Grand Strand Fishing Report: Spanish mackerel make early showing along the beach

Estuary

Look For: Flounder, red drum, black drum, spotted seatrout, sheepshead, bluefish.

Comments: Estuary species are in a state of change, as the weather and, most importantly, the water temperature transitions from winter to spring. Capt. Chris Ossman of Fine Catch Fishing Charters headed up the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River last week and targeted spotted seatrout while drifting live shrimp under a float. Ossman caught trout and a few red drum mixed in, plus his customers got a pleasant surprise when several striped bass joined the mix. In general, though, Ossman says fish are moving closer to the inlet and jetties. “They’re changing patterns, they’ve been in that winter pattern for a longer time than I thought they would,” said Ossman. “They’re moving closer to the inlet.” Last Thursday’s rain and a few consecutive cold nights have dropped the water temperature. Ossman noted an early morning water temperature of 57 degrees which quickly warmed into the lower 60s on a scouting trip Monday. The flounder bite is picking up in Cherry Grove Inlet. “I’ve heard a few reports of a few fish in Cherry Grove but the bite’s definitely going to start getting good there very soon,” said Ossman. Anglers are reminded the minimum size limit for flounder in South Carolina waters is 16 inches.

For now, Ossman says the best bet is for red and black drum plus sheepshead at the Little River jetties, weather permitting. “The jetty bite is pretty good right now,” said Ossman. Late last week, Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service ran from South Island Ferry across Winyah Bay into North Inlet and was surprised at how warm the water temperatures were. “The water temperature was 67 degrees from the landing to North Inlet,” said McDonald. “In the flats (in North Inlet), there was some 71-degree water. I was shocked at it. Everything might be early this year, I don’t know.” McDonald found a few fish on the trip, catching two red drum and two flounder on soft plastic grubs and cut shrimp. McDonald also caught several spotted seatrout on a recent trip. Capt. Dan Connolly of Capt. Dan’s Fishing Company has had some successful trips in Murrells Inlet of late. “The trout and redfish bite is pretty good with live shrimp, and there is a good bit of juvenile flounder in the creeks,: said Connolly. “That bite is heating up. But there’s still lots of grass on the bottom and hardly any keeper-size flounder.” Connolly says flounder are eating live shrimp and mud minnows, but artificials such as Vudu shrimp are also producing fish.

Inshore

Look For: Spanish mackerel, bluefish, weakfish, whiting, croaker.

Comments: Sunday was an exciting day on the Pier at Garden City with Spanish mackerel making an early appearance. A visitor from Maine landed the first Spanish of the day, a keeper just over the 12-inch minimum size limit. By early afternoon, Mike Sparks of Murrells Inlet and a small group of local anglers had accumulated a dozen keepers. “There are tons of silversides, jelly balls were popping up,” said Pier at Garden City angler Joe Nelligan. “We said probably another week or two (before Spanish show up), and boom here they are. I remember normally second to third week in April. This is the earliest ones I know of.” The piers are also producing plenty of small bluefish and small whiting and croaker. The water temperature at Apache Pier Sunday was 60 degrees. Spanish are also showing up in the vicinity of the near-shore reefs. Capt. Jay Sconyers of Aces Up Fishing hit Paradise Reef on Sunday and had prolific action casting Jigfish artificials. Sconyers estimated his crew caught upwards of 50 bluefish, numerous Spanish including about 12 keepers plus 15 weakfish. A few of the weakfish weighed upwards of four pounds. Sconyers noted a water temperature of 63 degrees at the reef.

Offshore

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

Comments: The best offshore trolling action of the calendar year is getting close, and it’s currently pretty darn good out there. “Right now we’re catching wahoo and blackfin tuna pretty good in the Gulf Stream and it only gets better typically through April,” said Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center. “Fishing is good right now. It’s worth going right now for sure.” Sometime in April, dolphin will join the offshore party, plus catches of yellowfin tuna have increased in the past few years. “Typically, we’ll pick up one or two (dolphin) in early April, and particularly later April for dolphin. First couple weeks of May is the peak for our area for dolphin. That’s all relative to air temperature and water temperature. If it gets cold it will set it back a little bit,” McMullan said. Bottom fishing is good for vermilion snapper, black sea bass, triggerfish and amberjack, but the annual Grouper Spawning Season Closure is in effect until May 1.

The statewide South Carolina Wahoo Series is ongoing and continues through April 17 with boats allowed to fish three separate days during that stretch. Each boat can weigh one wahoo per day and the winner will be determined by the boat with the heaviest two-fish aggregate weight. Weigh-in stations for the wahoo series are Georgetown Landing Marina, Toler’s Cove Marina in Mt. Pleasant and Hilton Head Harbour Marina in Hilton Head Island. A few real monster wahoo have been landed thus far. Kalli Cat of Ridgeville is leading with a 167-pound aggregate including a 99.7-pounder caught on March 14. Reel Labor of Chapin is in second place with a 162.3-pound aggregate including a 119.3-pounder caught on Feb. 11. Adam Brown’s Midnight Rider out of Murrells Inlet is in third with a 126.1-pound aggregate including an 82.4-pounder, and Brown and crew have one more fishing day left.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, bass, catfish, crappie.

Comments: Signs of spring are everywhere along local rivers, from the blooming dogwoods on the banks to the film of pollen on the surface, meaning bass and bream are in pre-spawn mode. A bass tournament was held in conjunction with the Waccamaw Sportsmen’s Expo Saturday in Conway, with Will Hardee of Conway and Conway High School claiming first place in the winner-take-all event. Hardee weighed in a 6-pound, 1 ½- ounce bass to win $1,080. The second-place fish weighed nearly 6 pounds. “Both those bass were in pre-spawn mode,” said Ronald “Catfish” Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle. “The winning fish was caught on a Senko and the second on a Texas-style rigged worm in 13 feet of water on a tree top.”

Stalvey also says bream action is picking up with fish transitioning from deeper areas to the banks in 2-4 feet of water. “I’ve had a lot of people catching them on throw lines in 2-4 feet on bream busters, especially on the warm days when they move up to the edge,” said Stalvey. “They’re still catching them on worms on the bottom too.” Crappie action continues to be good on minnows, but Stalvey says casting and trolling beetle spins has been effective also. “Trolling is the fastest and easiest way to find them,” said Stalvey. Catfish can be found in deep and shallow also. “They are catching them 3-feet deep and in the deep holes,” said Stalvey. “They’re also out roaming around.” Top baits for catfish are eels, shad and large shiners.