Grand Strand Fishing Report: Weather has deterred ocean fishing, but rivers are fruitful

Estuary

Look For: Red drum, flounder, spotted seatrout, black drum, tarpon, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, sheepshead.

Comments: The red drum bite has been very good in local estuaries but the bull reds of autumn, the big spawning fish that measure 35 inches and up, have not shown up just yet in typical numbers at area jetties and inlet passes. “I’ve caught nice reds in the waterway in the channel using pogeys (menhaden) - 26-34 inches, all over the slot fish,” said Capt. Chris Ossman of Fine Catch Charters in Little River. “These were resident fish stacking up by the rocks.” Ossman noted the cooler, cloudy weather with a northeast wind on Labor Day and decided to target spotted seatrout. “The weather seemed trouty to me,” said Ossman. “I was hitting a lot of the spots I hit in the fall, oyster beds that drop into deeper water, places like that. I found some keepers but they’re not grouped up like they will be, they’re scattered out. It’s just a matter of time before the trout bite turns on for the fall.” Ossman caught about a dozen trout including four keepers using live shrimp. Ossman has also noticed an uptick in black drum activity. “Black drum have been better than the last couple weeks,” said Ossman. “I think they’re definitely going to start to school up.” Ossman observed a water temperature of 86.4 degrees Wednesday in the inlet. “It’s gonna take a couple more cold fronts to get it to drop down,” said Ossman. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown targeted bull reds, or as he calls them, channel bass, in Winyah Bay on Labor Day. McDonald wound up hooking up with juvenile reds on the banks, with a twist. “I’ve been seeing a lot of bull sharks,” said McDonald. “We caught four reds on the bank but the bull sharks were eating us alive. The channel bass are kind of slow coming in.” Capt. Jeff Maples of Reel Salty Charters has kept it in the creeks of Murrells Inlet this week and has taken advantage of plentiful finger mullet to catch flounder and redfish. Tarpon remain available, particularly in Winyah Bay and points farther south.

Inshore

Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, tarpon, spadefish, whiting, pompano, flounder, black drum, spotted seatrout, weakfish.

Comments: The first cool front of the late summer, followed by a strange tropical system sitting offshore of the state line kicked in a northeast wind that limited fishing by boat in the nearshore waters for most of the week. When boats can return to the near-shore reefs, look for good action from Spanish and perhaps even king mackerel. Flounder catches have been very good on near-shore reefs on the north end of the beach, and look for that trend to continue. Ossman of Fine Catch Charters was fishing for red drum at the Little River jetties Wednesday but noticed Spanish mackerel activity in the ocean. “There were a lot of Spanish right out by the inlet,” said Ossman. “There are mullet everywhere. On the tideline, you’re seeing Spanish and ribbonfish blowing up on (the mullet).” Catches on Grand Strand piers reflect the same - plenty of schools of mullet and Spanish right on their heels. Cherry Grove Pier reports catches of Spanish, flounder, whiting, pompano, croaker and spadefish. Spanish, flounder, whiting, black drum and ribbonfish have been landed from the Apache Pier. Cherry Grove Pier reported a water temperature of 84 degrees at midweek. With a slight drop in water temperature and plenty of bait near the beach, look for kings to make a showing in the near-shore waters in the next several weeks.

Offshore

Look For: Wahoo, king mackerel, blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, dolphin, sailfish, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, cobia, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, black sea bass.

Comments: Conditions haven’t been very conducive for offshore fishing this week, thanks to the persistent northeast wind and resulting choppy seas. With a slight decrease in water temperature, look for a nice increase in action from wahoo and blackfin tuna, with possibly a few yellowfin mixed in. Bottom fishing has been excellent in recent weeks and should continue in the weeks to come. Best action has been for vermilion snapper, red porgy, grey triggerfish, black sea bass and white grunts, especially in depths of 100 to 120 feet of water. Plenty of scamp grouper and amberjack are also available along with red snapper, which must be released in the South Atlantic region. Anglers targeting snapper-grouper species are required to have a descending device on board and readily available for use. Also, the use of non-offset, non-stainless steel circle hooks are required when fishing for snapper-grouper species with hook-and-line gear and natural baits.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, bass, catfish, crappie.

Comments: Area rivers are in excellent shape for fishing, and it has shown this week. “The levels are great and the people going are catching good fish,” said Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. With the water temperature in the lower to mid 80s, fish are still in their summer mode. Look for bream continuing to hit crickets and worms in 2-4 feet of water, although most anglers are using crickets. Stalvey noted the best areas have been the Waccamaw in the Conway vicinity, the Ricefields, and the big Pee Dee for bream. Bass action remains good with topwater lures working best early and late in the day, and Texas-rigged worms in the middle of the day. Live bream and fresh cut eel are top baits for catfish. “Catfish have been real good on eels,” said Stalvey. With fall on the way in the upcoming weeks, Stalvey is looking for another popular species to join the action. “It won’t be long before, when it gets a little cooler, we’ll start seeing a bunch of crappie,” said Stalvey.

This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 3:17 PM.