Area fishing report

Estuary

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

Comments | The water temperature remains in the mid to upper 50s in local estuaries, and the bite is on for spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum and even a few flounder. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown had a super day on Tuesday in the Winyah Bay vicinity, landing 19 red drum, 4 black drum, a flounder and a trout while floating dead shrimp. Only the trout was not caught on shrimp, but was landed on a Cal Bait grub. McDonald’s reds measured between 17 and 24 inches. One black drum was 17 inches and the other three were under the 14-27 inch slot limit. Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters has had a good week in the Little River vicinity catching reds and a few trout. On Wednesday, Dickson caught 17 to 18 inch reds in the back waters plus produced a 28-incher on a fly rod. On Monday, Dickson caught reds and trout at the Sunset Beach Bridge, in the Calabash River and in a small creek off Bonaparte Creek. Dickson has caught trout on a chartreuse DOA and the reds on both a Gulp flats worm and Gulp swimming mullet on an 1/8-ounce Mission Fishin’ jig head.

Inshore

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

Comments | The coastal Christmas tradition of catching a mess of black sea bass for an alternative seafood meal during the holidays has been taken away from local anglers by the National Marine Fisheries Service. But that doesn’t mean the fish aren’t on hand as usual during the holidays on near-shore hard-bottom areas and artificial reefs, and in good numbers. Capt. Jacob Frick of Ocean Isle Fishing Center relates a trip where fishermen found black sea bass loaded up on a small rocky area three miles off the beach this week. “You can’t keep them but they are there,” said Frick. “They are as thick as fleas.” Black sea bass are off-limits to all anglers until June 1, 2012. The Grand Strand piers that remain open are producing black drum, whiting, dogfish and blowfish. A 6-pound, 2-ounce black drum was caught off Apache Pier. The Apache Pier data station reported an ocean water temperature of 57.96 degrees Thursday at 3 p.m. The reading at Springmaid Pier was 57 degrees Thursday at 2:24 p.m.

Offshore

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

Comments | “The wahoo bite has been pretty good if you can find them,” said Frick of Ocean Isle Fishing Center. The Black Jack Hole and the Steeples have been producing wahoo. A crew from the OIFC including Capts. Brant and Barrett McMullan and Capt. Steele Park went on an overnight trip to offshore of the Steeples earlier this week and landed a rarity in the area in recent years – a yellowfin tuna in the 35-pound range. They also caught a wahoo and a few blackfin tuna. They headed further offshore to fish overnight for swordfish – catching and releasing one in the 30-40 pound range and missing on two other fish. King mackerel continue to be found around the Frying Pan Tower area. Bottom fishing is very good but not many species can be kept by anglers. Vermilion snapper (beeliners) are closed to harvest by recreational anglers through March 31, 2012 and black sea bass are closed until June 1, 2012. In addition, red snapper are off-limits indefinitely and must be released. Recreational bottom-fishing anglers can currently keep grouper, amberjack, grunts, porgy, triggerfish and banded rudderfish among other species. The closure on shallow-water grouper begins when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve.

Freshwater

Look For | Crappie, bream, catfish, bass.

Comments | With the warm weather hanging on, fishing in local rivers continues to be very good for crappie with bream also readily available. Look for crappie taking minnows in 7 to 10 feet below the surface in varying depths in areas such as Yauhannah, Bucksport, Samworth and the Great Pee Dee. Bream, including morgans and shellcracker, are active a little deeper, taking worms in 10-12 feet on the bottom in the same areas. Luke Cannon of Conway produced 30 bream and shellcracker Saturday at Bucksport. Angler activity has been strong this week considering the weather. “People are getting out and going more with the way the weather is,” said Jay Booth of Fishermen’s Headquarters in Conway. Catfish action is fair on live and cut bait.

Gregg Holshouser, For The Sun News

State

Santee Cooper system | Catfish: Fair to good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that most days the blue catfish bite is fair to good, and fish are being caught in various depths from 4-10 feet on down to 50 feet. The concentrations may be greatest in deeper water. Both anchoring and drifting with fresh cut gizzard shad, menhaden, perch or mullet will catch fish in the right places. There have been recent reports of good night fishing for anglers willing to brave night time lows and winds. Largemouth bass: Fair to good. Captain Jimmie Hair reports that the primary pattern remains similar. Fishing around eel grass with Gambler Super Studs and swimming jigs will catch fish, and in the swamp working square-billed crankbaits around cypress trees is effective. Soft plastics will also catch fish around trees. In the Cooper River sizes are still small, but when temperatures drop just a few more degrees some big bass should be caught on bucktails and jigs thrown at breaks in the rice fields. Striped Bass: Fair to good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that anglers are catching plenty of striped bass in both lakes, but very few 26 inch fish are being landed. Perhaps 1 in 50 is a keeper for most anglers, but the good news is that striper appear plentiful and most are robust and healthy. Fishing 35-50 feet deep with live baits including big shiners and gizzard or threadfin shad is working, and anglers are also having success trolling and chasing schooling fish on the surface with jigs, spoons and surface plugs. Crappie and Bream: Fair to good. Captain Steve English reports that the crappie and bream bite is still pretty good around offshore brushpiles, but the fish are in deeper brush. Bream are around brush in 12-18 feet, and crappie are around brush in 18-24 feet. At the next cold front the bites should pretty well shut down – so enjoy the fish while they will take minnows and crickets.

S.C. DNR