Area, state fishing report

Estuary

Look For | Spotted seatrout, red drum, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, weakfish, spots.

Comments | Overall spotted seatrout are the best bet, especially on the north end. The vicinity of the swing bridge in North Myrtle Beach is the hot spot for trout, with stripers also available. “They are small fish, 13 to 14 inch fish, but there are plenty of them,” Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters said of the trout, which are hitting Billy Bay Halo shrimp and green/chartreuse DOA shrimp. Red drum are about to go into winter-time mode. “This cold snap should bunch them up and they should start showing up in the usual shallow-water areas, their normal wintertime haunts,” said Dickson of the reds. At Murrells Inlet, Tom Craddock of Inlet Convenience and Fishing Supplies reports good catches of trout on live shrimp, Mirrolures, Gulps and DOAs. Also look for reds, whiting, spots and a few flounder in the inlet. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service reports good action for trout and reds in the Winyah Bay vicinity. The bay’s jetties have been producing excellent catches of sheepshead.

Inshore

Look For | Whiting, black drum, bluefish, spots, flounder, weakfish, sheepshead, red drum.

Comments | The ocean water temperature has dipped below the 60 degree mark following the cold front earlier this week. The Apache Pier data station reported 59.96 degrees at 4 p.m. Thursday while the reading at Springmaid Pier was 60 degrees at 3:24 p.m. Thursday and headed down overnight. Best bets on Grand Strand piers are for whiting and black drum, with most black drum under the 14 to 27 inch slot limit. Other species caught this week including red drum, bluefish, flounder and perch. Although black sea bass can be found in good numbers on inshore hard-bottom areas and artificial reefs, they cannot be harvested until June 1, 2012. Also, weakfish are available on hard-bottom areas near the beach but have a 12-inch minimum size limit and a bag limit of only 1 per person per day.

Offshore

Look For | Wahoo, blackfin tuna, dolphin, king mackerel, grouper, amberjack, triggerfish.

Comments | Before the cold front, action was good for wahoo and blackfin tuna in areas like Frying Pan Tower, Steeples and Black Jack Hole. Sailfish and dolphin are a possibility in the warmest water temperatures of the Gulf Stream. Bottom fishing is excellent but vermilion snapper (beeliners) are currently closed to harvest by recreational anglers and will be through March 31, 2012 and black sea bass are closed until June 1, 2012. Red snapper are off-limits indefinitely and must be released. The reef-dwelling species anglers can currently keep include grouper, amberjack, grunts, porgy, triggerfish and banded rudderfish.

Freshwater

Look For | Bream, crappie, catfish, bass.

Comments | “The crappie bite has been off the chain,” said Jay Booth of Fishermen’s Headquarters in Conway. Dale Sumter of Conway caught 27 crappie on Big Jordan Lake off the Great Pee Dee. One of Sumter’s crappie was a real lunker, weighing in at 2 pounds, 9 ounces, plus several more weighed over a pound. Buddy and Leon Boyd of Conway also landed a limit of crappie on the Little Pee Dee Saturday including several over a pound. Crappie are hitting minnows 8 to 10 feet below the surface in varying depths around structure. Bream, morgans and shellcracker are taking worms in 8-10 feet of water. Best action for crappie and bream has been on the Little Pee Dee, Yauhannah, Bucksport and Bucksville. Booth calls action for bass and catfish fair to good with bass hitting shiners and catfish taking live and cut bait. Rivers levels remain low so boaters beware.

Gregg Holshouser, For The Sun News

State

Santee Cooper system | Bream: Good. Fish over deep brushpiles in the 22-24 foot range. Nightcrawlers are a good bait. Striped Bass: Good . 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. 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; however, the shallows will also produce during the day when there is some wind to break up the surface. On nights when there is current in the diversion canal that area can be hot. The best baits include cut herring, shad and mullet and both drifting and anchoring will work.

S.C. DNR