Local fishing report (May 21)

Estuary

▪ Look For | Flounder, red drum, spotted seatrout, black drum, sheepshead.

▪ Comments | Flounder are the best bet in estuaries such as Pawleys Inlet, Murrells Inlet, Cherry Grove and Tubbs Inlet. Mud minnows are the bait of choice, either trolling, drifting or casting them on jig heads, Carolina rigs or two-hook rigs. The number of keepers above South Carolina’s 14-inch minimum size limit is improving. Flounder typically show up later in Georgetown’s Winyah Bay but Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service expects them to show up en masse soon. For now, McDonald says flounder are ``hit or miss’’ at the Winyah Bay jetties. On a Sunday trip in the bay, McDonald landed red drum and spotted seatrout using grubs (DOA’s Cal bait). McDonald’s crew also caught a ladyfish, a sure sign summer conditions are almost here. McDonald noted a water temperature of 75 degrees. Rest assured there are plenty of sharks roaming the estuaries.

Inshore

▪ Look For | Spanish mackerel, cobia, king mackerel, bluefish, whiting, pompano, flounder, spadefish, black sea bass, weakfish, sheepshead.

▪ Comments | It is prime time to find cobia on near-shore reefs and along the beach. For instance, Capt. Jason Burton of Fly Girl Charters caught a 55-pound cobia out of Murrells Inlet on Tuesday. Burton found the fish in a school of bait and fed it a live bluefish. Capt. Jay Sconyers of Aces Up Fishing followed suit with a sizable cobia on Thursday. Also look for cobia following turtles or rays, and have a live bait, rubber eel or bucktail jig ready to throw. Spanish mackerel can be found roaming the reefs, along the beach and near inlet passes. The reefs, such as Pawleys, Three-Mile and Jim Caudle, are holding spadefish, flounder, black sea bass, weakfish and sharks, along with the roaming Spanish, kings and cobia. A variety of species are available off Grand Strand piers including Spanish, blues, whiting, pompano, flounder, croaker and black drum. The surface ocean water temperature was 76.18 degrees Thursday at 5:55 p.m. at 2nd Ave. Pier in Myrtle Beach.

Offshore

▪ Look For | Dolphin, blackfin tuna, wahoo, blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, grouper, black sea bass, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, amberjack.

▪ Comments | Now is the time to get offshore for some super trolling action. And the bottom fishing isn’t too bad either. Dolphin action is at a peak, with plenty of blackfin tuna and wahoo mixed in. As the opening day of the Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament proved on Thursday, billfish are present including blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish. Bottom fishing is excellent in its own right. Look for grouper, especially gag and scamp, black sea bass and vermilion snapper. Amberjack, porgy, triggerfish and grunts are also holding on the reefs. Red snapper are there, but the species is off-limits indefinitely in the South Atlantic Region and must be released.

Freshwater

▪ Look For | Bream, catfish, bass, crappie.

▪ Comments | “The water level is starting to get right, especially on the Little Pee Dee,” said Kelly Woodward of Rick’s Bait and Tackle. And when the water is right on the Little Pee Dee, you can bet it’s right on the Waccamaw and the Great Pee Dee. Predictably, bream fishing is simply excellent in depths of 2-4 feet along the banks, with floated crickets the ticket for bait. With the rivers at optimal levels, catfish action is very good on eels and other cut bait.

Gregg Holshouser

This story was originally published May 21, 2015 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Local fishing report (May 21)."