falling water temperatures have blue catfish on the move and good catches are being reported both deep and shallow. Right now deep water means 30-40 feet and shallow water is 4-10 feet deep. Shallow water is better at night, even with chilly winds, because the water is usually too clear for good day time fishing. The best baits include cut herring, shad and mullet and both drifting and anchoring will work. Largemouth bass: Fair to good. Capt. Inky Davis reports that the lake is full of boats fishing the Bassmaster Southern Open this weekend and some good sacks up to about 20 pounds have been weighed in - but no exceptional weights by Santee standards. Davis is still finding that most fish he is catching are in the 2-3 pound range but some larger ones are also mixed in. The best bite continues to be around shallow structure with soft plastics or crankbaits. Crappie: Fair. Capt. David Hilton reports that crappie fishing has slowed a bit in the last week although his boat continues to catch fish. He is still finding the best action around brushpiles in 15-18 feet of water on the upper lake.