April 8

Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 60s in Murrells Inlet and the water is still very clear. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live mullet, fiddler crabs (some days – call to check), crappie shiners, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits including frozen sand fleas.

A week later and things are about where they should be a week further along in Murrells Inlet, with Captain Jay Baisch reporting that more flounder are showing up each day. There have actually been a few keeper flounder caught this week, although of course the vast majority of the fish are small. Mud minnows have been working the best. 

Little bluefish are also still everywhere, but there have been no reports of trout this week. A few redfish have been caught. We should be getting close to final days of the “snot grass” in the area this year which will make fishing much more pleasant. 

The black drum and sheepshead have left the reefs and started to make their way back inshore, but there is still no word that they have showed up at the jetties. Bad weather has limited fishing but they should be around any day now. 

The Spanish mackerel have definitely arrived at the jetties, and they are being caught trolling spoons with #1 planer boards on the incoming tide. The same pattern should work at the 3-Mile Reef.

No one has been able to get offshore this week, but the weakfish are almost certainly still around at the reefs. They have been particularly large this year. They will eat most anything from mud minnows to mullet strips to artificials including everything from vertical jigs to swimbaits. 

Subject to the same weather limitations, bottom fishing for black sea bass starts in 60-70 feet while from 80-90 feet the triggerfish, porgies, snapper and more can be found. 

With water temperatures offshore hitting 72-73 degrees the Gulf Stream should start producing dolphin very soon.  Wahoo and blackfin tuna fishing has been pretty good when people can get out.

April 1

Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 60s in Murrells Inlet and the water is still very clear. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live mullet, fiddler crabs (some days – call to check), crappie shiners, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits including frozen sand fleas.

Inshore fishing is starting to pick up around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that the first flounder are just starting to show up again. Tons of small bluefish have also moved into the area, and there are still some trout and redfish around. With the need to cover water and all the “snot grass” in the area, which should last about two more weeks, artificial lures are frequently the best way to catch fish although mud minnows and finger mullet will both work. 

The black drum and sheepshead have left the offshore reefs and started to make their way back inshore, and based on their trajectory they should have showed up at the jetties this week. Extremely windy conditions have limited information but if they are not there now they will be in the next few days.

The Spanish mackerel have definitely arrived at the jetties, and they are being caught trolling spoons with #1 planer boards on the incoming tide. The same pattern is working at the 3-Mile Reef.

The weakfish are also around at the reefs, and Jay has seen multiple 4-5 pounders caught. They will eat most anything from mud minnows to mullet strips to artificials including everything from vertical jigs to swimbaits. 

Bottom fishing for black sea bass starts in 60-70 feet while from 80-90 feet the triggerfish, porgies, snapper and more can be found. Fishing is about normal. 

With water temperatures offshore hitting 72-73 degrees the Gulf Stream should start producing dolphin very soon. Wahoo and blackfin tuna fishing has been pretty good. 

March 17

Morning surface water temperatures are around 60 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live mullet, crappie shiners, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits including frozen sand fleas. 

There’s a glimmer of activity with the inshore fishing around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that along with a few black drum, redfish (more in Georgetown) and the occasional trout the first undersized flounder of the year are starting to make their way back inshore. There are also some good whiting in the surf. 

There are also a few sheepshead and black drum showing up at the jetties, but the bad news is that as they are leaving the nearshore reefs with the spawn winding down most of the fish are somewhere in-between in transition. You can still catch some at the reefs, but mostly the small black sea bass have taken them over. Any minute now weakfish should appear, with bluefish and Spanish mackerel right behind them.

Bottom fishing, in 80-90 feet the better black sea bass can be caught and the action is really good. In 90-120 feet the triggerfish and snapper are hot. 

Out in the Gulf Stream the offshore fishing has been pretty good, including some big wahoo and blackfin tuna. The blackfin tuna pictured below very briefly led the standings. 

February 17

Morning surface water temperatures are around 48-50 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live mullet, live shiners (for crappie), fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits including frozen sand fleas. 

Inshore fishing remains brutally tough around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that there’s just not much action. A couple of guys trolling Mirrolures are picking up the occasional trout, but other than that there just isn’t much available. Redfish have been almost non-existent inshore, and the jetties are only holding very occasional trout, black drum and sheepshead.

In the surf there are only a few whiting.  

The reason the black drum and sheepshead are unavailable inshore is because they have all headed to the nearshore reefs, and in 30-50 feet the bite is very good for both species. With a true winter this year fiddler crabs are almost impossible to get, but clams and frozen sand fleas are both working.

There is also some excellent black sea bass fishing in 60-90 feet of water, and for some reason this year there are bigger sea bass around than they have had in years. Out in 100-120 feet the bottom fishing for snapper, triggerfish, and grouper (before too long the season will open) is really good. 

In the Gulf Stream there is a good wahoo and blackfin tuna bite.

January 20

Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 40s in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

Inshore fishing remains slow around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that there are just a few spots where the trout are being caught right now. The best reports he has heard have come trolling lures. 

Redfish, black drum and sheepshead reports have been close to non-existent, but any day now the sheepshead should start to spawn offshore. 

The most exciting bites are still further offshore, and in 40-60 feet of water the black sea bass are biting really well. You can catch sea bass as well as other bottom fish out to 150 feet of water. 

In the Gulf Stream wahoo and blackfin tuna are around, and there are occasional dolphin and yellowfin tuna also being caught. 

Captain Jay also notes that with nice low tides recently, the conditions for collecting clams and oysters have been excellent!

January 6

Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-50s in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

Inshore fishing is a little slow around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that there are just a few spots where the trout are coming. Very few fish are in the creeks and you basically have to sit at the rocks in a handful of locations and float live shrimp to catch them. Because so few people are targeting them Baisch Boys is not carrying live shrimp right now. The action for black drum and redfish may be a little better, but again the catches are only sporadic. Fresh cut shrimp will work. 

There are starting to be some sheepshead at the nearshore reefs, but right now most of them are still in transit between inshore and offshore. Very soon they should arrive now that temperatures are really dipping. 

The most exciting bites are further offshore, and in 40-60 feet of water the black sea bass are biting really well. You can catch sea bass as well as other bottom fish out to 150 feet of water. 

In the Gulf Stream wahoo and blackfin tuna are around, and there are occasional dolphin and yellowfin tuna also being caught. 

December 22

Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-50s in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

There’s not a lot of change in the inshore action on the south end of the Grand Strand, and the real fun right now is offshore. Starting with the bottom fishing, there is certainly some good fishing for species like gag grouper closer in but the best fishing is out in 100-150 feet. 

Meanwhile, out in 160-200 feet of water the wahoo and blackfin tuna have been very strong. 

While you can find photos of good limits of trout caught, Captain Jay Baisch reports that there are just a few spots at the jetties where those numbers are coming. Very few fish are in the creeks and you basically have to sit at the rocks in a handful of locations and float live shrimp to catch them. Because so few people are targeting them Baisch Boys is not carrying live shrimp right now. 

The fishing for redfish is decent, but they are not catching a ton. They are also picking up a few flounder but predictably most of them are undersized. 

There are some black drum in the creeks that will take fresh cut shrimp, and they are also hanging around the jetties. A few could be in the surf. But the best place to catch black drum is at the 3-Mile Reef at night.  

There are a few smaller sheepshead hanging around at the jetties as well.  

There are a few whiting in the surf.

December 16

Morning surface water temperatures are around 57 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

The trout fishing has slowed down on the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that while there are a few spots at the jetties where you can catch them the inshore fishing has gotten pretty tough overall.  Very few fish are in the creeks and you basically have to sit at the rocks in a handful of locations and float live shrimp to catch them. Because so few people are targeting them Baisch Boys is not carrying live shrimp right now. 

The fishing for redfish is decent, but they are not catching a ton. They are also picking up a few flounder but predictably most of them are undersized. 

There are some black drum in the creeks that will take fresh cut shrimp, and they are also hanging around the jetties. A few could be in the surf. But the best place to catch black drum is at the 3-Mile Reef at night.  

There are a few smaller sheepshead hanging around at the jetties as well, but at the mouths of the rivers there have been some reports of sheepshead caught on fresh cut shrimp fished on the bottom.  Jay has seen the fish and they were big ones!

There are a few whiting in the surf. 

Any structure in 40 plus feet of water could hold keeper black sea bass, but at places like the 10-Mile Reef you have to weed through lot of small ones.

Offshore the fishing for wahoo and blackfin tuna has been strong. 

November 19

Morning surface water temperatures are around 56 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

The fishing is still wide open on the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain J. Baisch reports that the bite is still all about live shrimp. Trout in particular are still biting really well, and floating live shrimp 5-6 feet under a slip float rig has been extremely productive. Moving tides are key. The biggest trout are at the jetties right now and on the same rig good fish can be also caught on the insides.

It’s a similar report for the redfish, and in the creeks the action for slot-sized fish has been really good. Once again live shrimp have been the key. As with the trout there are some bigger fish that can be caught out at the tips of the jetties, but the bulls are pretty much gone.

Even though it’s getting close to winding down flounder fishing is still really good, and Captain J. has had several more customers catch 15 plus fish this week. The keeper ratio is unchanged from last week. The best fishing is still coming casting mullet or mud minnows on a jighead or Carolina rig.

Black drum and sheepshead are both still stacked up at the jetties.

In the surf the bull whiting are around, but with everything migrating right now you could catch anything from flounder to trout to redfish there as well. 

Since the Spanish mackerel and kings have moved on the 20-60 foot range is pretty dead, but out in 100 feet there continues to be really good bottom fishing. 

The bluewater fishing has also come on this week, and on a trip earlier this week Captain Jay caught three big 60 plus pound wahoo as well as eight blackfin tuna.

 

November 12

Morning surface water temperatures are around 60 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

A few days ago everything turned on at the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain J. Baisch reports that this week they have been killing the fish with live shrimp. Trout in particular are biting really well, and floating live shrimp 5-6 feet under a slip float rig has been extremely productive. Moving tides are key.  The biggest trout are at the jetties right now and on the same rig good fish can be caught on the insides.

It’s a similar report for the redfish, and in the creeks the action for slot-sized fish has been really good. Once again live shrimp have been the key. As with the trout there are some bigger fish that can be caught out at the tips of the jetties, but the bulls are pretty much gone.

Even though it’s getting close to winding down flounder fishing is still really good, and Captain J. had a customer catch 27 with 7 keepers this week. The best fishing is still coming casting mullet or mud minnows on a jighead or Carolina rig. 

Black drum and sheepshead are both still stacked up at the jetties. 

In the surf the bull whiting are around, but with everything migrating right now you could catch anything from flounder to trout to redfish there as well. 

Since the Spanish mackerel and kings have moved on the 20-60 foot range is pretty dead, but out in 100 feet there continues to be really good bottom fishing. 

November 4

Morning surface water temperatures are around 67 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs (usually), blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

The trout fishing is starting to pick up around Murrells Inlet, and even though the pinfish are still a bit of a pain the best action is starting to come drifting live shrimp over oysters on higher water that is either coming in or going out. While this cold front will make for less pleasant fishing conditions, if it runs off some of the pinfish it will be much appreciated!

The flounder fishing has been really good, particularly on the incoming tide but also on the outgoing tide close to low water. The best fishing is coming casting mullet or mud minnows on a jighead or Carolina rig. 

While the inshore action for redfish has not been great, they are moving around and starting to group up – and so if you do get on them your chances of catching several are going up. There are plenty of reds out at the tips of the jetties, although most of them are over the slot. Black drum are extremely stacked up at the jetties, and if you target them at night you can slay them. There are also plenty of sheepshead at the jetties but finding fiddler crabs is getting harder and harder.  

There is also still some pretty good surf fishing, with black drum, occasional flounder, whiting, croaker and some spotbeing caught on blood worms. 

Nearshore there have been some really good catches of king mackerel in 40-50 feet, although the fear is that the windy cold front will push them away. 

Bottom fishing has been outstanding in 110 feet, and the last time out Captain J. caught a bunch of strawberry grouper, rock hinds, triggerfish, white grunt, beeliners, vermillion snapper, genuine reds (that had to be released), and even some small dolphin.

There has also been some excellent wahoo fishing, including a 112-pound fish caught recently on the boat with Captain Jay Sconyers. 

Finally, our apologies for the long hiatus in this fishing report, which was the fault of our site, not the guides. We will do our best not to let it happen again.  

October 7

Morning surface water temperatures are around 78 degrees in Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs (usually), blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

Last week Captain Jay Baisch reported that at the tip of the jetties there were a lot of redfish being following the mullet running down the beaches, and this week the bull red drum have also showed up there for the same reason. Even though you have to weed through sharks they can be caught on live and cut mullet or menhaden. You can also catch some big reds in the surf, but there the sharks are far more numerous. 

There are also still plenty of blues and Spanish mackerel in the surf and out at the jetties which can be caught on live finger mullet or heavy casting jigs, and up the beach at the rock piles off Surfside there are still lots of big weakfish that can be caught fishing vertically with cut mullet. However, the wind has been so bad that it’s been really hard to get out in the ocean. Big whiting should still be in the same area. 

When the water clears up again there should also still be some good pompano in the surf. 

Inshore there are a few trout being caught, but the pinfish are still so bad that you really have to target them with artificial lures like DOA shrimp. Plenty of small redfish are also present in the creeks, and it’s about the same story for flounder – lots of small ones but very rare keepers.

When the winds lay down again there should still be plenty of Spanish at the nearshore reefs which can be caught flipping live finger mullet or trolling spoons, and hopefully the king mackerel will show up.   

When you can get out trolling in the bluewater zone is very slow right now, and most of the better bottom fishing is in very deep water. Although there are a few in about 60 feet, most keeper black sea bass and vermillion snapper are out in 100 plus feet of water, and the scamp grouper are in 140-160 on the edge of the ledge. 

September 29

Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 70s around Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs (usually), blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

There is a still a wide-open mullet run down the beaches, and as a result Captain Jay Baisch reports that at the tip of the jetties there are a lot of redfish being caught. There are also plenty of blues and Spanish mackerel in the surf and out at the jetties which can be caught on live finger mullet or heavy casting jigs, and up the beach at the rock piles off Surfside they are still catching lots of big weakfish fishing vertically with cut mullet. There are also some really big whitingbeing landed in the same area. 

When the water is calm and the ocean clear some good pompano are also in the surf. 

Inshore there are a few trout being caught, but because of all the pinfish they are still really hard to target with live shrimp. Plenty of small redfish are also present in the creeks, and it’s about the same story for flounder – lots of small ones but very rare keepers. 

At the nearshore reefs there are also good numbers of Spanish which can be caught flipping live finger mullet or trolling spoons, but for some reason the king mackerel are still nowhere to be found. 

Trolling in the bluewater zone is very slow right now, and most of the better bottom fishing is in very deep water.  Keeper black sea bass and vermillion snapper are out in 100 plus feet of water, and the scamp grouper are in 140-160 on the edge of the ledge.  Only the gag grouper are in about 60 feet of water spawning and there are not huge numbers of them.

September 17

Morning surface water temperatures have dropped into the upper 70s around Murrells Inlet.

Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. 

Water temperatures are still pretty warm, but Captain Jay Baisch reports that they have dropped enough for the fall bite to really start to turn on. Perhaps the most exciting action in the area can be found at the Murrells Inlet jetties, and as the mullet migrate south Spanish mackerel and bluefish are sitting at the tips of the jetties and smoking them. Live finger mullet will obviously work but any heavy casting jig is also very good. There are also bull red drum sitting at the tips of the jetties which will eat mullet. 

A few redfish and trout are also being caught inshore, but anglers are not targeting them too heavily right now. While there are plenty of shrimp around the pinfish are still so thick that floating live shrimp is basically out of the question.

In the last week there has been a very good flounder bite in the creeks, and anglers drifting or casting live finger mullet on a jig or Carolina rig are doing very well. A bunch of 5-7 pound fish have been caught. 

In the surf whiting and pompano are pretty thick, with fresh, head-on shrimp the best bait for pompano if you can’t get sand fleas. 

At the rock piles off of Surfside weakfish are starting to show up in good numbers and there are also a lot of bull drum around. 

For some reason there are not many king mackerel around right now, but with lots of bait around they should return any minute. 

The offshore fishing has been a little hit-or-miss, but there have been some good wahoo caught early in the morning. After that bottom fishing in 120 feet has been the best although there are some gag grouper in about 60 feet. 80-90 feet is eaten up with red snapper.