Local Fishing Report (Jan. 1)

Estuary

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

Comments: This holiday season has had more of a spring feel to it than early winter, and Jessica Perry of Perry’s Bait and Tackle in Murrells Inlet has noticed some unusual trends. Perry notes whiting have been caught in the back waters of the creeks in the inlet and bluefish have been landed in the inlet. Spotted seatrout and red drum are available as usual, plus flounder are more numerous and active than usual. “This never happens in late December,” said Perry. “Nobody’s setting the world on fire but it’s been so nice they’ve been getting out there catching some fish.” Perry also notes black drum are being caught in good numbers in some areas of the inlet, but the overwhelming majority of them are under the 14- to 27-inch slot limit and must be released. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown encountered murky water, even on high tide, in North Inlet on a Wednesday trip. In Winyah Bay, the water was as dirty as it has been since the historic rain event in October. McDonald had some success with flounder and spotted seatrout using artificials on a rising tide during the trip and observed water temperatures well above average in the upper 60s, approaching 70.

Inshore

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

Comments: Nowhere has the impact of the incredible December weather been more obvious than on Grand Strand piers. Normally by late December, very few species are caught off the piers — mainly spiny dogfish and skates. But the ocean water temperature was a spring-like 64 degrees on Thursday at 1:36 p.m. at Springmaid Pier. The species being caught by pier anglers has been spring-like too, with numerous whiting and black drum landed, along with bluefish, croaker, trout and flounder. Perry reports black drum, sheepshead, tautog and black sea bass are being landed on the near-shore bottom spots. Black sea bass, with a 13-inch minimum size limit and a five-fish per person daily bag limit, can be found on the near-shore spots but most are undersized and must be released. With the warm water, look for black sea bass further offshore in depths of 50 feet and beyond.

Offshore

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

Comments: When 2016 arrives, anglers can't harvest shallow-water grouper species for four months. The annual Shallow-water Grouper Spawning Season Closure is in effect from Jan. 1 through April 30. Under the closure there is a prohibition on recreational and commercial harvest or possession of gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, coney, graysby, yellowfin grouper and yellowmouth grouper. Bottom fishing continues to be excellent and anglers have had ample opportunity to get offshore to catch black sea bass, triggerfish, vermilion snapper, grouper, red porgy, grunts and amberjack during the holidays. With the arrival of the new year comes more seasonal — and windy — weather, though. During the warm stretch of the past three weeks, trolling has produced good catches of wahoo, with a few blackfin tuna and dolphin mixed in. Bluefin tuna remain a possibility for anglers trolling horse ballyhoo in the vicinity of the Knuckle Buoy and the Frying Pan Tower south of Oak Island, N.C.

Freshwater

Look For: Crappie, catfish, bream, bass

Comments: Another heavy rainfall in the Upstate is just what area rivers didn’t need, but exactly what happened earlier this week. The rivers remain up and rising, and angler activity remains down. Once again, crappie continue to be the best bet on the rivers with fish hitting crappie minnows floated around structure.

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Local Fishing Report (Jan. 1)."