Local fishing report

Estuary

Look for | Red drum, spotted seatrout, sheepshead, black drum

Comments | Warmer temperatures have spurred a nice warm-up as surface water temperatures in local estuaries are up around five degrees over the last week. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown reported a water temperature of 57.8 degrees at midday Thursday in Winyah Bay while Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters in North Myrtle Beach noted a water temperature of 53 on the north end. "[Red drum] have moved out of deeper pools and are starting to get up on the mud flats," said Dickson, who has produced double-figure catches on most trips this week using mud minnows on jig heads or Gulp ghost shrimp (new penny) on a 1/4-ounce jig head. McDonald hasn't had any trouble finding schools of reds but some have been skittish. "We found some good schools but they were spooked and wouldn't bite," said McDonald, who was using a variety of artificials including C.A.L Bait, Gulp shrimp and Bass Assassin. "They were bait leary." McDonald has caught several reds per trip this week. Neither captain has targeted spotted seatrout in recent weeks.

Inshore

Look for | Black sea bass, sheepshead, black drum

Comments | The surface ocean water temperature has also increased - from 47 a week ago to 52 degrees Thursday afternoon according to the Apache Pier Data Station. Action is still nil on Grand Strand piers, though, where dogfish and skates are the only catches reported this week. Look for bluefish and whiting to be the first two species showing up for pier anglers. The best bet for inshore anglers is for sheepshead on near-shore artificial reefs such as the Jim Caudle Reef out of Little River and Paradise Reef out of Murrells Inlet. For bait, check with your local bait and tackle shop for fiddler crabs, which have been hard to find. Plenty of black sea bass are available in the same areas but finding keepers over the 12-inch minimum size limit is difficult.

Offshore

Look for | Black sea bass, wahoo, blackfin tuna, cobia, amberjack, triggerfish

Comments | Normally, black sea bass belong more in the inshore portion of the report, but not this late winter-early spring. Weather over the last week has offered some of the nicest fishing days in months, but anglers have had to go way offshore to find sizable black sea bass over the 12-inch minimum size. When they have been located - over 30 miles offshore mainly in depths of 90-120 feet - excellent catches of fish over 14 inches and three pounds have come in. Use squid, cut baitfish or jigs to land the tasty members of the grouper family. Daily bag limit per person is 15 fish for black sea bass. Vertical jigging is becoming a hot tactic on offshore bottom spots and Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center reports boats had good success early this week working spots north of The Steeples in 130-300 feet of water. Using 6- to 12-ounce jig heads with Shimano Butterfly and Bluewater Candy Roscoe jigs, a number of boats produced good catches of blackfin tuna, cobia, amberjack, grouper (which must be released) and African pompano. Remember that grouper, vermilion snapper and red snapper are off-limits and must be released.

Freshwater

Look for | Crappie, bass, bream, catfish, shad

Comments | "The rivers have come down significantly and fish have reacted to that and a little bit of the warm weather," said Jay Booth of Fishermen's Headquarters. "It won't be long before it busts loose." Bream and shellcracker are being found in 8-10 feet of water at Yauhannah hitting worms on the bottom. But in the Bucksport and the Samworth WMA vicinities, the panfish are taking worms on the bottom in shallower water - 5-6 feet - on a falling tide. Largemouth bass action is heating up with good catches on the Waccamaw near Conway and the Intracoastal Waterway south of Socastee, with fish hitting shiners and June bug-colored plastic worms. Catches of crappie have been good on the Waccamaw, on the ICW and at Samworth in 8-10 feet.