Grand Strand Fishing Report: Sheepshead are among the species biting early in 2020

Estuary

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

Comments: Capt. Dan Connolly of O-Fish-Al Expeditions reported the bite of spotted seatrout continues into the year 2020, including one he caught Thursday afternoon in the creeks of Murrells Inlet. Connolly also continues to use live shrimp, when available, for bait. “I’ve been catching a lot of 19- to 23-inch fish and really fat in the creeks,” said Connolly, who noted a water temperature of 52 degrees. When live shrimp aren’t available, Connolly turns to artificials. “DOA shrimp are the only artificial I’ve been getting them to bite aggressively,” said Connolly. “The artificial bite has been slow.” Connolly has also found slot-size red drum, with a few fish over the 15-23 inch slot mixed in. Connolly has also found black drum, but just a few. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service caught some sizable trout and red drum on a Thursday afternoon trip in the Winyah Bay vicinity using soft plastic paddle-tail grubs. The trout included fish weighing 4.5 and 3.5 pounds and the reds, or spottails, were in the 24- to 26-inch range. McDonald noted a water temperature of 58 degrees.

Inshore

Look For: Black sea bass, sheepshead, weakfish, flounder, whiting, croaker, black drum, tautog.

Comments: Near-shore artificial reefs within 10-12 miles of the beach are the place to be in winter, and that’s where Capt. Jeff Maples of Reel Salty Charters was on Thursday. Maples and crew headed south and found a good mix of sheepshead, black sea bass and ringtails while using fiddler crabs for bait. They harvested eight large sheepshead, the smallest measuring over 14 inches. Maples noted black sea bass were thick and a few nice keepers above the 13-inch minimum size limit were caught. Other species that are a possibility on the same reefs are black drum, flounder, red drum and tautog. Mainly whiting, with a few croaker, have been caught off the Cherry Grove Pier and Apache Pier but action overall has been slow. The water temperature at both piers was 54 degrees Thursday. The 2nd Ave. Pier in Myrtle Beach has produced some spotted seatrout this week.

Offshore

Look For: Wahoo, blackfin tuna, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, black sea bass.

Comments: Well, a Gale Warning is in effect for the weekend, with seas forecast to peak at 12-18 feet on Sunday in the offshore waters, so that’s out. When conditions calm down early next week, wahoo and blackfin tuna will be available for trolling boats. Winter-time bottom fishing is excellent for amberjack, grouper, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, triggerfish, porgy, white grunts and red snapper. The annual shallow-water grouper spawning season closure went into effect on January 1 and continues through the month of April. Species included in the closure are gag grouper, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, yellowmouth grouper, yellowfin grouper, graysby, and coney. In addition, red snapper are common on the ledges and live-bottom areas but the species is closed to harvest in the South Atlantic Region and must be released.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, crappie, bass, catfish.

Comments: The rivers along the Grand Strand are high, and fishermen have been few and far between as the new decade gets started. “There’s good fishing around the Ricefields, but this high water discourages everybody,” said Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle. “I’m ready for the water to come back down and we’ll have some good fishing.” Look for bream on the bottom in 8-15 feet of water hitting worms. Crappie minnows are the best bait for crappie, but jigs and beetle spins will also catch fish in 4-12 feet of water on structure. Use finesse worms, small crawfish baits and small crankbaits for bass. Eels and live bream are the top baits for catfish. The Waccamaw River at Conway was up to 9.72 feet at 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. The Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry was at 8.93 feet, just a hair below Minor Flood Stage, at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 5:26 PM.