Grand Strand Fishing Report: Cobia and king mackerel are running in near-shore waters
Estuary
Look For: Flounder, black drum, red drum, spotted seatrout, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, bluefish.
Comments: Water quality in the wake of recent rain and wind hasn’t been the best this week, but plenty of fish are still being caught. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown had a solid trip on Wednesday, with his group catching eight red drum and seven black drum while fishing cut shrimp under a float along an oyster bank in the Winyah Bay area. “It’s clean water, but it’s high,” said McDonald, who noted a water temperature in the low 80s. Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters has fished the Intracoastal Waterway and the tidal creeks in the Little River area and produced red drum, trout and a few black drum. “The bait stealers are definitely around but we’re having our best luck on live shrimp,” said Kelly. Capt. Chris Ossman of Fine Catch Charters, also in Little River, reported a very good bite of trout Wednesday morning on live shrimp, with most of the fish in the 18-19 inch range. Ossman notes that finger mullet are available and are top baits for redfish and flounder. Black drum have been the best option for Capt. Dan Connolly of O-Fish-Al Expeditions in Murrells Inlet. “I’ve gotten on a really good black drum bite at times, around low tide,” said Connolly, who has used cut shrimp for bait. Flounder catches are good in the inlet, including a 7.24-pound doormat produced by Capt. Quentin Faulkner of Murrells Inlet Fishing Charters.
Inshore
Look For: King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cobia, spadefish, bluefish, whiting, pompano, flounder, black drum, weakfish.
Comments: It’s been an exceptional week for king mackerel, plus cobia action is reaching a peak in the near-shore waters. Ossman and Kelly had a break in charter action and took a very quick window of opportunity to hit a near-shore artificial reef on Monday, with cobia in mind. They dropped a live pinfish down and quickly hooked up, landing a 39-inch keeper. Connolly has had success slow-trolling or simple free-lining live and dead bait on the near-shore reefs for large Spanish mackerel plus kings, including a 25-pounder on Wednesday. Smoker kings are roaming the inshore waters too, as Capt. Chris Regan of Murrells Inlet Fishing Charters boated a 36.42-pounder early in the week. Spadefish activity is also high on the reefs and hard-bottom areas. “You can do some damage out there but you’ve got to find a good weather window,” said Ossman. Well-known kings spots such as The Jungle, Belky Bear and the 390 are holding fish. And don’t forget about Grand Strand piers, as action has been great for kings on the Cherry Grove and Apache piers this week. An astonishing 13 kings were landed from the Cherry Grove Pier on Wednesday alone, despite the presence of areas of dark floodwaters near the beach. Angler Chris Gore landed two more kings and has caught three from the Cherry Grove Pier, which has produced 19 kings total this season. Fabian Melendez landed a 24.20-pound king Tuesday, the first of the year from the Apache Pier. A little later, Chase Hinkle put a 24.5-pounder on the deck for the second king of the day and the year. Hinkle’s king was reportedly landed on a Gotcha plug on light tackle. “It was pretty amazing he was able to get that king in on that equipment,” said Apache Pier manager Calvin Dickerson. On Wednesday, angler Alan Sharlow caught a 33.65-pound smoker king from Apache Pier, the third of the season. Grand Strand piers are also producing scattered catches of Spanish mackerel, whiting, bluefish, flounder, spadefish, pompano and spots. One angler caught 38 spots from Cherry Grove Pier early in the week. The ocean water temperature was 78 degrees Thursday afternoon.
Offshore
Look For: Dolphin, blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, king mackerel, bonito, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, black sea bass.
Comments: Capt. Jay Sconyers of Aces Up Fishing had a few epic trips to the offshore waters earlier this week. First Sconyers and crew put a variety of quality fish in the box on Monday, landing three nice cobia, three blackfin tuna, two dolphin, two kings, a wahoo and a scamp grouper, plus several vermilion snapper and a grey triggerfish. On Tuesday, Sconyers targeted dolphin and definitely found them, boating a two-man limit of quality size fish. Dolphin have a 20-inch minimum size limit with a 10-per person daily bag limit. Blue marlin and sailfish are also showing up in trolling spreads in the offshore waters from the break and beyond. Bottom fishing is also producing gag grouper, black sea bass, porgy, grunts and almaco jacks, plus amberjack are plentiful. Red snapper are also plentiful but must be released in the South Atlantic region.
Freshwater
Look For: Bream, bass, catfish, crappie.
Comments: Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway has a simple statement about local rivers. “Every one of them is flooded,” said Stalvey. “Around Conway (on the Waccamaw), the Little Pee Dee, the (Great) Pee Dee. But all of them are falling. Maybe in a few weeks it will be bearable.” While most area boat landings are closed, the best spot for anglers currently is the Ricefields vicinity on the lower Waccamaw. “The few people that are going are catching some good fish, bream and bass,” said Stalvey. Boaters on the rivers should be mindful of flooded property along the river bank and keep wakes at a minimum.
