Grand Strand Fishing Report: King catches still good off piers, trout action ramping up
Estuary
Look For: Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, bluefish.
Comments: Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters was able to cast-net shrimp big enough for bait Wednesday and found spotted seatrout receptive in the creeks of the Little River vicinity. Kelly’s crew caught eight trout including three keepers over the 14-inch minimum size, plus landed a red drum over the 15-23 inch slot limit. Kelly also produced four black drum including two keepers within the 14-27 inch slot on fresh cut shrimp. Kelly knows more prolific trout fishing is upcoming. “The water temperature is still 74 degrees,” said Kelly. “It needs to cool off a bit for trout.” In the creeks of Murrells Inlet, Capt. Alex Hrycak of Marlin Quay Marina caught three trout while floating live shrimp within a few hours of fishing on Wednesday afternoon. “It’s not like it’s a crazy bite or anything but there are some decent fish,” said Hrycak. “Using live live shrimp, it’s a pain dealing with all the pinfish in here - some of the biggest pinfish I’ve ever seen.” Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown targeted bull red drum, or channel bass as he calls them, on Wednesday in Winyah Bay. McDonald’s crew caught and carefully released a pair of red drum measuring 37 and 39 inches. McDonald noted a water temperature of 70 degrees and said “there’s a lot of freshwater coming down.”
Inshore
Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, bluefish, red drum, black drum, weakfish, black sea bass, whiting, flounder, croaker, pompano.
Comments: For the second straight week, sizable blackfin tuna were caught in the Belky Bear vicinity, 13 miles east of Murrells Inlet. This time, Capt. Jimmy Dever of Murrells Inlet Fishing Charters landed a pair of blackfins weighing 20.46 and 24.68 pounds aboard Wild Thang. The superb king mackerel catches continue from the Cherry Grove and Apache piers. After a slow spell around the weekend cold front, the catches picked back up at mid-week. Six kings were caught Tuesday from the Apache Pier including a 30.20-pounder landed by Johnny Glover. Five kings ranging from 17 to 27 pounds were caught from the Cherry Grove Pier by 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The piers are also producing excellent catches of Spanish mackerel, as the ocean water temperature was still 74 degrees on Wednesday. There have been scattered catches of whiting, croaker, pompano, bluefish and flounder along with the occasional bull red. There have sporadic catches of spots but no big runs. Bull red drum can be found in spawning mode on near-shore hard-bottom areas along with weakfish, and black sea bass. Hrycak of Marlin Quay Marina worked a 1-ounce Diamond jig Wednesday while fishing for bull reds on a hard-bottom area just northeast of Murrells Inlet and produced Spanish, weakfish and false albacore. “There were tons of Spanish out there jumping everywhere off the beach and tons of glass minnows,” said Hrycak. Look for Spanish, kings, weakfish, black sea bass and flounder on near-shore artificial reefs such as the Jim Caudle Reef, Ron McManus Reef and Paradise Reef.
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: Capt. Jon Cameron of Murrells Inlet headed offshore last Friday on his 27-foot Sea Hunt Gamefish - It Ain’t Easy - in search of wahoo in the Winyah Scarp vicinity. Cameron was high-speed trolling lures and caught one wahoo in the 45-pound range on a Black Bart Pro Metal lure. Cameron was working a slight temperature break in the 82-83 degree range when he got a good bite on a cedar plug. The result was a yellowfin tuna in the 40-pound range, as the scale available bottomed out at 40 pounds. “I think there’s quite a few out there in that hot water,” said Cameron, who lost two good fish he thinks may have been yellowfins. Cameron had an almost identical trip two weeks earlier on Oct. 2 while fishing with Mark and Mathew Yelle on their 27-foot Sailfish. The crew was fishing in the Winyah Scarp area also on a slight temperature break and caught a similar size wahoo and this time a 62-pound yellowfin weighed on a digital scale. Trolling boats can also expect to encounter blackfin tuna in the offshore waters near the break. On the bottom fishing scene, gag grouper are known to move closer to shore in autumn, and Capt. Shane Bashor of Side Kick Charters in Murrells Inlet certainly proved that fish theory true on Tuesday. Bashor’s crew hauled in a gag in the 15-20 pound range 20 miles offshore and in 60 feet of water. As a bonus, Bashor found a nice grade of grey triggerfish on the same spot as his clients caught 14 keepers and released several more under the 12-inch minimum size limit. “(Gag grouper) ought to be there this time of year, but I was surprised by the triggerfish,” said Bashor. Bashor also put three king mackerel, including a 20-pounder, plus a few black sea bass in the box on the six-hour trip. The best and most consistent bottom fishing action remains in 80-120 feet of water. Red snapper are also available but must be released in the South Atlantic Region.
Freshwater
Look For: Bream, crappie, catfish, bass.
Comments: Fall fishing is in full swing on the rivers, but it’s safe to say there are more hunters in the woods after whitetail deer than anglers targeting bream, crappie, catfish or bass. “On the Waccamaw and Ricefields they’re catching some fine, fine fish but the ones going are few and far between,” said Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. The Great Pee Dee River and Little Pee Dee River are just below Minor Flood Stage and forecast to fall out. The Waccamaw River and ICW are in good shape for fishing. Bream are in a transitional stage as the water continues to cool down in autumn. “They’re catching bream in 2-4 feet on crickets and some people are fishing a little deeper, bumping the bottom with red worms in 6-10 feet,” said Stalvey. “In the curves, that’s where the bream are stacked up.” Crappie action is on the upswing, with medium shiners the top bait. “They’re catching some decent-size crappie on the Waccamaw and at Ricefields,” said Stalvey. “A few are fishing with beetle spins and jigs.” Catfish action, as usual, has been productive. “Catfish have been really good, a lot of them on frozen mullet,” said Stalvey. “They seem to be wanting cut bait lately.” Large shiner minnows will also work for catfish along with bass. “A lot of bass are still hitting topwater, buzz baits and walking baits. Spinner baits and shallow-running crank baits 4-6 feet deep,” said Stalvey. “And of course Texas-style worms.”