Area fishing report

Estuary

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

•  Comments | The sudden onslaught of cold weather earlier this week made red drum a bit sluggish and hard to find, reports Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters in Little River. “The water temperature dropped to 48 and I’ve seen some very lethargic fish,” said Dickson. “I think what’s happened is they’ve found a deep hole where it’s a little bit warmer and they’re laid up in that hole for the time being.” On Wednesday, Dickson produced two 22-inch reds on fly using spoon flies. On Thursday, Dickson did not land any fish but spotted two trout, a black drum and a red drum. Dickson reports spotted seatrout have been caught trolling lures in the Little River vicinity. At local jetties, look for red drum, trout, black drum and sheepshead.

Inshore

•  Look For | Black drum, sheepshead.

•  Comments | “There are some big old giant (black) sea bass on the Jim Caudle Reef,” said Dickson. “Some are 16 to 18 inches. Granted you can’t keep any of them but you’re talking about a 21/2 to 3 pound black sea bass.” Dickson reported anglers catching bass on a one-ounce bucktail jig tipped with a gulp jerk shad. Of course, black sea bass cannot be harvested until June 1 and anglers must release any fish caught. Also look for sheepshead on the inshore artificial reefs, but be prepared to fight through the sea bass to reach them. Action on the Grand Strand piers that are open has dwindled down to the typical winter time catch of dogfish and skates. The surface ocean water temperature has dropped sharply with the Arctic blast. The Apache Pier data station reported a reading of 51.53 degrees Thursday at 4:15 p.m. The reading at Springmaid Pier had dropped four degrees over the last week to a reading of 52 degrees Thursday at 3:06 p.m.

Offshore

•  Look For | Bluefin tuna, wahoo, blackfin tuna, king mackerel, amberjack, triggerfish.

•  Comments | Capt. Keith Logan fished for bluefin tuna out of Morehead City, N.C., on Wednesday on the heels of the cold front and reported the water temperature range he was looking for had been pushed further offshore. “We found the temperature break of 58 to 61 degrees about eight miles further out to about 30 miles offshore,” said Logan. Fishing aboard Shining Star, Logan reported gannets diving on menhaden (pogeys) but the crew didn’t find any bluefins after catching a 350-pounder on New Year’s Day. The cold front earlier in the week whipped up the offshore waters, but as conditions settle back down wahoo and blackfin tuna should still be available. The weekly reminder for bottom fishing anglers is that the closure on shallow-water grouper began on Jan. 1 and the group of species won’t reopen for harvest until May 1. Also, vermilion snapper (beeliners) are closed to harvest by recreational anglers until April 1 and black sea bass are closed until June 1. And, red snapper are off-limits indefinitely and must be released. Among the species recreational bottom-fishing anglers can currently keep are amberjack, grunts, porgy, triggerfish and banded rudderfish.

Freshwater

• Look For | Crappie, bream, catfish, bass.

• Comments | The quick blast of cold weather hasn’t had too much impact on fishing in local rivers. Crappie continue to be caught on minnows 6 to 8 feet below the surface while bream, morgans and shellcracker are taking worms in 8-12 feet on the bottom. Top areas include Bucksport, the Great Pee Dee, Yauhannah and Samworth. The father and son team of Buddy and Leon Boyd of Conway landed 21 crappie on the Little Pee Dee early this week while L.G. and James Todd of Conway caught a limit of bream and shellcracker at Bucksport. “The fish have been biting good and the weather looks good for the weekend,” said Jay Booth of Fishermen’s Headquarters in Conway.

Gregg Holshouser, For The Sun News

State fishing

• Santee Cooper System | Bream: Good. There is a strong bream bite over deep brush piles in the 22-24 foot range on crickets and nightcrawlers. Catfish: Good. Cooling water temperatures have pushed large schools of baitfish into deep water. The best technique is to fish suspended cut baits in the middle of the bait schools or on the bottom beneath them. Depths can be up to 55 or 60 feet of water. Drifting or anchoring will both work, but anchoring may be the preferred method, especially if it is windy, for staying on top of the fish. A variety of cut baits will catch fish. Largemouth bass: Fair. As temperatures drop the fishing will slow down. Most fish are around shallow structure with plastic worms, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and the Original Chatter Baits.

S.C. DNR