August 1

Morning surface water temperatures are still in the mid-80s around Little River, and with so much rain the falling tide has been pretty dirty. Mullet and menhaden are showing up in really good numbers.   

It’s brutally hot summer fishing with water temperatures fluctuating between 84 and 89, but Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that as long as you take advantage of your inshore opportunities and make the bites count you can catch flounder, trout and redfish. 

On the flounder front it seems that the South Carolina fish have been hammered, and while you can catch 3 or 4 short fish in a creek mouth on the falling tide when you go to North Carolina 20-inchers are pretty reliable – like yesterday and today.  In both places finger mullet are working very well. 

With dirty water conditions the better trout fishing has been coming on the rising tide, and they are picking them up along grass lines and creek banks. Most of the fish are smaller but there are some good 19-20 inch fish as well. Shrimp are the go-to bait but they will also eat artificials like Vudu Shrimp.  

At low water the best redfish action has been taking place, and on the last of the fall and first of the rise they are catching slot-sized fish (with a few over) on finger mullet in the shallows around oysters and bait. However, it’s not every day and one day they will bite and then the next day nothing. The young of the year fish do not seem to have showed up yet. 

It's been too rough for nearshore fishing. 

July 18

Morning surface water temperatures are still in the mid-80s around Little River, and the water has gotten very dirty.  Bait is abundant. 

Big rain at the end of last week shook up the water conditions at the top of the South Carolina coast, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that as a result the fishing has dropped off a little. That the rain was followed by 20-25 mile per hour winds hasn’t helped the water clarity or the fishing conditions!

Nonetheless, inshore they are still managing some flounder on both sides of the border, and one boat actually landed a 28-inch, 7.2 pounder in South Carolina this week! The best action recently has been coming on the falling tide at the mouths of creeks and ditches where they drain into bigger water, and with lots of finger mullet around they are working very well. Shrimp are also scattered everywhere but of course everything eats them.

The redfish have also been eating pretty well along the grass lines this week, and the best time to look for them has been both sides of low tide in just a couple of feet of water around the edges. They will be wherever there are schools of mullet going back and forth.

Black drum are abundant around deep structure but the keeper ratio is very low, while the trout fishing is extremely spotty in the dirty water. 

As noted the wind has made getting off the beaches very difficult, but when they were able to get nearshore there were some flounder and black sea bass at the reefs. Spanish mackerel are very hard to find right now. 

July 11

Morning surface water temperatures are at least 85 around Little River, and sometimes higher.

It’s still a good summer inshore bite at the top of the South Carolina coast, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that they are catching a little bit of everything – and a lot of some things!

The falling tide has been consistent for flounder and redfish around the creek banks and where feeder creeks empty out, and they are catching both species on finger mullet and mud minnows. The flounder have run up to 21 inches this week, and last week they had a 23-incher at kids’ camp. Keepers have been fairly regular.  They are also catching some flounder in the inlet.

The trout bite has also been pretty good, and the key has been fishing live shrimp under a slip cork in areas without too many pinfish. They are catching them over shell beds in the larger creeks when there is moving water.

They are also catching an absolute ton of black drum this way, but unfortunately only about 1 out of 10 is over 13 inches.

Off the beaches and nearshore, the Spanish mackerel fishing has picked up a little again. There aren’t that many fish around but the ones that are have been big. They will take spoons trolled on planer boards. 

June 26

Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 80s around Little River.

Even though they are seeing 88-89 degrees water temperatures at times, Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that they are finding a surprisingly good inshore bite.  All four major inshore species are biting right now, and even though the black drum bite appears to finally be slowing down, and the fish getting smaller, they are still catching some decent fish at the mouths of creeks. While they will take live shrimp, there are so many bait stealers around right now that you might as well fish cut shrimp or else you will run through a ton of live bait. 

The flounder fishing is going in waves right now, and it seems like on the big new and full moon tides fish are migrating inshore to spawn. Last week was awesome for the flounder, but then this week it seems like the big females have gone back to the reefs and they are mainly catching smaller males. 

Trout fishing has been pretty consistent, and on the rising tide they are catching fish on live shrimp in 3-5 feet of water. Scattered shell bottoms seem to hold the most fish, and some of them have been on main points while others are in smaller creeks.  Right now there are lots of small to medium trout around. 

On the falling tide the best action for redfish has been taking place, and Captain Buddy reports that they can’t seem to catch a red on shrimp right now. They are basically on a mud minnow and finger mullet bite. 

Additionally, the inshore shark fishing has been very good both in the inlets and on the beaches. 

Nearshore, the Spanish mackerel fishing has really slowed down with the dirty water. The fish were already getting more finicky after months of getting hammered, but then the hard winds really did them in. Fishing at the 3-Mile has also been really tough.

June 6

Morning surface water temperatures range from about 78-82 degrees around Little River and the water looks pretty clear.  The mullet are mostly too small for bait but there are lots of menhaden around. 

For inshore fishing the highlight at the top of South Carolina’s coast continues to be the flounder, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that on this new moon some really good ones moved in. Before that they seemed be holding at the reefs for a few days, but they have now moved inside. Their personal highlight this week was a 5.32 pound, 24-inch fish!  The best fishing has been on the falling tide, and with tons of small flounder still around the best way to minimize short fish is to use menhaden or jumbo mud minnows. It’s nothing to catch 5 or 6 short fish very fast in a lot of spots.  

The redfish action has been best on the low, rising tide, and now the fish seem to prefer mud minnows over anything else including shrimp. 

But the trout are a different story, and they are still showing a strong preference for live shrimp. In the creeks and waterways there are some nice fish in moving water, mostly in the 5-7 foot range. When you can find moving water at that depth around some sort of structure the chances for finding a group of trout go way up. 

Of course they are still picking up some black drum on shrimp, and while Captain Buddy hasn’t been out there much there are fair reports for all species at the jetties.

The nearshore fishing for Spanish mackerel is super up-and-down, perhaps as a result of pressure making the fish skittish and perhaps because they are coming in waves. Daylight is definitely the best time to troll for them right now. Buddy has had some days where they catch 25-30 fish in a couple of hours, and then others where they have to work hard to catch 10. The fact that they have been beat on for months now can’t be helping.

Tons of small bluefish are also mixed in with the catch. 

May 23

Morning surface water temperatures are around 73-74 degrees off the beach in Little River and similar inshore.  Bait is scattered around with a few smaller finger mullet in the creeks and some menhaden in the waterways and off the beaches. 

It’s still a good inshore bite at the top of the Grand Strand, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that in particular more flounder are showing up this week in both North and South Carolina. The action is still better down around Pawley’s Island and Murrells Inlet, but they caught a half-dozen fish including a couple of keepers earlier this week. For now it’s a pretty standard mud minnow bite and the best fishing has been at the end of the rising tide and late in the falling tide. 

Meanwhile the action for redfish has picked up on the low to rising tide in deep holes back in the creeks, and Captain Buddy reports that the fishing are almost singularly focused on eating mud minnows. They are also catching trout in the same holes on mud minnows and had seven yesterday.

Black drum are in the same areas and around structure, but to target them fresh cut shrimp or crab sections are the key. 

May 15

Morning surface water temperatures are around 71 degrees off the beach in Little River and 70-71 inshore.  Bait is scattered around with a few smaller finger mullet in the creeks and some menhaden in the waterways and off the beaches. 

Even though the rain has cooled the water off a little the inshore bite has been good at the top of the coast, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that they are catching all the major species. Black drum are still biting well on the rising and falling tide with cut shrimp fished around structure and ledges, and you will also pick up some redfish in the same areas on the same bait. But redfish are feeding the best from dead low to the low rising tide around the mouths of creeks and shell beds, and they are also eating mud minnows. There are a few smaller flounder around but the better flounder action for bigger fish is so far up around Cherry Grove. 

If you fish live shrimp on the low, rising tide you can also catch trout and they have had some good ones up to 22 inches. 

Nearshore, until the rain the Spanish mackerel fishing was still on fire from 3 miles in to the beaches, and it should pick up again very soon. There are also a few king mackerel being caught on the piers but the rain mostly pushed them deeper. A few cobia are also showing up. 

May 1

Morning surface water temperatures are around 69 degrees off the beach in Little River.

It’s an absolutely incredible bite nearshore right now, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the trolling is so good that they can’t pull more than two rods for Spanish mackerel most of the time. It’s not uncommon to catch 30 plus fish in an hour and a half, and the bluefish are also pretty thick. The bonito have mostly moved north or further offshore, but the first king mackerel are starting to show up off North Carolina piers with more fish out over live bottom in 60 feet or so. There are also still plenty of weakfish around. 

Inshore the black drum fishing continues to be the best thing going around docks and oyster beds on cut shrimp. It’s not unusual to catch a dozen fish with most of them keepers in an hour or so, and right now the falling tide seems to be the best for everything. 

Creek mouths and structure are also producing some trout and redfish on the dropping tide, and if you can’t get live shrimp mud minnows are working well.  But at any moment the trout could start feeding better on clean, rising water again.  There are also still plenty of reds back in holes in the smaller creeks. 

The flounder fishing still has not gotten hot in the Little River area, but more and more fish are showing up in Cherry Grove and any day now the action should move into Little River. 

April 25

Morning surface water temperatures are around 67 degrees off the beach in Little River.

Even after a cold front came through over the weekend and early in the week, Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that they were pleasantly surprised by how little effect a water temperature drop of several degrees had on the fish. In particular the black drum continued to bite very well around docks and oyster beds, with cut shrimp the best bait. 

The trout have also been biting pretty well on the rising tide when there is clean water coming in around creek mouths, with live shrimp the best bait. Floating baits over oyster bars has led to some of the best action.  

They have also caught some redfish in holes back in the small creeks on lower water, and their first keeper floundercame this week. The best action for flounder has come around creek mouths, oyster bars and grass lines on the last of the rising tide and the beginning of the falling tide. Mullet are too big for bait right now but mud minnows are working well. 

The nearshore reef fishing continues to be surprisingly good, and Captain Buddy reports the Atlantic bonito are stillaround. There are also big gray trout on the reefs, and the Spanish mackerel are getting more prolific every day. In addition to trolling they can be caught casting jigging spoons. 

April 19

Morning surface water temperatures are around 64 degrees off the beach in Little River.

The flounder are arriving in the Little River area, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that fish are showing up in droves. For right now (as always, frankly) there are a lot of sub-keepers, but there are also a fair number of fish over 16 inches being caught. Mud minnows have been out-fishing everything else. 

Black drum continue to bite well around structure, with cut shrimp the best bait. There has also been a slight uptick in the trout fishing this week, with perhaps a few migratory fish starting to move in. Live shrimp are the key.

For flounder, black drum and trout the best action has been on falling water, while the best pattern for redfish has been skinny water on the low rising tide.  When you locate redfish they have not been finicky about what baits they will eat.  

The nearshore reef fishing continues to be pretty fantastic when you can get out there, and Captain Buddy reports the Atlantic bonito are still around but that can’t last too much longer. There are also big gray trout on the reefs, and the Spanish mackerel are getting more prolific every day. In addition to trolling they can be caught casting jigging spoons. 

April 11

Morning surface water temperatures are around 63-64 degrees off the beach in Little River.

The fishing has picked up again in the Little River area, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that inshore the best action continues to be for black drum. They are around most any structure in the waterways and will eat cut shrimp. The falling tide has been preferred but the bite also continues to improve on the rising tide behind oyster mounds or other cover just inside creeks when the fish can first get back in there.   

There are also some redfish being caught on the same pattern, but they have been a little more scattered and harder to locate. The best place to look for reds may be holes in the smaller creeks.   

Trout have also been sparse, but to increase your odds of catching them you absolutely have to have live shrimp. 

Meanwhile, the flounder fishing is starting to pick up to the south, and any day now more fish should be caught around the border. 

Wind has limited their ability to get out to the nearshore reefs, but when they have been able to go Captain Buddy reports the Atlantic bonito should be out there for about another week. There have also been some gray trout on the reefs, while the Spanish mackerel are starting to get absolutely thick. In addition to trolling they can be caught casting jigging spoons.