Grand Strand Fishing Report: Piers are producing a number of large king mackerel
Estuary
Look For: Flounder, black drum, red drum, spotted seatrout, sheepshead, Spanish mackerel, bluefish.
Comments: Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters has had fun catching a variety of species with attendees of his Palmetto Kid’s Fishing Camps this week. Red drum, black drum, flounder and spotted seatrout along with croaker and perch have been part of the action. “Fishing’s been pretty decent for summertime fishing,” said Kelly. “The kids have been getting hooked up and having a good time.” Live shrimp has produced black drum, trout, croakers and perch for Kelly’s anglers. Kelly has found a good flounder bite across the line in North Carolina waters, especially Tubbs Inlet, but the flatfish are off-limits in the Tar Heel State and must be released. Several of the flounder hit Berkeley Gulp’s Swimming Minnow. Kelly notes some bull reds, well above South Carolina’s 15-23 inch slot limit, have been caught at the Little River jetties. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown had a solid day on Monday, catching six red drum, two black drum and a sheepshead on cut shrimp in the Winyah Bay vicinity. The water quality in the bay is currently not the best, McDonald noted. “We don’t have good water right now,” said McDonald. “The tide is working regular, but it’s just dirty water.” Ann Darby caught a nice tripletail while fishing with McDonald early in the week. The fish was just short of South Carolina’s new 18-inch minimum size for the species and was released.
Inshore
Look For: King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, cobia, spadefish, bluefish, whiting, pompano, flounder, black drum, weakfish.
Comments: The Apache and Cherry Grove piers had another excellent run of king mackerel last weekend with numerous fish landed. The Cherry Grove Pier saw 14 kings hit the deck on a five-day stretch ending on Monday including a 32-pound, 12-ounce fish landed by T.J. Gore last Friday. The Apache Pier had a super two-day stretch on Saturday and Sunday with nine total kings landed. William Martinez caught a 32.90-pounder on Saturday while Dave Tompkins caught two, a 23.10 and 25.50-pounder. A veteran angler, Tompkins notes he has now caught 311 kings over the years. The piers are also reporting very good catches of Spanish on jigging rods and larger fish on live-bait rods. Other species being caught on the piers include spots, whiting, black drum, flounder, red drum, and croaker. Cherry Grove Pier reports three slot-size black drum caught on Thursday morning. The near-shore artificial reefs are producing scattered catches of king and Spanish mackerel while bottom fishing is producing flounder and small black sea bass. Spadefish are also present on the reefs and on the hunt for cannonball jellyfish. The Apache Pier reported a water temperature of 77 degrees Thursday at midday.
Offshore
Look For: Dolphin, blackfin tuna, wahoo, king mackerel, sailfish, blue marlin, bonito, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, black sea bass.
Comments: Mark Smith, Rob Birchmeier and crew headed out on Smith’s boat, Wound Tight, from Winyah Bay and returned to Georgetown Landing Marina with an incredible catch on a bottom-fishing trip. The crew was targeting grouper with live baits on live-bottom areas in 70-90 feet of water and wound up with quite a haul of cobia, landing five weighing in between 20 and 45 pounds. They also put a limit of vermilion snapper plus grunts, triggerfish and porgy in the box. Amberjack and red snapper were caught and released. Numerous large sharks were also in the vicinity to give the anglers a real workout. Summertime fishing is set in for trolling boats in the offshore waters. “There are scattered mahi (dolphin) in 100 or more feet and there are still some blackfin tuna on structure in 200-300 feet,” said Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center. McMullan noted the best action for king mackerel is on structure or live bottom areas in 50-70 feet of water. With the four-day red snapper mini-season for the South Atlantic Region upcoming, McMullan offered his take on just how plentiful the species is in local waters. “We have an overabundance of red snapper which is making bottom fishing difficult,” said McMullan. “From 80 feet on out is where they’re real bad.” The four-day mini season for red snapper is set for July 10-12 and July 17.
Freshwater
Look For: Bream, bass, catfish, crappie.
Comments: Slowly but surely, the river levels are improving across Horry and Georgetown counties. The Waccamaw River at Conway is finally out of flood stage and slowly falling, at 10.35 feet at 12:15 p.m. Thursday. The Little Pee Dee at Galivants Ferry was still a little high at 9.1 feet at noon Thursday. “Everything is getting better by the day,” said Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. Stalvey recommends the Ricefields area for bream, working crickets in 2-4 feet of water. “Throw it as close as you can to the hill,” said Stalvey. Bass action has been good despite the high water. Stalvey recommends using top-water lures and Texas-style rigged worms and soft plastics. “Right now crawfish are stacked up and (the bass) are running in the ditches eating them,” said Stalvey. Catfish catches have been good on eels, minnows and live bream.