Fishing report (Jan. 8)

Estuary

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

Comments: On Dec. 30, Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service witnessed a water temperature of 69 degrees in North Inlet at the peak of a warm spell during the last week of December stretching into the first few days of 2016. Five days later, on Tuesday after the coldest air of the fall and winter arrived, McDonald returned to North Inlet and observed a reading of 47 degrees. Quite a drastic change. “I think this is probably going to straighten (the fish) out and put them in their winter pattern, which they haven't been in yet,” said McDonald. “The water temperature will probably settle out at about 58 degrees and start dropping gradually unless we have another big hot or cold spell.” With the drastic drop in temperature and water he called “extremely muddy,” McDonald has had a hard time getting fish to bite in North Inlet and Winyah Bay. McDonald did have a solid trip on Sunday, producing 10 spotted seatrout and 12 red drum south of Georgetown. Most fish were caught on floated live shrimp. Jessica Perry of Perry's Bait and Tackle in Murrells Inlet reports angler activity went down when the cold weather arrived. With the water temperature in the lower-to-mid 50s, plenty of species remain active in the inlet including trout, red drum, black drum and flounder. Capt. Jason Burton of Fly Girl Charters had a nice catch of trout in the inlet on Monday, the day the cold front arrived. Look for trout, black drum, sheepshead and tautog at area jetties.

Inshore

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

Comments: At midweek, a few whiting, croaker, black drum and silver perch were still being landed off Grand Strand piers. The water temperature at Springmaid Pier had dropped to a more seasonal 56.1 degrees Thursday at 3:48 p.m. On near-shore bottom spots, look for black sea bass, tautog, sheepshead and possibly flounder. The water temperature has been too warm for many keeper black sea bass to move onto the near-shore spots, but as the temperature drops in the coming weeks they should begin to show up. For now, most black sea bass found on the near-shore reefs are under the 13-inch minimum size limit.

Offshore

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

Comments: Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle Fishing Center reports some of the best king mackerel fishing of the year came in late December and early January. “Fifteen miles off the beach we were catching king mackerel just as hard as you could go — 30-plus pound fish,” said McMullan. “Those fish will hang there until the water temperature is in the low to mid 60s, and it was 68-70 degrees.” Dead cigar minnows are all that has been needed to catch the kings. Further out, near the Continental Shelf in about 150 feet of water, wahoo action was very good before the cold front arrived early this week. “The wahoo fishing was outstanding, a lot of fish over 50 pounds,” said McMullan. “Up and down the Continental Shelf, it didn't make much difference where.” The annual Shallow-Water Grouper Spawning Season Closure went into effect when 2016 arrived and lasts through April 30. There are still excellent catches of black sea bass, vermilion snapper, triggerfish, red porgy, grunts and amberjack being brought in by bottom-fishing anglers. Large black sea bass, well above the 13-inch minimum size limit, remain in deep water. “We'll see more good fish in the 50 to 80 foot range as it cools off,” said McMullan.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, catfish, bass, crappie.

Comments: It's more of the same in 2016 on area rivers. After last week's deluge in South Carolina, especially across the Midlands and the Upstate, there has been another substantial rise in the rivers. On Thursday at 3 p.m., the Waccamaw River at Conway was at 12.05 feet and entering moderate flood stage. The river is expected to slowly recede in the next several days. The Little Pee Dee at Galivants Ferry was just below moderate flood stage at 10.6 feet. The Santee River at Jamestown was just above major flood stage at 22.82 feet and dropping. Obviously, the water is way up in the woods on the rivers which puts a real damper on fishing. Best bets are catfish hitting cut bait such as eels or mullet, and crappie on brush and other structure hitting crappie minnows.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Fishing report (Jan. 8)."