Area fishing report (Sept. 11)
Estuary
Look For: Red drum, spotted seatrout, flounder, black drum, sheepshead.
Comments: Very good late summer fishing is here, even before the first cold front arrives and with the official arrival of fall still almost two weeks away. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown had a super trip on Thursday, catching two red drum over 40 inches and four reds measuring between 22 and 28 inches. McDonald’s crew also added six trout and two flounder to the catch to complete a Carolina Slam. McDonald used finger mullet on floats and Carolina rigs to catch the fish. “It looks like everything is kind of breaking loose,” said McDonald, who noted a water temperature of 82 degrees. “There are plenty of shrimp in the bay.” Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters had a very good trip on Wednesday in the Little River area with good catches of red drum, mainly over South Carolina’s 15-23 inch slot limit. Kelly also produced a nice catch of flounder. At area jetties look for reds, trout, black drum and sheepshead, with Spanish mackerel and bluefish in the vicinity. Tarpon are available in areas from Winyah Bay and south.
Inshore
Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, flounder, bluefish, whiting, pompano, black drum, croaker, spadefish, weakfish, sheepshead.
Comments: It's time to hit the beach. Fishing has been simply superb near the beach and at the near-shore artificial reefs this week. Spanish mackerel, with a few kings and cobia mixed in, have been showing up well in both areas. On Thursday, Jeff Maples of Reel Salty Fishing Charters had a superb day, live-chumming finger mullet at the Paradise Reef (Three-Mile Reef) to catch numerous Spanish in the 3-4 pound range, with the smallest 16 inches. Then, surprise, surprise, surprise! “We were getting ready to go in and the dolphin hit,” said Maples. Indeed, a dolphin just over the 20-inch minimum size limit had taken one of the finger mullet to cap the trip, a true rarity that close to shore. Maples also hit a hard-bottom area off Surfside Beach and landed several weakfish (summer trout) in the 15-17 inch range and whiting on cut mullet. Water clarity was superb along the beach for a few days earlier this week and the catches showed it. Steve of Cherry Grove Pier reports a pair of large cobia were landed with a few more under the 33 inch minimum size limit released. On Tuesday it was king mackerel day at Cherry Grove, with three landed including a 31-pound, 12-ounce specimen caught by pier regular Charlie Love of Pittsboro, N.C. Last Saturday, local angler RJ Green landed a 25.6-pound king mackerel off Springmaid Pier. It’s also been a good week off the piers for Spanish, whiting, flounder and croaker. Anglers should be sure to distinguish between large Spanish mackerel and juvenile king mackerel, and weakfish and spotted seatrout before harvesting the fish.
Offshore
Look For: Wahoo, blackfin tuna, dolphin, grouper, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, amberjack, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy.
Comments: Wahoo continue to be the main target for trolling boats in areas along the break such as the Winyah Scarp, Blackjack Hole and Georgetown Hole. Most boats are having multiple bites and landed a few wahoo per trip. Trolling is also producing scattered catches of king mackerel, barracuda and blackfin tuna, with just the occasional dolphin. Bottom fishing is very good for grouper, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, red porgy, triggerfish, grunts and amberjack. Red snapper are off-limits indefinitely in the South Atlantic region and must be released.
Freshwater
Look For: Bream, catfish, bass, crappie.
Comments: “It’s the same old, same old, just bream fishing and a few catfish,” said Rick Woodward of Rick’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. “We’ve got some cold temperatures forecast and that may make a change in what the bream do, maybe congregating in deeper water and pulling off the hill.” River levels have come up thanks to recent rains, and action should be good after the cold front comes through Sunday. For now, look for bream in 2-4 feet of water, hitting crickets or red worms. Use cut eels or mullet to land catfish.
Gregg Holshouser
This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Area fishing report (Sept. 11)."