Local fishing report (July 16)

Estuary

▪ Look For | Flounder, red drum, spotted seatrout, black drum, sheepshead.

▪ Comments | Capt. Shannon Currie of Catch-1 Charters in Murrells Inlet has had success with over-slot red drum and flounder in the creeks of the inlet this week. Currie has used menhaden and cut mullet to catch the reds, which were in the 26-37 inch range. South Carolina’s slot limit for red drum is 15-23 inches and three fish per person. Currie also has landed flounder on finger mullet. ``It’s been decent, the bite’s been fair,’’ said Currie, who noted action at the Murrells Inlet jetties has been slow. Flounder action can be excellent, as Capt. Jason Burton of Fly Girl Charters in Murrells Inlet produced 20 keepers in four hours on a Tuesday trip. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown has been doing some bottom-fishing in the Winyah Bay vicinity for his customers this week, using cut shrimp for bait in depths of 9 to 14 feet. On Wednesday, McDonald produced nine flounder and plenty of croaker and whiting. McDonald called some of the croaker and whiting ``filet-sized.’’

Inshore

▪ Look For | Spanish mackerel, bluefish, king mackerel, cobia, flounder, whiting, pompano, croaker, black drum, spadefish.

▪ Comments | Ronnie Goodwin of Cherry Grove Pier reports flounder catches were very good Saturday through Monday with numerous fish between 16 and 21 inches landed. A 20-plus pound king mackerel was also landed on Monday from the pier. Otherwise, Goodwin notes a few black drum, whiting and spadefish have been caught this week. Regular Surfside Pier angler Adam Kuryea says action has been slow on the pier, with mainly a few keeper flounder (14-inch minimum size) caught. ``We haven’t done much of anything this week,’’ said Kuryea. In general, it has been a slow week for Spanish, but look for fish around inlet passes and near hard-bottom areas and near-shore artificial reefs. Also look for black sea bass, spadefish, flounder and weakfish on the reefs, and possibly kings and cobia. Jeff Maples of Reel Salty Charters of Murrells Inlet produced a 20-plus pound cobia this week. Ocean Isle Fishing Center (www.oifc.com) reports angler Patrick Prince landed a similar size cobia from the 70-foot Hole Sunday.

Offshore

▪ Look For | Wahoo, dolphin, blackfin tuna, sailfish, blue marlin, grouper, black sea bass, vermilion snapper, porgy, triggerfish, grunts, amberjack.

▪ Comments | Capt. Shawn Thomas of Underdog out of Murrells Inlet had mixed results on a Saturday trip. Trolling produced only bites from barracuda so the crew broke out the bottom-fishing gear and caught the usual reef species including vermilion snapper, black sea bass and triggerfish. Also look for grouper, amberjack, porgy and grunts on bottom trips. Trolling can also produce wahoo, dolphin, blackfin tuna, blue marlin and sailfish, but catches are scattered. Thomas is looking forward to mid-August when the wahoo bite typically heats back up. Red snapper are off-limits indefinitely in the South Atlantic Region and must be released.

Freshwater

▪ Look For | Bream, catfish, bass, crappie, stripers.

▪ Comments | Local rivers are in the summertime mode, the rivers are low and nothing has happened to change that over the last week, reports Rick Woodward of Rick’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. The saltwater continues to push up the lower end of the rivers where red drum and stripers remain a distinct possibility. ``They’re starting to catch a few more stripers than they normally would,’’ said Woodward. Otherwise, look for bream along the banks anywhere from 2 to 6 feet of water, hitting crickets or worms. Catfish action is good on live bait or a variety of cut bait, including eels and shad.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Local fishing report (July 16)."