Grand Strand Fishing Report: King mackerel are flooding near-shore waters around piers
Estuary
Look For: Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, bluefish.
Comments: Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service has shrugged off the muddy, murky water in Winyah Bay to produce quality fish this week. On Tuesday, McDonald’s crew landed 15 red drum, 8 spotted seatrout and two black drum on live finger mullet, soft plastic grubs and shrimp. On Wednesday morning, McDonald turned his attention to bull reds in the bay and put his clients on three fish measuring 42, 38 and 27 inches. Of course, the slot limit for red drum in South Carolina waters is 15-23 inches and McDonald carefully released the over-slot spawning fish. “We’ve had a lot of freshwater coming down the bay,” said McDonald, who noted a water temperature of 74 degrees Tuesday. “We’ve had some muddy times.” Capt. Chris Ossman of Fine Catch Charters in Little River has found reds and trout receptive in the Little River vicinity. “There are a lot of small to slot reds around the shell banks and oyster beds (hitting) finger mullet,” said Ossman. “Trout are starting to move in, too, along the shell banks we normally catch them on.” Ossman has caught the trout, along with some black drum, while floating live shrimp. With the most significant cold front of the autumn arriving this weekend, Ossman expects the prolific fall trout bite will really kick in soon. “I’m really hoping that’s the case,” said Ossman. The bull red action has been decent at the Little River jetties, but not great. “The bulls have been a little sporadic at the jetties, it’s best a couple hours around each (high or low) tide,” said Ossman.
Inshore
Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bluefish, red drum, black drum, weakfish, black sea bass, whiting, flounder, croaker, pompano.
Comments: The king mackerel action near the beach from the Cherry Grove Pier to the Apache Pier has been the talk of the fishing community. Numerous boats fishing in the Rumble in the Jungle King Mackerel Tournament out of Little River worked the area around the Cherry Grove pier and the winning fish, a 41.77-pounder weighed in by the boat Tag Team, was caught there. Cherry Grove Pier reports a whopping 19 kings were caught by anglers fishing from the pier last Friday, then 9 were landed on Monday. Two kings weighing 20 and 30 pounds had been caught from the pier as of noon Wednesday. Down the beach at Apache Pier, 11 kings were landed on Friday, 9 on Monday and 5 Wednesday. All area piers are also producing very good catches of Spanish mackerel. Whiting and pompano continue to hit fresh cut shrimp, sand fleas or bloodworms. There have been scattered catches of spots over the last week, but no serious runs. The ocean water temperature was 72 degrees on Wednesday at Cherry Grove Pier. “It still needs to get a little cooler for the spots,” said Perry Duncan of the Cherry Grove Pier. Ossman of Fine Catch Charters has found very good flounder action on the Jim Caudle Reef located three miles south of the Little River Inlet. “We’ve gotten good flounder on the reef with 4-6 inch finger mullet on a two-ounce Carolina rig,” said Ossman, who has produced flounder in the 16-24 inch range. Also look for Spanish, kings, weakfish and black sea bass on the near-shore artificial reefs. The near-shore live-bottom areas are producing bull reds and weakfish, plus black sea bass and possibly pompano and flounder.
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: While the distance offshore and the depth – 13 miles and 45 feet – doesn’t belong in the offshore section of this report, the species caught there on Tuesday does. Several boats were working the Belky Bear area 13 miles east of Murrells Inlet on a calm Tuesday featuring excellent water clarity. The king mackerel action was very good for fish in the 10-20 pound range, but a pair of charter boat captains – Capt. Adam Goodwin of Tide Chaser and Capt. Jeff Maples of Reel Salty – were surprised by what they found themselves hooked up with. Both captains boated a blackfin tuna, normally found 45-plus miles offshore near the break and the Gulf Stream. And these were no small blackfins, as Goodwin’s fish weighed 28 pounds and measured 38.5 inches. Goodwin also had fishing buddies Chris Rosafort and Josh Salins aboard. Maples’ fish weighed 20 pounds and measured 28 inches. “We were (slow) trolling for kings with live menhaden and got lucky,” said Maples. “I’ve never heard of that and two were caught there on Tuesday. The water was so clear, I looked down and at first thought it was a big bonito. That’s something we weren’t expecting.” Maples produced five kings in the 15-20 pound range and a 5-pound Spanish mackerel on the morning half-day trip. He then returned to the spot for his afternoon trip and boated six more kings in the 15-20 pound range. Action isn’t as hot in the traditional offshore trolling area, 45-plus miles out and in 100-plus feet of water. “There are some scattered wahoo, with a few blackfin mixed in,” said Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center. “There’s not much to it.” Offshore bottom fishing in depths of 90-120 feet is another story. Look for excellent catches of vermilion snapper, grey triggerfish, black sea bass, white grunts, red porgy, amberjack and grouper. McMullan points out that gag grouper move to shallower water in autumn. “They come in to 65-90 feet of water in the fall until at least Thanksgiving,” said McMullan. Red snapper are also plentiful but must be released in the South Atlantic region.
Freshwater
Look For: Bream, crappie, catfish, bass.
Comments: The rivers continue to be high, but certainly fishable. The Waccamaw River at Conway was holding steady Thursday morning at 9.7 feet, but not making tides while the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry was at 9.1 feet, just barely in Minor Flood Stage. With a cold front moving through Friday, a dip in water temperature is coming, which means a rise in crappie action. Look for crappie around tree structure and brush, hitting crappie minnows or jigs. Bream are trending deeper, and look for the panfish in 4-10 feet of water hitting floated crickets or worms. Worms worked on the bottom will produce fish also. Eels, large shiners and live bream are producing catfish. Top lures for bass include Texas-rigged worms and spinnerbaits.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 2:48 PM.