October 9
Morning surface water temperatures are about 78 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound.
The south end of the South Carolina coast naturally peaks later than the north end, but so far it hasn’t been easy inshore fishing this October. Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that’s largely due to the wind blowing out of the northeast every day as well as king tides from the moon.
Once again Captain Trent repeats that clean water has been much better for catching redfish, but with a bit of a twist this week. Clean water has been essential for fishing live bait, but this week cut mullet have actually been working the best for him. Cleaner water is still better for cut bait, but it doesn’t have to be the clearest.
On high tide there has been too much water, and on low tide too little, so the middle of the tide has typically been the best. Most of his spots are broken shells with sand, rather than live shells in mud, because muddy areas are typically dirtiest. It’s also easier to anchor mullet chunks on the bottom over scattered shells than live ones.
With persistently warm temperatures and dirty water trout are still a rarity, but they are now catching a few bull reds in the middle of the sound when the shore bite is slow. They are taking big mullet chunks.
Our apologies for the sporadic fishing reports in recent weeks. We will do everything we can to get back on track with weekly updates, but one of our children is getting through a significant health challenge which has occupied a great deal of our time and kept us out of work.
September 26
Morning surface water temperatures are about 81 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound.
Signs of fall are all around in the Hilton Head area, and in particular Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that in the sounds giant schools of mullet are gathering, seemingly in preparation for migration. Blacktip and spinner sharks are blowing them up, and they are getting some strikes on poppers but mostly the fish are pulling the hooks.
Inshore the best bite for redfish (trout are still scarce) continues to be on high water either incoming or outgoing when the water is cleaner. On higher tides they are fishing along grass lines with heavy live shells and live bait. They are catching a few fish on shrimp but in general picker fish are too much of a hassle, and so finger mullet, smaller pinfish, and menhaden are working the best. With the right clients they are also getting some redfish on swimbaits, jigs, and topwater lures. They are also seeing some jack crevalle but at this point they are very educated after a summer of being targeted.
On low tide they are basically forced to fish cut mullet in the dirtier water and generally only catching smaller fish.
More trout should show up once temperatures actually cool.
September 12
Morning surface water temperatures are about 79 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and very strong fall tides are creating challenging fishing conditions.
This is almost certainly not the last time you will hear him say this, but Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that the absolute key to catching redfish inshore right now is finding clean water. Overall nothing has been steady or the same from day to day, and fish are moving around a lot, but the one constant is that it’s much better fishing when the water is clear. Generally that has meant the higher tides either coming in or going out. Live menhaden and finger mullet have been the best bait, and grass lines with heavy live shell have been most consistent. At low tide in dirty water they are picking up a few fish on cut mullet chunks.
There are very few trout around but still a few nice tripletails.
In the rivers and sounds, Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that there are still a fair number of tarpon around but they are not biting very consistently. There are also bull red drum moving into the Port Royal Sound and Calibogue Sound, and on slower moving water they are doing pretty well.
August 28
Morning surface water temperatures are about 84 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and after a deluge of rain and massive tides salinity levels and water clarity are returning to normal.
Inshore redfish are less affected by changes in salinity levels than other species like trout or tarpon, and Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that the fishing was actually pretty consistent until the new moon even with murky water. That brought massive high tides, and more water movement moves the fish a little and gets the water even dirtier – making the fishing more challenging. With weaker tides and less freshwater inflow conditions are only just getting good again.
Recently Captain Trent has mostly been targeting points and isolated patches of grass for reds. The best bite has come on the high, incoming tide when the water is cleaner, but as the water clears the bite window is expanding. Finger mullet have been the best bait but Gulp! shrimp are also working.
Trent notes that he is also seeing some schools of jack crevalle.
It’s a similar story from Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475), who notes that it’s been a tough couple weeks but the fishing is just starting to turn around for the same reasons Trent notes (less freshwater, weaker tides on quarter moon phases). In the rivers and sounds he is targeting bull reds and tarpon, and bait has been coming in waves. For a few days they were excited to have really big mullet, but now it’s mostly smaller bait again. In general the best action for both tarpon and big reds has been in deeper water around 40 feet deep.
August 15
Morning surface water temperatures are about 84 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and visibility has dropped significantly.
It’s been a tale of two weeks in Hilton Head, and Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that last week was pretty outstanding with tarpon, bull reds, and jacks. But this week the fishing has been very slow in the rivers and sounds since the rain started in earnest, and now the water is basically like a mud puddle. Northeast wind and wave have churned it up, the full moon tides didn’t seem to help, and all that combined with the freshwater inflow has made things surprisingly tough.
As a result Captain Kai has had to fish inshore and do something he doesn’t love to do this time of year, but luckily floating cut mullet under a cork in the grass for reds has been pretty effective. They have also caught some fish over shell flats with the same technique.
After spending about a week fishing the lagoon, this week Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) was back inshore and reports that redfish are devouring shrimp right now. They are chasing blow-ups and finding fish super shallow that are pursuing shrimp. With too many little fish around to use live shrimp they are throwing Gulp! shrimp on a ¼ ounce jighead, as well as fishing live finger mullet with and without a ¼ ounce split shot and a 3/0 circle hook. The high, outgoing tide when water is cleaner has been the best.
Additionally, first thing they are catching some ladyfish and trout walking the dog with topwater baits.
August 1
Morning surface water temperatures are about 87 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and bait is everywhere.
The inshore bite has been just as hot as the weather this week in the Hilton Head area, and Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that right now everything seems to be feeding on shrimp. When they catch redfish almost without exception they have shrimp tentacles hanging out of their mouths, and the common denominator in where they are locating fish is over broken shell bottoms which are holding shrimp.
The low, rising tide has been the best time to catch fish this week, and that seems to be largely a function of water temperature. With low falling in the morning the water is much cooler, and there is a noticeable slowdown in the afternoon when everything heats up. The fishing is also much better in clean, green water.
Despite the fish feeding so well on shrimp they are basically impossible to fish with because of all the bait stealers around, and finger mullet and small pinfish continue to be key. But finger mullet also attract skates, while pinfish get the right bites almost all the time.
Redfish continue to be Captain Trent’s mainstay, but they have been picking up some trout in the same areas. Right now there same to be less bonnetheads than usual and more sand tiger sharks cruising the flats and grass patches.
Trent’s boat has also still been catching a few tripletail in the grass while looking for redfish. They won’t chase live bait, but if you throw a chunk of cut bait to them they will take it.
The Lowcountry Tarpon Open is going on today and tomorrow, and Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) will be out there trying to catch a silver king. But unfortunately this week the bite in the rivershas been a little tougher, and while they have seen plenty of tarpon rolling the bull reds and tarpon have not been biting very well. Basically they are catching lots of sharks, and even though they aren’t Captain Kai’s favorite target they provide so much excitement to families that it evens out.
They have also seen good numbers of Spanish jumping in the Chechessee River.
July 22
Morning surface water temperatures are about 86 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and bait is everywhere.
It’s been another good week of inshore fishing in the Hilton Head area, and Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that the bite has been especially good in the mornings. They continue to catch very few trout but the redfish action has been strong.
Live bait has been tough to keep alive with the hot water, and finger mullet and menhaden have been sluggish and not swimming very well. There have also been too many little fish for shrimp to be productive, and so Captain Trent has mostly been fishing with small pinfish about the size of a silver dollar. They are hearty even in the hot live well and reds are crushing them.
The best spots have been broken shell bottoms because they are holding a lot of shrimp right now, and just about every red you catch has shrimp tentacles hanging out of its mouth. The outgoing tide has been best, in part because it has been early but also because even cooler water warms up fast when it fills in over hot mud flats that have been baking in the sun.
Trent’s boat has also been catching a few tripletail in the grass while looking for redfish. They won’t chase live bait, but if you throw a chunk of cut bait to them they will take it. He is avoiding mullet chunks on the lower tides because rays are prolific and find it faster than the reds, while they pretty much ignore the pinfish.
In the Broad River this week Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that a few tarpon have been caught, but he expects that bite to get much better around and after the new moon in the next few days. For now he has been having the most success inside the river fishing for big Spanish mackerel in the 4-pound range on the top of the tide. They are taking live menhaden on wire rigs, and they are also picking up ladyfish and medium-sized bluefish the same way.
Yesterday they fished nearshore at a sunken ship about two miles off the beach with live bait and caught a few Spanish but tons of 15-20 inch bluefish. They caught them on every cast and finally left them biting. They also caught a small cobia.
Finally, they have also been catching bull reds on the offshore rips again. Cut bait has been out-fishing live bait.
We apologize that these reports are running a few days behind – the author had some unexpected issues in his other job arise.
July 10
Morning surface water temperatures are about 85 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and bait is everywhere.
After a couple of challenging weeks inshore, Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) is very pleased to report that the fishing has dramatically improved this week and basically gotten back to normal. This week most tides have been productive but the best action has come fishing over broken shell bottoms, and Captain Trent speculates those areas are holding shrimp. But that’s no good as bait because you will get eaten up by small fish, and most of his redfish action is coming on mullet chunks this week – whether fishing in the grass at high tide or on the mud flats at low tide. Even when the little guys try to nibble at the mullet it is durable until something better comes along – you just have to put up with some rays. He’s also using a little bit of live bait, mostly finger mullet, because menhaden are having a tough time staying alive.
They are also catching a few fish very early when it is cooler throwing swimbaits.
In the Broad River this week Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that that Spanish mackerel and ladyfish are still around tidal rips in 10-20 feet of water with live bait, but on the outgoing tide the bite really slows down. As the incoming lasts later into the morning the window should get bigger again. They also picked up a smaller cobia on Spanish rigs this week, so they have not left.
But the tarpon have been really good the past couple days, and each day they have brought several to the boat. They are able to catch them without setting up in really deep water by targeting bait schools as well as well as areas where they notice them rolling. Live mullet have been working the best.
And with the wind laying down a little better this week they have also been able to target the bull reds on the offshore rips again. Cut bait has been out-fishing live bait.
July 3
Morning surface water temperatures are about 86 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound.
Wind has limited fishing options this week, but Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) feels lucky to have found a fantastic bite in the Broad River for mostly jumbo-sized Spanish mackerel. The fish are around tidal rips and they are taking live bait (small menhaden) fished under a cork. Most of the action is in 10-20 feet of water, and the fish have been biting on the incoming tide but as low tides get later they should also feed on the outgoing. On light spinning tackle the fish are a ton of fun, and the by-catch of ladyfish are also an exciting fish – that love to put on an aerial show.
It’s been too windy to easily target tarpon in the rivers this week, although there have been a couple caught, and the most productive way to fish for them has been setting up in deep water. But Kai hasn’t had any interest in mostly fishing through a bunch of sharks and hoping for a tarpon.
The other thing Captain Kai has been doing this week, when conditions allow, is targeting bull reds on the offshore rips. Live and cut menhaden have been working.
Inshore, Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that the bite has been a little off for him this week. The water had been clearing up after the giant new moon tides last week, and the bite was getting better, but then the wind started up Monday afternoon and the fishing got a lot tougher. On lower tides in the morning they have been catching a few redfish and some small trout early, but then the wind picks up and the fishing slows. The best fishing has undoubtably been at high tide when the water is cleaner, even though it is hotter.
Captain Trent is mostly fishing finger mullet and mullet chunks in the grass.
June 27
Morning surface water temperatures are about 86 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound.
With super high new moon tides it has been a much more difficult week for inshore fishing around Hilton Head, and Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that he is ready to get back on a cycle with more moderate tides. Basically the entire name of the game this week has been searching for relatively clear pockets of water, which are very hard to find outside of high tide. The water has been so dirty that they have not caught any trout this week, and most redfish have come at higher tides when clarity is better. They are basically just banging along the bank and stopping where it looks the cleanest and there is bait. They are having some really good moments when everything is right, but really having to work to find them.
The best action for redfish has come with live bite on high tide, and they are also catching a few jack crevalle and ladyfish on live bait and artificials. At low tide it’s pretty much all cut bait fishing, and the catch is mostly sharks. They can bring blacktip sharks up to about 15 pounds to the boat but much bigger usually breaks off on inshore tackle.
In a similar vein, Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that one other pattern for redfish that has sometimes been productive is (again) fishing at higher tides with cut mullet. When fish are up in the grass swimming around and eating bait then anchoring cut mullet in areas like creek mouths that fish use as an entrance to move onto the flats has been picking up some fish.
Beyond that little bit of inshore action, Captain Kai has continued to look in the rivers and sounds for tarpon, jack crevalle, and bull reds but found the better action on the offshore rips. Leading up to the new moon fish were in the rivers following bait, but as soon as the new moon arrived and then passed they moved out again. Live menhaden on the bottom and under floats have been the best bait for all three species.
June 19
Morning surface water temperatures are about 83 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound.
The inshore fishing has been better this week around Hilton Head, and Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) reports that on both the rising and falling tide action has been good – as long as water is moving. He is still doing a lot of riding around chasing clean water, as the fishing is also generally better in clearer conditions. There is nothing special about the spots he is fishing – just the presence of current and (hopefully) clear water.
Live bait has been the most productive for a mix of species, although on low tide both live finger mullet and cut mullet have been working for redfish. Additionally they are picking up a few flounder, smaller blacktip sharks, and bonnethead sharks.
However, the most exciting catch this week was a 6 ½ pound trout caught yesterday. It was caught on a 6-inch live menhaden fished over oyster shells. His boat has actually caught a decent number of big trout this week, to go along a with a better than average grade of redfish. It seems that bigger baits are attracting bigger fish!
Meanwhile, Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that in the rivers and sounds the full moon brought in the tarpon and they are now in a number of different places. All the live bottom spots in the Port Royal Sound which are generally in about 35 feet are holding fish, although they can be a parking lot. The fish don’t bite until the current slows down and so you often have to get there long before the area is fishable to get a good place. Additionally, there are big menhaden schools in the Broad, Chechessee and Calibogue and these are a magnet for tarpon as well as jack crevalle. Further, small cobia now seem to be staying in the Broad all summer.
In the inlets you can also catch abundant whiting on shrimp and sharks on cut bait, but one of the most exciting bites on Captain Kai’s boat has been at the offshore sand bars. On cut bait and even live bait under floats he is catching bull reds.
June 11
Morning surface water temperatures are about 81 degrees at the mouth of Port Royal Sound and the water conditions have varied this week.
It’s been a tougher week for inshore fishing this week around Hilton Head, and Captain Trent Malphrus with Palmetto Lagoon Charters (843-301-4634) thinks the weather has a lot to do with the up-and-down bite. Very high tides have probably not helped either.
Redfish have not liked the heavy rain and wind, but in between storms if you can stay in clean water the bite has been pretty steady. No particular type of spot has produced more than others, as the key this week has been finding the clean water. Generally that has meant fishing higher tides.
When the water is clean live bait has been working the best, while when it’s dirty cut bait has been more effective. Captain Trent has been alternating between menhaden and finger mullet depending on what is available.
While trout have been exceedingly rare, Trent notes that bonnethead sharks have provided a lot of excitement for young anglers between redfish.
In a similar vein Captain Kai Williams with Awesome Adventure Charters (843-816-7475) reports that he has been having some success on the dropping tide fishing oyster flats where the grass is being drained – with cut menhaden.
But when the big game is around that is what Captain Kai is usually after, and in the rivers and sounds he is still anchoring for cobia in the Broad River. There are still fish around, as well as tons of sharks. There are also jack crevalle in the Calibogue Sound and the Broad, but the new arrival is tarpon. For now they are concentrated in a small area of the Port Royal Sound where there are a ton of boats pursuing them, and at one point Kai saw a boat jump a tarpon that in turn hit another boat while leaping! Kai’s boat has had the best success sight-casting with live bait when they see tarpon blowing up on bait schools.
