Local fishing report (Aug. 13)
Estuary
Look For: Flounder, spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum, sheepshead, bluefish, ladyfish.
Comments: It’s been a week of variety for Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown, fishing in Winyah Bay. On Tuesday, McDonald’s crew boated some quality fish including a three-pound trout, five-pound flounder and four-pound tripletail. On Thursday, McDonald produced a 9-pound red drum and a tagged red at the upper end of South Carolina’s 15-23 inch slot limit to go with a few black drum, trout and flounder. McDonald used finger mullet and noted the water temperature Thursday was 85 degrees, up 2-3 degrees from earlier in the week. “It’s decent for this time of year,” said McDonald. Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Inshore Charters has fished Tubbs Inlet and Tilghman Point in the Little River area to produce reds, black drum, flounder and a few trout, using finger mullet on floats and Carolina rigs. “It’s been a good week,” said Kelly. “It’s been a really good flounder summer.” Both captains noted finger mullet are plentiful in their areas. Tarpon are available in areas from Winyah Bay and south.
Inshore
Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, flounder, bluefish, whiting, croaker, pompano, spadefish, black sea bass.
Comments: Catches of Spanish mackerel picked up significantly along the beach late in the week. Look for Spanish in the vicinity of inlet passes such as Little River and Murrells Inlet, along the beach and at near-shore artificial reefs. It’s also been a solid week of fishing on Grand Strand piers, with good catches of flounder and Spanish along with a 26-pound, 8-ounce king mackerel landed on the Apache Pier Saturday. Plenty of other species are possibilities on the piers including bluefish, whiting, croaker, weakfish, pompano, black drum and sheepshead. Spadefish remain a fixture on the near-shore reefs, with flounder, black sea bass and weakfish also around. Be ready in case big Spanish, a king or cobia make an appearance. Sharks are also plentiful on the reefs, including some huge tigers and hammerheads. The ocean water temperature was a balmy 86.09 degrees at 6 p.m. at 2nd Ave. Pier.
Offshore
Look For: Wahoo, blackfin tuna, king mackerel, dolphin, blue marlin, grouper, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, red porgy, amberjack, triggerfish.
Comments: The wahoo bite has been very good offshore when conditions allow boats to get out there. One of the top catches of the week came aboard Underdog out of Murrells Inlet with four sizable wahoo including a 49-pounder. Four boats out of Georgetown Landing Marina headed offshore on Sunday and produced a total of 13 wahoo and three blackfin, plus Strike Zone released a blue marlin. Chris Conklin of Seven Seas Seafood reports king mackerel are hitting dead baits on the Continental Shelf edge and also can be found in the Parking Lot vicinity. As for bottom fishing, Conklin reports vermilion snapper, black sea bass and grouper catches have been good this week. Red snapper are off limits and must be released in the South Atlantic. Joey Mosakowski of Myrtle Beach did just that – released a “genuine” red snapper in the 20-pound class this week. Mosakowski had great catch of vermilion snapper and porgy on the same trip.
Freshwater
Look For: Bream, catfish, bass, crappie, stripers.
Comments: Not much has changed on the rivers, with bream and catfish dominating the catches. Look for bream in 2-5 feet of water hitting mainly crickets, although red worms will work also. For those who prefer artificials, popping bugs will work also. With water temperatures in the upper 80s, fish a little deeper, in the 4-5 foot range, to find larger bream. Catfish will take a variety of baits including cut eels, cut shad and cut mullet. River levels continue to be very low and boaters should beware.
Gregg Holshouser
This story was originally published August 13, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Local fishing report (Aug. 13)."