Local fishing report (Aug. 20)

Estuary

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

Comments: “Fishing's fairly good,” said Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown. “We're starting to see the water cool down a little bit, to 83-84 degrees. When it cools down a little more I think we're going to see a burst in trout.” McDonald has had some success this week with reds, trout and flounder, but continues to see above average activity of sharks in Winyah Bay and North Inlet. In Murrells Inlet, flounder continue to be the top catch, with reds and black drum also available. Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters in Little River reports good catches of black drum on live shrimp inside the inlet. Tarpon are available in areas from Winyah Bay and south.

Inshore

Look For: Spanish mackerel, flounder, bluefish, whiting, pompano, black drum, croaker, spadefish, weakfish, sheepshead.

Comments: With relatively calm seas, Capt. Mark Dickson of Shallow-Minded Inshore Charters in Little River has had a super week fishing the near-shore artificial reefs while dodging rainstorms. Dickson has used finger mullet to work the Ron McManus and Jim Caudle reefs to catch plenty of flounder, but also weakfish, black sea bass and sharks. “We've been catching 4-7 keeper flounder a trip,” said Dickson, who has also live-chummed Spanish mackerel and caught them on top-water lures. Spadefish are also available on the reefs. Also look for Spanish in the vicinity of inlet passes. Top catches this week off Grand Strand piers have been Spanish mackerel and flounder, with bluefish, whiting, croaker, weakfish, pompano, black drum and sheepshead also available. The ocean water temperature was 85.20 degrees at 5:45 p.m. Thursday at 2nd Ave. Pier.

Offshore

Look For: Wahoo, blackfin tuna, dolphin, grouper, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, porgy.

Comments: The wahoo bite has simply been excellent over the last week and, for once, the offshore marine forecast looks great. A pair of Murrells Inlet boats had super catches this week led by a huge haul of seven wahoo aboard the Underdog. Capt. Shawn Thomas notes his crew has produced 31 wahoo in the boat's last six trips. On Wednesday, the Painkiller crew with Dr. Jason Rosenberg and Capt. Jay Sconyers aboard produced four wahoo on a quick trip offshore. Boats have also brought in scattered catches of blackfin tuna. Bottom fishing continues to be excellent for grouper, including scamp, black sea bass, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, porgy and grunts. Red snapper continue to be caught occasionally but must be released indefinitely in the South Atlantic Region.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, catfish, bass, crappie.

Comments: Bream and catfish continue to be the best bet on the rivers. This week, rainy weather has slowed down the number of anglers trying their luck. Kelly Woodward of Rick's Bait and Tackle in Conway noted a pair of anglers produced 47 bream on a trip this week. Bream can be found a touch shallower as the water temperature has cooled a bit in the last week. Look for bream in 2-4 feet of water hitting mainly crickets, though red worms will work too. The reliable catfish will hit a variety of live and cut baits, including cut mullet and eels. Woodward notes river levels continue to be low, especially on the Little Pee Dee. “The Little Pee Dee is too low to fish,” said Kelly Woodward of Rick's Bait and Tackle. “Some of the markers are actually laying down. We need some more rain.”

Gregg Holshouser

This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Local fishing report (Aug. 20)."