Grand Strand Fishing Report: Pier fishing has been good with Spanish mackerel in the mix

Estuary

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

Comments: Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters reports the red drum action continues to be excellent in the Little River area. Kelly has taken advantage of the large amount of finger mullet available, and has worked them on a 3/8-ounce jig head to catch the red drum. Kelly notes reds in the 15-17 inch range are particularly plentiful, and fishing a falling tide around creek mouths and oyster beds has been the ticket. The recreational flounder fishery is closed in North Carolina waters, thus the flatfish must be released in the Tar Heel State. Flounder can be harvested in South Carolina waters, with a 15-inch minimum size limit. Finger mullet are a prime bait for flounder, worked on jig heads or Carolina rigs, and mud minnows are also a good option. Kelly has found black drum hitting fresh cut shrimp around docks, holes and drop-offs on an incoming tide. Kelly continues to catch mainly small shrimp in his cast net, and says the spotted seatrout bite hasn’t kicked off in full force yet. At area jetties, a variety of species are available including red drum ranging anywhere from under the 15-23 inch slot to 40-inch bulls. Also look for trout, black drum, flounder and sheepshead at the jetties.

Inshore

Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, cobia, bluefish, red drum, black drum, weakfish, black sea bass, whiting, flounder, croaker, pompano, spadefish.

Comments: It’s been a great week from Grand Strand piers as prime autumn fishing has kicked in. Spanish mackerel catches have been superb, with blues also in the mix. Whiting and pompano plus croaker are the top catch for anglers fishing on the bottom with shrimp or sand fleas. The occasional bull red drum has been caught from the piers, including a good number from The Pier at Garden City. A pair of kings weighing 33 and 13 pounds were caught from the Cherry Grove Pier on Wednesday, but with murky water on the beach, kings are more likely to be found in deeper water. “(Kings) should be on the beach but the water has been dirty,” said Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center. “They are really much more difficult (to find) than they should be right now, but I’d expect them to be in the 50-80 depth range.” The near-shore live-bottom areas are also producing bull reds and weakfish, plus black sea bass and possibly pompano and flounder. The ocean water temperature Wednesday afternoon was 75 degrees at Cherry Grove Pier and 74 at Apache Pier.

Offshore

Look For: Wahoo, blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, dolphin, king mackerel, barracuda, grouper, vermilion snapper, red porgy, black sea bass, white grunts, grey triggerfish and amberjack.

Comments: Ed Keelin of Georgetown Landing Marina reports through Tuesday, few boats have headed offshore thanks to windy conditions. In the most recent trips, trolling boats came in with wahoo, blackfin tuna and a few yellowfin tuna, plus a few sailfish were released. Keelin expects the same results when boats get back out, and a few planned to do so on Thursday. “It’s been blowing so nobody’s been out,” said Keelin. “I think the same conditions are sitting right there.” Seas started to lay down on Wednesday and Capt. Jay Sconyers of Aces Up Fishing in Murrells Inlet was headed for the Gulf Stream. Seas were too rough to make it that far, and Sconyers stopped to bottom fish in 100 feet of water about 40 miles offshore, where the water temperature is still 79 degrees. Sconyers’ crew caught a nice variety of reef species including vermilion snapper, grey triggerfish, black sea bass, white grunts, porgy and strawberry grouper. Several red snapper in the 20-pound range were also caught but the species 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, crappie, catfish, bass

Comments: The river levels are trending in the right direction, with only the Little Pee Dee still in Minor Flood Stage as of Wednesday afternoon. Catfish action stepped to the forefront this week reports Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey at Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. “The catfishing is amazing on eels and large shiners,” said Stalvey, who reports excellent catches of blue cats in the 5-10-pound range. “Those are good eating size fish.” With the water temperature on a downward trend, bream are transitioning to deeper water. “Bream have been real good on the Waccamaw and the Ricefields,” said Stalvey. “They’re catching them deep and shallow. They’re using worms a lot more than summertime fishing.” Look for bream in anywhere from 2-10 feet of water, Stalvey says, hitting crickets or worms. While Stalvey hasn’t seen any crappie this week, crappie catches typically ramp up in autumn. Look for crappie around tree structure and brush, hitting crappie minnows or jigs. Stalvey suggests hitting the Ricefields area for bass, using Texas-rigged worms and spinnerbaits