Fishing report (Aug. 5, 2016)

Estuary

Look For: Black drum, flounder, red drum, spotted seatrout, sheepshead.

Comments: Capt. Patrick Kelly of Capt. Smiley Fishing Charters in Little River produced an inshore slam of numerous species on Thursday with seven spotted seatrout, three red drum, plus flounder, black drum and ladyfish. Kelly has caught red drum on finger mullet and Berkeley Gulp artificials, trout on Gulp artificials and shrimp and black drum on live shrimp on the bottom. Kelly noted a water temperature of 84 degrees and pretty water on a mid-morning high tide on Wednesday and Thursday. “There was just beautiful water in Tubbs Inlet and Little River Inlet, as nice as it gets,” Kelly said. “The last few days have been wonderful.” A crew fishing with Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown caught eight black drum and a pair of reds while fishing cut shrimp, live shrimp and peanut pogeys in the edge of the grass banks in Winyah Bay. McDonald noted a balmy water temperature of 86-87 degrees. McDonald also noted the presence of numerous sharks, including some big bull sharks he has tangled with, in the Winyah Bay vicinity. “We've got more sharks than we’ve got fish,” said McDonald, only half-joking. Tarpon are also roaming Winyah Bay and areas south. Capt. Jeff Maples of Reel Salty Charters has caught flounder and black drum in the creeks of Murrells Inlet but was hampered by the presence of masses of jellyfish early this week. “There were literally thousands of jellyfish in Oaks Creek,” Maples said. “It’s unreal. You don’t even want to throw the cast net.”

Inshore

Look For: Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, whiting, flounder, weakfish, black sea bass, spadefish, pompano, black drum.

Comments: A westerly wind most of the week has caused choppy seas, keeping Maples away from the near-shore reefs. As an alternative, Maples has stayed close to the beach and has found weakfish, also known as summer trout or gray trout, on hard-bottom areas near the beach. Maples has caught fish anywhere from 12 to 18 inches long recently. A variety of baits will catch weakfish, including cut mullet or bluefish, shrimp or even soft-plastic grubs. But remember weakfish have a one-fish per person daily bag limit and a 12-inch minimum size limit. When conditions permit, numerous species can be found on or roaming around the near-shore reefs including flounder, spadefish, weakfish, black sea bass, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. Also look for Spanish mackerel in the vicinity of ocean passes such as Murrells Inlet and Little River, and around schools of bait. Bait, however, has been scarce along the beach. Kings are most likely to be found on bottom spots in depths of 50 feet and beyond. On Grand Strand piers, there have been scattered catches of Spanish, bluefish, whiting, flounder, black drum and pompano. Ocean water temperature at Springmaid Pier was 82.0 degrees Thursday at 3:54 p.m.

Offshore

Look For: Grouper, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, porgy, triggerfish, grunts, amberjack, wahoo, blackfin tuna, dolphin, sailfish.

Comments: Bottom fishing continues to be the best option in offshore waters with a variety of species available, led by grouper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, porgy and triggerfish. With the surface water temperature well into the 80s, head to depths beyond 75 feet for best catches. The fish are scattered for trolling boats, but the wahoo bite is traditionally decent in August with king mackerel, dolphin, blackfin tuna, sailfish, barracuda and bonito also possibilities. Red snapper are off limits in the South Atlantic region and must be released.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, catfish, bass.

Comments: With the August’s dog days here, fishing has slowed a bit in the rivers, reports Catfish Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. “It’s slowed down a little bit but they’re still catching some good fish,” said Stalvey.”The water’s warm and back on the rise.” Stalvey himself hit the Great Pee Dee River over the weekend and quickly caught a limit of bream, including redbreast, bluegill and morgans, fishing crickets six-feet deep. Stalvey also noted good catches of catfish on the rivers. “The catfish bite has been tremendous on live eels, goldfish and black salties,” said Stalvey. Bass are hitting plastic worms and spinnerbaits, especially early and late in the day.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Fishing report (Aug. 5, 2016)."