Grand Strand Fishing Report: Autumn is here, best fishing is yet to come

Estuary

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

Comments: Ah, October! The air and water temperatures are trending down, the creeks are filled with mullet and menhaden, yellow butterflies are in the air and fantastic fall fishing is on the horizon. But it’s not quite here yet. “It’s been kind of tough,” said Capt. Dan Connolly of O-Fish-Al Expeditions in Murrells Inlet. “I’ve been catching some reds here and there and some small flounder while fishing for reds. It’s been very spotty.” Connolly notes most of the red drum have measured over South Carolina’s 15-23 inch slot limit or right at the upper end of the slot. He has used live and cut finger mullet to catch the reds. Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway has personally found a very good bite of black drum in Murrells Inlet and Winyah Bay simply using cut shrimp on a Carolina rig. On the north end, Capt. Chris Ossman of Fine Catch Charters says the annual autumn event of bull red drum moving into the inlets and bays on a spawning mission is underway. The fish, most measuring 35-40 inches, have made a showing at the Little River jetties. “(Oct. 22) must have been the first time they showed up,” said Ossman. “It was on fire, one after another. They were hitting anything, live mullet, cut mullet, cut pogey, live pogey.” Now, Ossman says, boats are lined up on both sides of the jetties targeting the bull reds on nice weather days, which have been prevalent of late. Anglers should remember these fish comprise the spawning stock of red drum with the future of the species hanging in the balance. It is imperative to carefully revive and release each fish to give it the optimum chance to survive. Ossman has also caught reds within the slot and some over in the creeks of the Little River area, with small “peanut” pogeys working best for bait. Ossman has caught spotted seatrout on shell bottoms especially near oyster banks with drop-offs. Live shrimp are a prime bait for trout, but the estuaries are full of bait stealers such as pinfish and croakers. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown noted the cold front that moved through a week ago had a big impact on the water temperature. “It went from 84 to 77 degrees in about five days,” said McDonald. On Tuesday in Winyah Bay, McDonald’s crew produced six bull reds or, as he calls them, channel bass measuring from 38-44 inches. Last Saturday McDonald produced 13 trout with four keepers on a variety of plastic grubs. “It was no special color, we’d switch until we’d catch a few,” said McDonald. Tarpon are still active in the bay, as McDonald observed on Tuesday. “Tarpon had mullet schooled up and were busting on them,” said McDonald.

Inshore

Look For: King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, flounder, spadefish, black sea bass, whiting, croaker, pompano.

Comments: There is bait aplenty along the beach, and the mackerel are hot on their trail. “I’ve seen plenty of kings skying on the beach, and we saw a tarpon,” said Connolly. “Dude there’s so much bait going up and down the beach.” While there are random kings including some smokers near the beach, Spanish mackerel are thick within three miles. “Spanish are all over the jetties and at the reef and the three-mile,” said Ossman, who has caught them using top-water lures, spoons and also live-baiting finger mullet. “It’s been good.” For more prolific king action, head a little further out, recommends Connolly. “There’s a better bite if you go out just because there’s so much bait on the beach,” said Connolly. “It’s hard to get the fish to find your bait. On Tuesday, Connolly headed to Belky Bear and found a water temperature of 76-77 degrees while slow-trolling for kings. “The water’s a little bit cooler and there was definitely fish out there,” said Connolly. “I had three king bites in an hour.” Connolly is just waiting for cooler water temps for the fall mackerel run to take off. “Sometime next month the king bite is going to be real good all over the place, said Connolly. “When the water temperature is between 65 and 70 it’s going to be pretty good.” Angler Luke Johnson proved there are some large kings on the beach by landing a 29.95-pounder Sunday on the Apache Pier. The piers are also producing good catches of Spanish, along with bluefish, flounder, whiting, croaker and pompano.

Offshore

Look For: King mackerel, wahoo, barracuda, dolphin, blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, sailfish, bonito, grouper, red snapper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, black sea bass.

Comments: With autumn officially here, wahoo action is ramping up in the offshore waters. “Trolling on the break, we’re seeing some wahoo, they’re typically more abundant into the fall,” said Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center. “There’s a ton of barracuda out there right. As it cools off (the barracuda) will move out.” Dolphin are hit or miss for trolling boats - find any late weed lines or floating structure and you’ll find the fish. Also be on the lookout for dolphin approaching the boat when bottom fishing. McMullan also says to look for blackfin tuna action to start improving. “Dolphin, I don’t think you can go dolphin fishing, you can catch some but not consistent enough in numbers or location,” said McMullan. “You can catch the ones that swim up to you. Blackfin, as it gets cooler, November is the best time in fall for blackfin.” McMullan also notes there is good action trolling and bottom fishing in 65-90 feet of water. “There are a lot of school kings in 65-90 feet - that’s the thing to do for numbers,” said McMullan. “Grouper fishing in the fall (in 65-90 feet) can be pretty good. Vermilion snapper are really prevalent in the fall in the same depth range.” Also look for amberjack, red snapper, triggerfish, red porgy and black sea bass on bottom fishing trips. Don’t hesitate to go deeper, to depths of 90-120 feet, to find the reef species.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, catfish, crappie, bass.

Comments: September has been a superb month on local rivers, with no tropical systems dumping massive amounts of rain for the first time in, well, several years. “The river’s been beautiful,” said Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle. “There’s been some nice, nice bream caught in the Ricefields. There’s good fish from everywhere but definitely on fire down through there. On crickets and worms. Until it gets a lot cooler, the cricket bite will be on fire.” Bream are still holding in depths of 2-6 feet. With October here, crappie action is on the rise. “I’ve gotten good reports on crappie too,” said Stalvey. “We’ve had this cooler weather come in a few nights, and the crappie bite is about to get better and better.” With river levels in great shape and making good tides, the catfish action is predictably very good. “Catfish have been phenomenal on eels,” said Stalvey. “A lot of guys (using) rod and reels have been catching them in log jams and deep curves, especially on the big Pee Dee. On the bush hooks, the Pee Dee, Waccamaw, all the rivers are producing good numbers.” Bass are still in summer-time mode with the water temperature still in the upper 70s. The water temperature in the Ricefields vicinity Sunday afternoon was 77-78 degrees. “Bass are still hitting top-water, but the Texas-rigged style worms are catching the bigger fish,” said Stalvey. “Shakey Head worms have been very effective.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2021 at 12:42 PM with the headline "Grand Strand Fishing Report: Autumn is here, best fishing is yet to come."