Area, state fishing reports

SALTWATER

Estuary

Look For Red drum, spotted seatrout, black drum, sheepshead.

Comments Red drum continue to be the best bet in area estuaries and are gathered in schools that include fish of a wide range of sizes. Both natural and artificial baits will work such as gold spinnerbaits, grubs on 1/8- or 1/4-ounce jig heads, live shrimp or cut mullet. Anglers are urged to be conservative with the number of fish harvested while the fish are gathered in large schools. The slot limit on red drum is 15 to 23 inches with a daily bag limit of three-fish per person in South Carolina. In North Carolina, the slot limit is 18-27 inches with a one-fish daily bag limit. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown observed that the water in Winyah Bay is "extremely muddy" on a Tuesday fishing trip. McDonald observed water temperatures of 47-48 degrees in the bay and 51 in the shallows. McDonald and crew caught 16 reds to 8 pounds using artificials including spinnerbaits on the trip. The bite wasn't as intense as last week. "These fish were a little more lethargic," McDonald said. McDonald hasn't fished for trout recently but had an interesting observation. "I've seen a lot of mullet and if the mullet are running, the trout aren't dead," he said.

Inshore

Look For Black sea bass, sheepshead, black drum, whiting.

Comments Look for black sea bass on bottom spots in depths of 30-100 feet - the deeper the better for good keepers well above the 12-inch minimum size limit. Sheepshead and black drum can be found on shallower bottom spots such as Paradise Reef out of Murrells Inlet and Caudle Reef out of Little River. Winter fishing continues on Grand Strand piers with only a few whiting, croakers and black drum available with skates and dogfish the most common species caught. The surface ocean water temperature was 48 degrees Thursday morning according to the Apache Pier Data Station.

Offshore

Look For Wahoo, blackfin tuna, bluefin tuna, black sea bass, triggerfish, amberjack.

Comments The last few weeks have proven to be very productive for a couple of pelagic species for boats venturing out to the break. Trolling for wahoo has been excellent when conditions permit, with some fish landed approaching the 100-pound mark. Ocean Isle Fishing Center notes that very good catches of blackfin tuna are available in the same deep-water areas. Black sea bass, triggerfish and amberjack are the main species available for recreational bottom fishermen. As a reminder, shallow-water grouper species including gag, red and scamp, are closed for both recreational and commercial anglers through April 30, recreational and commercial fishing for red snapper is closed through at least June 2 and the recreational fishery for vermilion snapper (beeliners) is closed through March 31.

Freshwater

Look For Bream, crappie, catfish, bass.

Comments "The rivers have come up pretty good," pointed out Jay Booth of Fisherman's Headquarters in Conway. "But the bottom fishing's still good." Booth notes that catches of bream, shellcracker and morgans are good at Yauhannah, Bucksport and Samworth for anglers fishing in 12 feet of water using red worms and nightcrawlers. The same locations have been more productive for crappie over the last week with fish landed near structure and creek mouths on minnows. Look for catfish on cut mullet and large shiners in the Yauhannah vicinity. Bass action has been fair near Samworth on large shiners.

For The Sun News

STATE FISHING

Santee Cooper system Catfish: Fair to good. Capt. Jim Glenn reports that the bite has gotten more sporadic and he's having some very good days and then some slow days right behind them. Largemouth bass: Slow. Capt. Inky Davis reports that fishing in the cypress trees above the I-95 Bridge he has caught a few nice fish by fishing a Zoom plastic worm very slowly in five feet of water. Bream: Slow. Capt. David Hilton reports that bream have gone very deep and will be lethargic for the next month or two.

S.C. DNR