Local fishing report

SALTWATER

Estuary

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

Comments | Fishing? With the wicked winds at midweek and the "S" word in the forecast for the weekend, angler action has been very slow. Plus, persistent rain and snow melt has meant plenty of freshwater influx into local estuaries such as Winyah Bay and the Little River vicinity. Still, schooling red drum are the best bet. Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters in Little River caught and released four red drum in the 16-18 inch range on a cold and breezy Thursday. Work artificials (grubs or Gulp baits on jig heads) or cut bait (shrimp or mullet) very slowly on the bottom once a school is located. Remember red drum have a 15-23 inch slot limit with a 3-fish bag limit in South Carolina and a 18-27 slot limit and 1-fish bag limit in North Carolina. Look for spotted seatrout in deeper than normal water because of cold water temperatures. Area jetties are holding sheepshead with black drum a possibility.

Inshore

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

Comments | Black sea bass are by far the best option for inshore fishermen during this brutal winter of 2010. For best action and for the most keepers (12-inch minimum size limit) work bottom spots from 40 to 70 feet. Sheepshead and black drum are possibilities on the reefs, also. In a word, pier fishing was described as "terrible" on Thursday. The surface ocean water temperature Thursday afternoon at Apache Pier Data Station was a chilly 47 degrees.

Offshore

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

Comments | With a blizzard in the mountains and a gale on the Atlantic at midweek, offshore action has not been an option this week and doesn't look promising for the weekend. Wahoo action has been good near the break from the Black Jack Hole to the Georgetown Hole in 2010 with blackfin tuna also available. Again, bottom fishing is limited by not only the weather, but closures. Black sea bass, triggerfish, grunts and amberjack are available but most common 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 | Crappie, bream, catfish, shad, bass.

Comments | "If you can find a place to put a boat in you can catch a fish," Jay Booth of Fisherman's Headquarters said with a laugh Thursday. Area rivers are very high with the Little Pee Dee River and Yauhannah area both inaccessible because of high water at boat ramps. Booth notes the Waccamaw at Conway Marina, Bucksport and Samworth are all accessible. Crappie have been taking minnows in 6-8 feet of water, with some catches in as deep as 18 feet, at Ricefields, Samworth and Bucksport. Booth recommends trying Jericho, the Fingers and Oatland areas for crappie. Nice catches of crappie have also come from Lake Busbee in Conway. Bream and morgans are taking worms in 8-12 feet of water at Bucksport, where the catfish bite has been good on cut shad. Shad catches have slowed down this week.

STATE FISHING

Lake Murry and Lake Moultrie | Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that the blue catfish bite remains fairly erratic. In both lakes fish can be caught in deep water around schools of bait. Baitfish are also schooled up in water 25 to 35 ft deep, with catfish in and around those schools. The bait of choice is fresh cut herring or threadfin and gizzard shad. On Lake Marion, Li'l N8s Bait and Tackle in Sumter reports that threadfin shad are gathered in deep water and catfish are nearby. The cats can be found in the Little River area or along the main river channel. The best bite has been on ledges about 28-30 feet deep beside 40 feet of water. Most people are using cut blueback herring, available at Li'l N8s, for bait. Largemouth bass: Slow. Captain 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. Crappie: Captain Steve English reports that almost no one is targeting crappie on the Santee Cooper lakes right now. Bream: Captain David Hilton reports that bream have gone very deep and will be lethargic for the next month or two.

S.C. D.N.R.