October 9
Morning surface water temperatures are around 76 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and there is still a tremendous amount of bait around.
It remains a strange situation around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Caleb Hartley with Carolina Hook and Fly Guide Service (843-241-7706) reports that there is still an overabundance of bait inshore – mullet, shrimp, mud minnows, and more – in all the creeks, but not the expected number of predators there to eat them. There are a couple of spots with a good numbers of keeper flounder, and then Captain Caleb has found some other spots with great numbers of small fish. In one area he caught 26 undersized flounder and one keeper on a trip! They have also found some over-slot redfish on the flood tides feeding up in the grass, which will take live bait drifted to them, and on lower tides there are some schools of 14-16 inch reds that will eat most anything. But trout are very, very rare inshore, and they are only finding occasional schools of black drum.
The winds have been so bad that it’s been almost impossible to comfortably fish the jetties or nearshore, but if you are willing to fight 3-foot seas at the jetties there are a few bull reds around. There are also some trout at the jetties. And with a few kings picked up trolling yesterday there is a hope that once the wind lays down again that bite will be good.
Overall, things will almost certainly get better but a change in the weather may be necessary.
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 25
Morning surface water temperatures are around 79 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and bait is abundant (more below). The water is clean and pretty even though tides have been strong.
It’s a little hard to describe what’s going on around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Caleb Hartley with Carolina Hook and Fly Guide Service (843-241-7706) reports that he has never seen so much bait around. Inshore the creeks are full of shrimp, finger mullet, and “cob” mullet, and at the jetties and off the beaches there are also menhaden, greenbacks, more mullet, glass minnows, and he even netted ballyhoo at the jetties yesterday. Add to that list 1-2 pound bluefish and smaller Spanish mackerel, which are really bait for lots of species, and there should be every predatory fish in the ocean around. But instead there’s a little bit of everything and not a lot of anything.
A few redfish, a few flounder, no spotted sea trout, a few weakfish, a few black drum, and a very few kings are around. The creek bite is downright miserable for everything except croaker. They did catch two stud 14-inch croaker yesterday, but the rest were normal size and they only managed one really nice black drum after going through two pounds of shrimp. The jetties are also a struggle to catch a few good fish. In addition to seeing a few 15-20 pound king mackerel jump they have also seen the occasional tarpon, but overall it’s like the predators haven’t found the bait. And on a recent trip to a nearshore reef they caught a 6-pound flounder on the first drop and then struggled to get more bites.
It's still a beautiful time to fish, they are catching some fish, and it’s the time of year when things could go from 0 to 60 overnight. A change of wind direction today may help the fishing, but overall they are left scratching their heads until that happens. It could be that the absence of a big storm this summer has not refreshed the area, and it could be a pressure issue. Time will tell.
Thanks to Captain Caleb for his honest correspondence and hard work.
September 11
Morning surface water temperatures are around 78 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and the mullet run is very much underway. A few days ago there was a monster wave of menhaden pushing south but because of the northeast wind the last few days they haven’t been able to see if they are still around.
The inshore bite is picking up for flounder, and instead of mainly catching them around the rocks Captain Caleb Hartley with Carolina Hook and Fly Guide Service (843-241-7706) reports that they are getting good numbers in the creeks. They are extremely hard to pattern, and at times they are in a foot of water chasing shrimp while others are in the belly of creeks in ten feet and others are in creek mouths. No particular tide has clearly been the best, but if he had to chose Captain Caleb would probably fish the outgoing.
There are also increasing numbers of redfish around inshore, and yesterday they caught a 27-inch fish while chasing flounder. They are still pretty random, but there are lots of puppy drum around (particularly at the rocks). They show up every year at this time.
A few trout are around but not enough to target with clients.
At the jetties there are flounder and redfish (as mentioned), but the Spanish mackerel are not at the jetties or off the beaches in the numbers they were a week or two ago. However, there are tons of tarpon around. A few are at the jetties, but mostly they are just following the bait schools. Overall they seem to be more focused on migrating than feeding and there has been a lot of fruitless casting for them this week.
August 29
Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and the mullet run is underway along the beaches.
We apologize for the hiatus in Grand Strand fishing reports, but we are pleased to announce that Captain Caleb Hartley with Carolina Hook and Fly Guide Service (843-241-7706) will be sharing fishing reports with us going forward. We will have a full-length report from Captain Caleb in the near future, but suffice to say that today they had a banner day with the Spanish mackerel this morning and flounder this afternoon. The Spanish were at the jetties and around the mullet schools off the beach, and just looking for jumping fish and then casting to them with live bait they caught all females in the 2-5 pound range. You can catch fish trolling and with lures, but the bigs want live bait right now.
This afternoon they targeted flounder on the inside and at the jetties, managing 16 fish with five keepers. The keepers were all very solid fish in the 18-21 inch range.
There aren’t a ton of redfish around right now but there is a good early morning bite for them with topwaters.
Meanwhile, king mackerel are inexplicably MIA.
Again, more to follow.
July 31
Morning surface water temperatures are around 85 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet.
The inshore fishing out of Murrells Inlet has picked up this week, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that the presence of large numbers of 3-6 inch mullet seems to be helping the action. In particular the redfish have been more available this week, biting best at the tide switches when the water is not running as hard. The action at the jetties has also been strong for reds.
On the inside flounder have been a little hit-or-miss, and basically catching them comes down to finding the right water conditions. It’s so hot right now that they are living in deeper holes, and they are also happier in cleaner water. The falling tide is the best time to catch them.
Unfortunately the pinfish have gotten so bad that they really can’t fish for trout with live shrimp, and they are only picking up very occasional fish on finger mullet or mud minnows.
Off the beaches there are some random Spanish mackerel, but nearshore at the reefs they are more concentrated. There are also a few random weakfish at the reefs, and then there are also large groups of 8-11 inch croaker and weakfish just swimming around in big schools nearshore. A few cobia are around as well as fair numbers of big flounder, and sharks are also showing up again. Spadefish are on the reefs but for keepers 20 miles out is much better.
Our family is travelling next week for the last week of the summer before our children go back to school, but we will resume weekly fishing reports the following week. Hopefully some cooler weather will give us some exciting changes to relay – although it will still be August in South Carolina!
July 22
Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet, and at times wind from the east has really cooled off water temperatures.
Yesterday favorable winds made for some good fishing out of Murrells Inlet, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that they were able to get out to the nearshore reefs and found a pretty good bite. Cobia and king mackerel were out there and Spanish mackerel were busting the surface, and in general they usually find that August picks up for both Spanish and kings. There are also a decent number of flounder on the reefs but they are mostly smaller.
Inshore it’s still mostly about flounder, and right now tide seems to be more important than time of day. The falling tide has been best, and while fish have not moved into deep water they seem to be holding closer to deep water where it slopes off to the shallows. The keeper ratio is not great but bigger baits can improve that. There are a lot of mullet inside the inlet.
They are also catching more redfish this week, including a lot of slot fish. Tide changes in both directions (when the current slows down) are fishing the best.
The beaches have been slow without much bait to speak of, while at the jetties there are a few trout and flounder being caught.
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 around 83 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet.
It continues to be an odd period for fishing out of Murrells Inlet, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that the storm that came through certainly didn’t help some of their patterns.
Inshore there really isn’t much change, although perhaps he has noticed a tiny up-tick in the action for flounder and reds. But it’s still spotty, and yesterday they caught five flounder but no keepers while today they only had two but one was 24-inches! Overall deeper holes in the creeks continue to produce the best.
It’s a similar story with the flounder from Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850), who reports that one day he will get ten (like yesterday) but then the next day they could hardly bite. But he has also noticed an improvement with the reds, and they are catching more than a week or two ago. The tricky part about them is that they cannot find any pattern at all, and they are usually singles. His boat has caught them in a foot of water, three feet, eight feet, and fifteen feet, and on baits ranging from mud minnows to shrimp to menhaden to mullet.
Off the beaches things have definitely gone downhill, and Captain Robert reports that the tropical depression made the water nasty and seems to have pushed the bait north. They worry it may be a couple of weeks until kings, Spanish and cobia return when conditions improve and bait returns.
Finally, the nearshore reefs are a bit of a mystery, with no flounder, and it seems like pinfish are overtaking them. The one bright spot is that 10-11 miles offshore there are a fair number of cooperative spadefish around.
July 3
Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and on the inside the bait supply is improving.
The inshore flounder fishing is day-to-day in Murrells Inlet right now, and Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that some days they tangle with a bunch of small fish but no keepers, some days they get a lot of fish and a handful over 16 inches, and then some days the flounder just don’t bite. The fish seem particularly finicky right now, but in general deeper holes in the creeks have been the most productive in the summer heat. They are also picking up a few redfish here-and-there as well as the occasional big trout.
It's a similar report from Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464), and on days when wind traps most guide boats in the inlet it can sometimes feel like a bit of a grind with a bunch of captains chasing the same fish that aren’t feeding especially well. Other days they bite better, but yesterday was particularly tough with nobody reporting much besides short flounder and puppy reds.
One bright spot is that bait-sized mullet are scattered throughout Murrells Inlet now and so you don’t have to rely on mud minnows as much.
Unfortunately being able to get to the jetties and beaches hasn’t provided the excitement it did last week, and the bait that was so prolific has moved. Which means the cobia, king mackerel, and Spanish mackerel have also gotten scarce.
Finally, while the nearshore reefs don’t seem to be holding many flounder right now all the reefs including the 3-Mile, Pawley’s Island, and the North Inlet reef have a good number of spadefish.
June 27
Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and bait is very prolific.
Last week Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reported that they were concerned that the big schools of menhaden were about to leave the beaches, but in a pleasant surprise they have gone nowhere. As a result there are still abundant cobia (mostly smaller), king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and of course sharks around.
For cobia and sharks the pattern is pretty easy, and throwing a knocker rig with a live menhaden into a school of bait will often trigger a strike by isolating that one injured fish. For kings and big Spanish the better pattern is typically slow trolling spoons or live bait on a king mackerel rig through and between the bait schools. Since the bait is close to the beach that is where they are targeting.
Inshore the flounder bite continues to be good, with lots of fish and a decent number of keepers showing up most days. While the falling tide is typically best the fishing has not been super tide-dependent recently and they are catching them at most of their spots. It helps to have bait around, and moving water is better than flat tides.
Trout are hard to locate and they are picking up a few redfish on the inside, but the action for reds at the jetties has really taken off. Mullet are a good size to fish with and those are now working very well for both flounder and redfish.
Nearshore spadefish have been the most exciting thing at the reefs. There are also some flounder around but that has slowed down from a week ago.
June 19
Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and bait is getting easier and easier to catch.
The inshore flounder fishing has picked up this week for Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850), who reports that they are finally getting some really good fish on the inside. There’s still variability from day to day with the bite, but they have caught keepers up to 23 inches fishing in 1-5 feet of water. The rising tide has been fishing the best, but the real key for Captain Tom’s boat has been fishing in areas with lots of bait.
But outside the flounder bite Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that fishing inside Murrells Inlet has been a little tough, and they are picking up random redfish and trout but actually having more luck for both at the jetties. One positive overall is that finger mullet are getting very close to bait-sized.
But the bad news is that the menhaden seem to be starting to leave the beaches, which doesn’t bode well for the cobia and king mackerel fishing. They are picking up a random king here or there but mostly seeing them sky on bait but refuse to eat, although they have been catching a fair number of smaller cobia.
June 11
Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees at the mouth of Murrells Inlet and bait is getting easier and easier to catch.
It’s been a mixed bag with the flounder for Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850), who reports that at the jetties he has had a lot of success for big fish up to 22 inches. But inshore inside the creeks the action has been spotty, and while he is catching plenty of fish the quality has just not been consistent. The best action has been coming either side of low tide in both areas, but inside Murrells Inlet it just seems like that there are some decent concentrations of keepers but then a lot of areas without good fish.
That bears a lot of similarity to the news from Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464), who reports that they are fishing a lot of different places and generally doing better on the falling tide. While small menhaden have been abundant mud minnows are working about as well, and the fish are in a bunch of different type of places.
While the trout fishing has been very weak by all reports, they have been picking up decent numbers of bonus redfish at the jetties as well as in in holes in the creeks.
While the wind and waves have made for some rough fishing conditions, big menhaden have showed up on the beaches a couple of days go and brought cobia with them. When conditions allow you can catch cobia around the bait pods as well as at the nearshore reefs. There are also some small king mackerel around.
About 11 miles offshore there have also been spadefish around.