Grand Strand Fishing Report: Keeper black sea bass are plentiful in depths around 50 feet
Estuary
Look For: Spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum, sheepshead, flounder, tautog.
Comments: Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service hit the Winyah Bay area on Monday and found 55-degree water, plenty warm enough for spotted seatrout to be active. On a short trip, McDonald used soft plastic grubs to catch several trout. Capt. Dan Connolly of O-Fish-Al Expeditions and Capt. Perrin Wood of Southern Saltwater got out on Murrells Inlet on Wednesday and also found spotted seatrout ready to eat. The duo landed numerous trout plus one over-slot redfish while floating live shrimp in the inlet. Area jetties are likely spots to find numerous species including trout, red drum, black drum, sheepshead and even tautog.
Inshore
Look For: Black sea bass, sheepshead, black drum, whiting, croaker, flounder, tautog.
Comments: The usual Wednesday crew aboard Dr. Jason Rosenberg’s Painkiller instead wound up aboard Capt. Jay Sconyers’ Aces Up Fishing ride. With anglers Rob Birchmeier and Jimmy Kaminski also along, the foursome headed out of Murrells Inlet to target sheepshead on the near-shore artificial reefs. Armed with fiddler crabs for bait, they landed 30 sheepshead with seven keepers over the 14-inch minimum size limit. By mid-winter, sheepshead move from the estuaries and around area jetties to the near-shore reefs. “They’re getting ready to be out there real good,” said Sconyers. The duo also dropped shrimp down in hopes of catching black drum, but wound up with black sea bass. “If you drop squid, the bass are eating it immediately,” said Sconyers, “and a lot of them are hand-size.” Capt. Chris Ossman of Fine Catch Charters in Little River targeted black sea bass on Monday, and found the proper depth where the keeper fish are holding. “Fifty feet of water is the magic depth,” said Ossman. “In the shallow-water areas, it’s a pain to find (keepers).” The minimum size limit for black sea bass is 13 inches. Both the Apache Pier and Cherry Grove Pier report slow action with only a few whiting and croakers being caught. The ocean water temperature Thursday afternoon at Cherry Grove Pier was 53 degrees, surface and bottom.
Offshore
Look For: Wahoo, blackfin tuna, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, black sea bass.
Comments: A wicked cold front was moving through Thursday, but conditions were expected to stabilize quickly over the weekend. Trolling boats can successfully target wahoo and blackfin tuna in areas around the break such as the Winyah Scarp and Georgetown Hole. Look for large black sea bass in depths of 50 feet and beyond. Further out, in the 90-120 foot range, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, porgy, grunts, grouper and red snapper are all available. A couple of closures are in effect including the annual shallow-water grouper spawning season closure which 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. Also, 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, catfish, bass.
Comments: The rivers remain high, but there has been proof positive the fishing can be excellent for those willing to put in the time. Bream action in particular has been very good on the Little Pee Dee , Waccamaw and ICW, down to the Ricefields. “These fish are stacked, if you find one you’re going to find a boatload,” said Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. “You got to find that right hole, and you’ve got to keep moving to find them. The way to find them fastest is with a depth finder.” Stalvey says fish have been caught in depths from 5 to 25 feet deep, on spots that are deeper than normal due to the high water. To catch the bream with a side catch of catfish, anglers are using a standard two-hook rig with a one-ounce sinker, depending on current, using red worms for bait. Crappie action is also good. “They’re finding them trolling with beetle spins, then when they find them, they’re throwing minnows (under floats),” said Stalvey. Look for crappie in lakes, ditch mouths and around tree tops. Stalvey personally checked out the bass fishing Sunday in the Ricefields vicinity. “It’s been hit or miss,” said Stalvey.”Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and Senko worms is what I found them with on Sunday.” Stalvey found bass in depths of 2-4 feet and 6-8 feet. Catfish are hitting live bream and eels in all depths.