Myrtle Beach area fishing report (Dec. 18)

Estuary

Look For: Spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum, tautog, flounder, sheepshead

Comments: Capt. Englis Glover, host of Reelin' Up The Coast, reports numbers of spotted seatrout caught in Murrells Inlet continue to be good but the fish are generally smaller. Glover recommends using the 5-inch Opening Night paddle-tail grubs and a red jig in the inlet, where the water clarity is good. There continues to be dirty, dingy water in the Winyah Bay vicinity, reports Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service. “It's not stained, it's dirty,” said McDonald. “You're running along and look back in your prop water and it's just dirty.” Still, McDonald produced 31 trout in North Inlet on a Sunday trip. The captain also noted a 65-degree water temperature while on the water Wednesday, and feels the fish — including trout and red drum — are in a spring-time mode. “The water hasn't gotten cold enough to bunch 'em up together,” said McDonald. “I caught a ladyfish Saturday.” Look for trout, black drum, tautog, red drum and sheepshead at area jetties. Size limits are 14 inches for trout, a 15- to 23-inch slot limit for red drum, and a 14- to 27-inch slot limit for black drum. There is no size or bag limit for tautog in South Carolina state waters.

Inshore

Look For: Black sea bass, whiting, black drum, weakfish, flounder, bluefish, red drum, croaker

Comments: Tautog have made a strong showing on structures near the beach and the near-shore artificial reefs. Typically found further north, the members of the wrasse family cling close to structures and will hit cut bait, especially fresh shrimp. The reefs are also producing black sea bass, weakfish, flounder and possibly sheepshead. Anglers should remember black sea bass have a 13-inch minimum size limit (five per person daily bag limit) and weakfish have a 12-inch minimum size limit (one per person daily bag limit). Miki Woodward of Rick's Bait and Tackle in Conway reports she has been catching whiting, croaker and weakfish off the Myrtle Beach State Park Pier this week. Also, look for black drum from Grand Strand piers, but the majority of fish are under the 14- to 27-inch slot limit (five per person daily bag limit). The water temperature was 62.8 degrees at 10 a.m. Thursday at Springmaid Pier, up a full two degrees from a week ago.

Offshore

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

Comments: The incredible December weather has made for nice seas and fantastic offshore fishing, both trolling and bottom fishing. Wahoo are leading the charge for trolling boats with blackfin tuna and even some dolphin making a good showing. OIFC.com reports the Reel McCoy found a very hot wahoo bite in 160 feet of water last Saturday and landed 12 wahoo plus a few nice dolphin. The aggregate weight of the wahoo was just under the commercial limit of 500 pounds. On Wednesday, the Painkiller crew's weekly trip out of Murrells Inlet was superb, with an impressive offshore slam. They landed four wahoo ranging in weight from 30-62 pounds, four blackfin weighing between 15-20 pounds and a 32-pound dolphin, all on a short trip that lasted a little less than seven hours. Bottom fishing has also been very good, with excellent catches of grouper, black sea bass and triggerfish. Also look for vermilion snapper, porgy, white grunts and amberjack. Red snapper are also available on bottom spots but must be released indefinitely in the South Atlantic Region. The catch of the week goes to John Dosier of Oak Island Fishing Charters in Brunswick County, N.C., who landed a true giant bluefin tuna Wednesday while fishing near the Knuckle Buoy in the vicinity of Frying Pan Shoals. According to OIFC.com, the bluefin measured 113 inches, weighed approximately 800-900 pounds and is considered to be the largest bluefin ever landed in Brunswick County.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, catfish, bass, crappie

Comments: The water temperature is well above normal for mid-December on the rivers. Conditions in the 59-60 degree range, the fishermen — as well as the fish — have responded. Crappie action is good on the rivers, with fish hitting crappie minnows floated around structure. “They're catching crappie, some up to two pounds,” said Miki Woodward of Rick's Bait and Tackle in Conway. Woodward also notes some anglers continue to catch bream along the banks, working away from the bank to deeper water until finding the fish. As the water eventually cools, look for bream to move to deep holes, hitting nightcrawlers. Catfish action has also picked up.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach area fishing report (Dec. 18)."