Fishing report (Aug. 12, 2016)

Estuary

Look For: Flounder, spotted seatrout, black drum, red drum, sheepshead.

Comments: Action continues to be very good for Capt. Patrick Kelly of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters in the Little River area. Kelly’s clients had a super day Wednesday, catching spotted seatrout in the 2- to 3-pound range on topwater MirrOlures early in the day and also on live shrimp under a popping cork. “If you see finger mullet on the bank and the trout hitting them, use the topwater,” said Kelly. “We’re just walking the dog (with the MirrOlure) and they’ll nail it.” Flounder are also hitting finger mullet on Carolina rigs. Kelly’s cohort, Capt. Greg Holmes, produced a 4.5-pound flounder in the Intracoastal Waterway. Kelly notes small red drum are hitting Berkely Gulp baits such as the white or new penny shrimp. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service in Georgetown made a fly-fisherman happy on Tuesday, hooking him up with trout, reds and ladyfish on a trip in Winyah Bay. McDonald’s customer used shrimp patterns and white and chartreuse clousers. Jessica Perry of Perry’s Bait and Tackle reports spotted seatrout are hitting live shrimp and Vudu shrimp in the inlets south of Murrells Inlet. In Murrells Inlet, look for trout and black drum at the jetties, along with flounder, red drum and sheepshead. Inside the inlet, flounder and black drum are the best bet, with red drum and trout also available.

Inshore

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

Comments: Best bet on the inshore waters is flounder on near-shore artificial reefs such as Paradise Reef, located three miles east of Murrells Inlet, and the Jim Caudle Reef, located three miles south of Little River Inlet. Use live bait such as finger mullet, menhaden or mud minnows fished on either a Carolina rig or jig head, but finger mullet in the 3- to 6-inch size range are a primo bait. Don’t be surprised to catch weakfish on the same rig. Also look for spadefish, black sea bass, Spanish mackerel and possibly king mackerel on the reefs. Overall, Spanish mackerel have been scarce this week in the inshore waters with only scattered catches. Look for Spanish near the reefs, in the vicinity of ocean passes such as Murrells Inlet and Little River, and around schools of bait, if you can find them. Capt. Jeff Maples of Reel Salty Charters reported a balmy water temperature of 85 degrees at Paradise Reef, along with some low-tide readings of a hot 90-91 degrees on a low tide in Murrells Inlet. “The whole water column is warm,” said Maples. There have been scattered catches of Spanish, bluefish, whiting, croaker, flounder, black drum and pompano on Grand Strand piers, but action overall is slow. Pier anglers are counting down the days to cooler weather and great fall fishing that will arrive in 4-5 weeks. Ocean water temperature at Springmaid Pier was 85.3 degrees Thursday at 10 a.m.

Offshore

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

Comments: Bottom fishing is clearly the best option in offshore waters, and head to depths of approximately 80 to 110 feet for best catches on ledges. Catches of grouper, especially scamp, have been good along with amberjack, vermilion snapper, black sea bass, porgy and triggerfish. Conditions haven’t been the greatest this week, and few boats have tried their hand at trolling. Trolling boats typically target wahoo in August, with king mackerel, blackfin tuna, sailfish, barracuda and bonito also available. Red snapper are off-limits in the South Atlantic region and must be released.

Freshwater

Look For: Bream, catfish, bass.

Comments: Higher water and hot weather have slowed the fishing a bit on local rivers, but there are still fish to be caught. “It’s slowed down a little bit because of the weather and people not going, but the people that are going are catching them,” said ‘Catfish’ Stalvey of Stalvey’s Bait and Tackle in Conway. Stalvey reports good catches of bream in 5 to 8 feet of water hitting mainly crickets, but worms will work too. “All the big fish are down deep,” said Stalvey. “If you fish shallow, you’re going to catch a bunch of small bream.” Stalvey also notes bass, most in the 1-pound range with some up to two pounds, are hitting spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and plastic worms, plus crankbaits. Catfish are hitting fresh, cut eels and black saltys.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Fishing report (Aug. 12, 2016)."