October 15

Morning surface water temperatures are around 70 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet.  Shrimp are still everywhere and, while there are less finger mullet inside the creeks, there are still plenty around. 

It’s definitely good fall fishing at the top of the South Carolina coast, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that – while some of the bigger flounder may be starting to leave inshore waters to head out – you can still catch a ton of small fish as well as decent numbers of keepers. The best fishing for flounder has been on the dropping tide at creek mouths, although in North Carolina where there are more flounder they are also biting on the rising tide.  Finger mullet have been the best bait.

Redfish of various sizes are also mixed in with the catch, and they seem to be biting best on the falling tide as well. We are getting into a fall/ winter pattern where redfish are more likely to be found around structure. With shrimp you will catch black drum in the same areas, too, and they are also biting best on the dropping tide. 

Today they caught a giant 25 ½ inch trout on a finger mullet fished on the bottom, but overall the trout fishing hasn’t quite gotten going. They expect it to fire off once temperatures drop a couple of degrees. 

With some clearer water again the bite off beach at the Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) has picked up for everything except bull reds, which have slowed a little, and they are getting lots of bluefish, some Spanish mackerel, small flounder in the morning, black drum, red drum, and the occasional big sheepshead. 

In the inlet as well as off the beaches the bull reds are still biting well on cut mullet on the bottom, but it does seem that they bite better the rougher the conditions. 

From the jetties to nearshore there has not been much of a Spanish mackerel or king mackerel bite. 

October 9

Morning surface water temperatures are around 76 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet.  Bait is abundant. 

The hottest thing going now at the top of the Grand Strand is the bull red drum fishing, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that off the beaches and in the inlets the rough weather really has them chewing! All you really need to catch them is cut bait on the bottom, but mullet seems to be working the best. 

Unsurprisingly then, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that they have had a steady catch of bull drum in recent days, and their anglers are releasing lots of fish 20 pounds and up. There are also a fair number of blues (sizes all over the places), lots of 11-15 inch Spanish mackerel as well as a few bigger ones, and in the morning and at night spot are running. The last king was caught on October 4 and they have also had a few big flounder and sheepshead.

Inshore Captain Buddy reports that it’s just good fall fishing, and they are still catching a large number of flounder, trout and redfish. As temperatures drop all three species are biting better and more black drum are in the mix. Everything will eat shrimp while flounder, trout and redfish will also eat finger mullet. 

Once again we are in a series of very high fall tides, and the key to catching fish remains fishing when the tide is moving slower. As soon as it speeds up in the middle of the cycle everything shuts down, but then if you are willing to wait it out it gets good again. Creek mouths and oyster bars have provided the most consistent action.

There’s not much to report from the jetties or nearshore because it’s been too rough to get out there consistently. 

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 78-79 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet.  Mullet are everywhere and shrimp can easily be netted in the creeks if you know where to look. 

When temperatures drop a few more degrees the fall inshore fishing should really kick off, but for now Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the flounder fishing is good.  After the window where they could keep fish in North Carolina that season is closed again, but a fair number of keepers have been caught in South Carolina. Overall the flounder are providing pretty steady action. 

The trout and redfish have had more mixed results, but they are also biting. 

All three species are eating finger mullet and shrimp, with finger mullet getting a few less bites from trout but also getting less interest from nuisance species. 

Once again we are in a series of very high fall tides, and the key to catching fish remains fishing when the tide is moving slower. As soon as it speeds up in the middle of the cycle everything shuts down, but then if you are willing to wait it out it gets good again. Creek mouths and oyster bars have provided the most consistent action.

Off the beach, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that a lot of bluefish, a fair number of Spanish mackerel, and a few sheepshead have been caught. They have also had two king mackerel just shy of 20 pounds caught this week. 

September 12

Morning surface water temperatures are around 77 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet.  Mullet are everywhere and shrimp can easily be netted in the creeks if you know where to look. 

With bait abundant in the creeks, and fish starting to feed up in their annual fall routine, Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the inshore fishing for flounder, trout and redfish is very good around the South Carolina/ North Carolina border. For flounder it’s better north of the border, where most of the time the season is closed, but approaching the end of the two-week open season which closes on the 14^th Captain Buddy says he can see the North Carolina flounder already getting picked over and smaller each day. 

While the fishing has been good for inshore species, the absolute key to catching everything right now has been fishing when the tide is moving slower. As soon as it speeds up in the middle of the cycle everything shuts down, but then if you are willing to wait it out it gets good again. Buddy says it’s uncanny how many boats are having the exact same experience in a host of different areas. Shrimp and mullet are both working well when the water is not moving too fast.

Off the beach, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that there have been some big schools of spot coming through and they are also catching a fair number of whiting. Sheepshead are around and some Spanish mackerel are being picked up, while early and late trout continue to be caught.

Buddy is also catching some Spanish close to the beach, but the bigger ones have been nearshore in about 35 feet of water. Trolling with spoons they have been catching 3-5 pound fish, but they are actually catching more of the big ones casting spoons when the fish come up busting glass minnows on the surface. A few false albacore are also starting to show up in a traditional sign of fall, which are extremely fun to catch on light tackle. 

August 28

Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet and with so much freshwater inflow the water has not been very clean.  The mullet run is now taking place off the beach. 

Dirty water and lower salinity levels have hurt the inshore trout bite over the last week or two, and the fact that it’s harder to catch bigger bait-sized shrimp in the creeks probably hasn’t helped either. However, Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that overall more and more life is starting to show up and the fishing has been strong. Ocean temperatures are still in the 80s but it’s now common to see the 70s in the creeks.

The best bait for flounder and redfish (and the few trout they are still picking up) has been finger mullet, but shrimp will also work. Perhaps because of dropping salinity, or the areas they are fishing, pinfish aren’t as big a problem as they were. The best action has been coming at creek mouths on the fall tide, and the rising tiding has been tougher even though fish are still around. 

There are still black drum being caught, and once fishing pressure mitigates after Labor Day that bite will probably get better. But they are in a few key spots that a lot of people are fishing. 

The action at the jetties has also picked up, and there are decent numbers of trout being caught. Again, they are probably looking for cleaner water and better salinity levels. Tarpon and Spanish are also around in good numbers at the jetties, and while the bull reds have not arrived there are lots of over-slot fish in the 27-35 inch range. 

Off the beach, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that a few spots and whiting are being caught, but there have been good numbers of flounder up to 5-6 pounds as well as Spanish mackerel up to 4 pounds. No kings have showed up yet. 

August 14

Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet. 

Even as the trout bite has faded with the rain and dirtier water, Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that overall the inshore fishing has been strong this week in the Little River area. Cooler temperatures have seen a significantly improved bite for flounder, redfish and black drum. The last of the fall and first of the rise have been best for the drum species, with creek mouths and oyster bars both producing. Cut shrimp on the bottom are working for both species, and live finger mullet have been good for reds.

But the best action has probably been with the flounder, and the bite has been pretty outstanding. While North Carolina has the most big fish they are also catching plenty and some good ones south of the border. Creek mouths on the high falling tide have been best when flounder are ambushing bait that is being swept out. Finger mullet have been good. 

In the surf, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that there has been a really good trout bite recently, particularly from about 9:00 to 10:30 in the evening. Fish are very shallow in the break and most are legal size. Flounder are also biting all over the pier, and even though they have not been as prolific they have had some big fish in the 20-22 inch range. The water color keeps changing with the rain and freshwater inflow, but in clearer conditions there have been some Spanish mackerel around. 

July 31

Morning surface water temperatures are around 85 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet. 

The inshore fishing has been strong this week in the Little River area, but Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that he has not been able to fish his favorite dropping tide this week for flounder with three straight days of mid-day storms. But they are here and he is very optimistic for today’s tide if the weather holds.

They are catching tons of small 12-14 inch redfish right now, and while they always show up about now they seem to be much more prolific, everywhere, this year. This should be a very good sign for the fall. They are around docks, creek mouths, and oyster beds. While they will eat shrimp small mud minnows are the best bait. 

There has also been some very good trout fishing, but it does seem like the best action is over the border in North Carolina. Live shrimp under popping corks are fishing well along grass lines on the rising tide, and they are catching big, healthy 16-19 inch fish.

In the surf, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that they have been having an excellent run of flounder, including lots of 20- plus inch fish. One very young angler caught two 18s and a 20. The quality of the bite depends on water clarity and the presence of mullet, but overall it has been very good. They are also getting some bigger trout, averaging in the 16-18 inch range but running up to 4 plus pounds. Small spadefish and spot are also around. 

When it’s calm enough then nearshore in 25-28 feet of water Spanish mackerel, small kings, and little bluefish are prolific pulling Clarks spoons. There are also good numbers of flounder on the reefs. 

July 22

Morning surface water temperatures are around 82-83 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet. 

Once again there have been some really big flounder caught inshore this week in the Little River area, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that they have had 25.5- and 24-inch fish as well as a bunch of others in the 20-inch range. One day they had a 17-, 19-, 20-, and 22-inch fish, to go along with a 22-inch trout!

The key has been fishing the falling tide around creek mouths with oyster beds, and both finger mullet and mud minnows have been working. They have even caught some fish on pink paddletail grubs. 

But it hasn’t just been flounder, and as mentioned on the rising tide they have been picking up a fair number of trout in some particular spots. Then this morning they had a handful of reds in the slot on finger mullet fished around oyster beds.

Besides flounder, though, the most exciting catch has been black drum. Fish seem to be highly concentrated, and when you find the right structure you can do well quickly. On one dock this week Captain Mark with Captain Smiley Fishing Charters picked up ten black drum from 16-28 inches to go with four reds from 16-25 inches. They all came on live shrimp fished on the bottom.

Just off the beaches there have been a decent number of Spanish mackerel around, and yesterday Captain Buddy caught 7 or 8 trolling before the wind got up. The fishing is much better in the morning and there also seems to be more bait around.

The nearshore reefs have been very slow.  

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 82-83 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet and finger mullet have gotten a little more scarce this week. 

The inshore fishing has picked up in the Little River area this week, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that there’s little doubt that the full moon brought in the big flounder. This week they have had four fish over 20 inches, and Tuesday on back-to-back casts a young angler caught a 22.5 inch fish and a 24 inch fish weighing approximately 4 ½ and 6 pounds!

For flounder and redfish the best bite has undoubtedly been on the high falling tide at creek mouths, and even with area tides about an hour later each day the bite has come at the same stage of the tide each cycle regardless of time of day. With finger mullet harder to find they are catching both species on mud minnows. 

They are also just now starting to see a fair number of young-of-the-year redfish under the slot, as well as some fish in the slot and over.  

The one exception in terms of tide has been trout, and it works nicely that trout are biting better on the rising tide when the water is cleaner around creek mouths and oyster beds. Baby mud minnows or live shrimp under a cork have been catching trout. 

With the water getting dirty the quality of the bite off the beaches has dropped off, and the Spanish mackerel are now about 5 miles out. 

That’s consistent with the report from the Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625), where the water got really dirty after the storm and is only just starting to clear back up. That mostly ran off the Spanish, but they have had some sheepshead over five pounds, flounder over three pounds, black drum, croaker and whiting caught. 

July 3

Morning surface water temperatures are around 81 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet and there is now plenty of bait including finger mullet and shrimp around. 

Strong winds have kept most anglers inshore at the top of the coast this week, but Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the bite has been pretty reliable and they are catching fish every time they go out. Low tide has fallen in the morning this week and they are catching redfish at low tide around structure with both mud minnows and finger mullet. The bite isn’t as good on higher tides, but that could be as much a function of time of day as the tide itself. 

The flounder bite has also been decent this week, and really the only issue is finding bigger fish. There are enough flounder around that Captain Buddy can count on catching fish at most of his spots on the falling tide, but getting ones that are 16 inches is hit-or-miss. While mud minnows will still catch flounder they are noticing a strong preference for finger mullet. 

Note that the North Carolina trout season has opened, but be conscious of the regulations (and of course have a license) before targeting them if you go. We understand there is a slot as well as restrictive creel limits.   

In the surf, last week the fishing was pretty amazing on the Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625), but unfortunately it has really fallen off this week – probably in large part because of the dirty water. Flounder, a few Spanish mackerel, and mostly small sharks have been the main catch. 

Nearshore the Spanish mackerel fishing can still be really good trolling spoons, but Captain Buddy reports that the challenge is finding days when the wind lays down enough to do it. 

June 27

Morning surface water temperatures are around 81 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet and bait is getting more and more abundant. 

Brutally hot temperatures have not made for the best inshore fishing this week, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that you really have to be cognizant of temperature factors if you want to catch fish. Another captain saw a 91-degree surface temperature at his boat slip, and so right now time of day is often more important than tide. And tide may be more important as it affects water temperature than for its own sake – low tide is hotter because there is less water and so (combined with afternoon low tides) high tide has been fishing better than low this week.

Overall the best thing going inshore is flounder, and they are basically targeting fish on the last of the rise and the first of the fall. Casting jigheads with finger mullet at creek mouths has been working the best, but fish will also eat mud minnows and menhaden.  They are catching a decent number of redfish up to about 34 inches as a by-catch and then a trout about every other day.

Either because they aren’t there or because there are so many bait stealers around it’s almost impossible to fish for black drum in the creeks, but with shrimp you will definitely get all the bites you want from an assortment of species.   

For some reason sharks have not been very easy to catch in the inlets. 

In the surf, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that the pier fishing has been pretty fantastic, with bluefish, whiting, croaker, and keeper redfish being caught. But there have also been some headline catches, and Wednesday there were three king mackerel between 17 and 26 pounds. Big Spanish have also been around but no small ones. And then yesterday an angler caught four or five flounder over 20 inches at the end of the pier!

Nearshore the Spanish mackerel fishing has been world-class when conditions allow, and Captain Buddy caught 16 good ones in 30 minutes one day trolling in 25 feet of water. Fish are everywhere and they are all nice-sized. In 50-80 feet there are also lots of cobia and barracuda around. 

June 19

Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet and bait is getting more and more abundant. 

The inshore fishing at the north end of the Grand Strand has picked up significantly this week, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the biggest improvement is with the redfish. The best action has been on the falling tide, and they are catching fish on mud minnows at the creek mouths and around oyster beds. 

They are still picking up some black drum on structure with cut shrimp, and the sizes of flounder are improving. Captain Buddy notes that the grade varies from day to day, but they are seeing more and more keepers caught on the falling tide where creek mouths are draining out. However, some days they can only get into smaller fish. Overall, it seems they are schooling by size and if you run into a good school it can be a good day. And luckily more schools of better fish have arrived.   

They are still not pursuing trout very much. 

Sharks are around if anglers are looking for them, and with cut bait in the inlets it’s hard to miss. 

In the surf, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports whiting and croaker have been consistent and they are picking up a few flounder. Today good-sized black drum have been abundant, while sheepshead were yesterday, but Spanish mackerel have been few-and-far-between. They have not had a king mackerel since June 12. 

June 11

Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees at the mouth of Little River Inlet and bait is getting more and more abundant. 

The inshore fishing at the north end of the Grand Strand continues to be reliable, and Captain Buddy Love of Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the bait situation is also getting better and better. More and more mullet are usable each day, and shrimp are also getting more common.

Most of the major species are feeding well, and redfish are eating at the creek mouths and around oyster beds. The best time to fish for them has been the high falling tide when water is draining out of the grass, and then the low rising tide when oyster beds and structure is first getting flooded.  Mud minnows have been working as well as anything.

They are picking up some black drum on structure with cut shrimp, and the population of flounder is improving. Captain Buddy notes that the Little River area is usually the last to get flounder each year, but they are seeing more and more keepers caught on the falling tide where creek mouths are draining out. Some docks are also holding flounder.

The weakest fishing is with trout, but again they have not been pursuing them very much. 

Sharks are around if anglers are looking for them, and with cut bait in the inlets it’s hard to miss. 

Off the beaches Spanish mackerel have really slowed and they seem to have pushed further offshore. 

Consistent with that, Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that the Spanish have been almost non-existent but overall catches have been very good. They are reporting black drum, redfish, flounder, trout, whiting, croaker, and spot – mostly in good numbers!