August 26
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low to mid-80s around Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Live finger mullet are big enough for bait and prolific in the creeks and off the beaches, but the water has gotten so hot that they are not always able to keep them alive and in stock.
It’s still hot around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that fish are in a typical summertime pattern where they are still catching a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything. Inshore they are picking up a few redfish and trout, but the better action has been out at the jetties where they are getting decent numbers of sheepshead and black drum.
The flounder fishing is tough inshore, but with mullet starting to run down the beaches there are some flounder in the surf and the jetties are holding a lot of fish. The inshore oxygen levels are probably below where the flounder like them, and so that is also pushing fish into the ocean.
Note that effective July 1 flounder regulations changed, with a new limit of 5 fish per person (from 10) and 10 per boat(from 20). The minimum size moved to 16 inches (from 15).
Down around Georgetown there are a lot of tarpon, but to get one in Murrells Inlet would be rare.
In the surf there is pretty good pompano fishing, and there are also good numbers of whiting being caught. They are bigger than a couple of weeks ago. The mullet run also has bluefish and some Spanish mackerel in the surf.
At the nearshore reefs there are some Spanish mackerel and king mackerel everywhere, but not a lot anywhere. People are picking up one or two are Belkie Bear, one or two at the Myrtle Beach Rocks, and so on.
Offshore there have been good numbers of wahoo and blackfin tuna.
August 6
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low to mid-80s around Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, fiddler crabs, sand fleas, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Live finger mullet are big enough for bait and prolific in the creeks, but the water has gotten so hot that they are not always able to keep them alive and in stock.
The fishing is still spotty around Murrells Inlet, but Captain Jay Baisch reports that with a bunch of CCA-tagged redfishin the creeks this week they spent more time targeting them with some success. Mullet continue to be the bait of choice for reds.
There has also been some pretty good black drum fishing, and last night Captain Jay targeted them with shrimp on a shell bank at low tide. Black drum have such a good sense of smell that it’s important to keep targeting the same area until they find the baits, but you can also expect to catch a pile of whiting and croaker. Black drum usually feed best at night, especially in the summer.
The flounder fishing hasn’t changed much, with decent numbers but few big fish. They are holding in deeper water during the day, and so, for example, flounder fishing is better in 8-12 feet than in 2-3 feet. At night flounder will return to 2-3 feet of water when temperatures cool.
Note that effective July 1 flounder regulations changed, with a new limit of 5 fish per person (from 10) and 10 per boat(from 20). The minimum size moved to 16 inches (from 15).
The sheepshead bite has been pretty good on the jetties, and fiddler crabs are selling well.
While it’s easy to get a line pulled in the surf right now, the small whiting are still so abundant that it's almost hard to fish for anything else. There are still a few bluefish and Spanish mackerel around off the beaches, but not a lot of either. Pompano are also around.
The best nearshore fishing again this week has been for king mackerel, especially at the 3-Mile Reef. There are more further out, but they are smaller.
At the nearshore reefs there are some spadefish being caught, but with no jelly balls around you have to use squid.
Trolling is slow but the bottom fishing has been really good for sea bass, snapper and grouper in 80-120 feet. The cobia that are being caught are also being caught by bottom fishermen getting lucky.
July 28
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low to mid-80s around Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, fiddler crabs, live sand fleas, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Live finger mullet are big enough for bait and prolific in the creeks, but the water has gotten so hot that they are not always able to keep them alive and in stock.
The fishing has not changed too much this week around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that anglers are catching a little bit of everything from flounder to redfish to black drum, but not a lot of anything. However, one change is that with so many mullet in the creeks most of the fish seem to have moved over to a mullet bite.
Still, there are weird exceptions and one customer this week got into a pile of trout on live shrimp up around Pawley’s – so it’s definitely still worth going fishing and being prepared for anything!
If anything the keeper ratio for flounder has been a little worse this week, and even though numbers are still pretty good catching a 16-incher inshore is hard! Fish are still holding in deeper water during the day, and so, for example, flounder fishing is better in 8-12 feet than in 2-3 feet. At night flounder will return to 2-3 feet of water when temperatures cool.
Note that effective July 1 flounder regulations changed, with a new limit of 5 fish per person (from 10) and 10 per boat(from 20). The minimum size moved to 16 inches (from 15).
The sheepshead are still on the jetties, and spearfishermen are still getting a lot of them while snorkeling. They can also be caught on barnacles and fiddler crabs, and generally they are more accessible at low tide.
While it’s easy to get a line pulled in the surf right now, the small whiting are so abundant that it's almost hard to fish for anything else. There are still a few bluefish and Spanish mackerel around off the beaches, but not a lot of either. Pompano are also around.
The best nearshore fishing has been for king mackerel, and from the beaches out to the 3-Mile and the Pawley’s Island Reef there are some big kings around. There are more further out, but they are smaller.
At the nearshore reefs there are some spadefish being caught, but with no jelly balls around you have to use squid.
Trolling is slow but the bottom fishing has been really good for sea bass, snapper and grouper in 80-120 feet. The cobia that are being caught are also being caught by bottom fishermen getting lucky.
July 21
Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s around Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, fiddler crabs, live sand fleas, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. While live finger mullet are big enough for bait and prolific in the creeks, the water has gotten so hot that they hard to stock until temperatures cool.
It’s typical summer time fishing in the Murrells Inlet area, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that anglers are catching a little bit of everything but not a lot of anything. That applies for flounder, redfish, and black drum, and even on days when someone catches 8-10 fish there will be several other boats who caught almost nothing.
One note is that fish will often be holding in deeper water during the day, and so, for example, flounder fishing is better in 8-12 feet than in 2-3 feet. At night flounder will return to 2-3 feet of water when temperatures cool.
Note that effective July 1 flounder regulations changed, with a new limit of 5 fish per person (from 10) and 10 per boat(from 20). The minimum size moved to 16 inches (from 15).
The sheepshead are still on the jetties, and spearfishermen are actually getting a lot of them while snorkeling. They can also be caught on barnacles and fiddler crabs, and generally they are more accessible at low tide.
There continue to be a ton of sand fleas around, and as a result the fishing for both pompano and whiting continues to be very good. There are also a few bluefish and Spanish mackerel around off the beaches, but not a lot of either.
At the nearshore reef there have been a few cobia and spadefish caught, but flounder have been the most targeted species. There are also some good king mackerel closer in, and live bait in about 35 feet of water has been working well.
Offshore in about 100 feet there are some smaller king mackerel and a few dolphin being caught.
June 23
Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 70s around Murrells Inlet, and the tropical storm has brought wind and dumped a bunch of rain the last couple of days which has muddied the water.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, fiddler crabs, live sand fleas (periodically), blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. In the next couple of weeks live finger mullet will be available in the store, and anglers can already net enough for personal use in the creeks.
Despite a tough few days of weather there have still been some keeper flounder caught, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that just this morning one guide caught half a dozen over 15 inches. Jumbo mud minnows have been hard to beat. Note that effective July 1 flounder regulations will change, with a new limit of 5 fish per person (from 10) and 10 per boat (from 20). The minimum size will move from 15 to 16 inches.
Black drum don’t mind dirty water and sometimes feed better in it, so it’s no surprise that they have been biting well the past couple of days. They are taking cut shrimp and fiddler crabs over hard shell bottoms and drops. Live shell bottoms are best. Redfish are in the same areas and will take all those baits plus cut mullet and mud minnows. While you can catch enough finger mullet for personal use in a cast net right now, there aren’t quite yet enough big ones for a bait shop to carry them.
The sheepshead have moved back onto the jetties, and they can be caught on barnacles and fiddler crabs. Generally they are more accessible at low tide.
This year there have been a ton of sand fleas around and the bait has brought pompano with it, but when the water got dirty the pompano pushed off the beaches. They will be back. Whiting, bluefish and a few Spanish mackerel are still around, but from the beaches to the reefs Spanish have been spotty.
The king mackerel fishing has been pretty good from the beaches (when there is bait) to the nearshore artificial reefs to live bottom in 40-60 feet, and there are also a few cobia mixed in. Not a lot of people are targeting them but the spadefish are also at the reefs for the catching.
There have been good numbers of tuna caught at the ledge, but for anglers who head out to really deep water in 1200-1500 feet and fish grass and current breaks in the Gulf Stream there are still a ton of dolphin around.
June 9
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 shrimp, fiddler crabs, live sand fleas, blood worms, fresh head-on shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits.
It continues to be a better year for flounder, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that for a few weeks now the sizes have been improved. You will still catch bunch of small fish, but now getting 5 or 6 keepers in a trip is normal. The bottom of the outgoing is still best and jumbo mud minnows are hard to beat. And just in cast you were wondering, bragging rights for best flounder fisherman on the Grand Strand belong to none other than Kelly Baisch. Fishing alone she won the rotary club flounder tournament with a 23-inch, 24.53 pound fish that beat all the guides and her husband’s buddies!
The report doesn’t vary much up and down the south end of the Grand Strand for flounder, and the whole area seems to also have a similar population of redfish, trout and black drum right now. However, for some reason Litchfield and North Litchfield have the most reds.
In the surf there are plenty of whiting around as well as some pompano, and of course there are plenty of small sharksand some bluefish. Again, the water has to be clean for the pompano or else they head offshore. Live sand fleas are working well for them.
At the nearshore reefs the Spanish mackerel continue to come in waves, and one day you can whack them while the next day could be a miss. There are some king mackerel at the nearshore reefs and over live bottom in about 40 feet, and with lots of menhaden around trolling live bait has been prominent. You can’t get cigar minnows this year so they are trolling small ballyhoo instead in the dead bait department. While there is not a huge cobia run they are getting one or two each day, but spadefish are all over the nearshore reefs.
There are still some dolphin around but not as many, but yesterday Captain J caught 8 blackfin tuna, 2 wahoo, and a sailfish.
May 20
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low to mid-70s around Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fiddler crabs, live sand fleas, blood worms, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Very soon they will have live shrimp.
There’s been some dramatic improvement in the fishing around Murrells Inlet over the last two weeks, and Captain Jay Baisch reports that some of the best flounder fishing in the last couple of years is finally taking place. Several 5-6 pound fish have been caught, and instead of catching 1-2 keepers it’s not unusual to get 5 or 6. For right now the best fishing is the last couple of hours of the outgoing tide, but hot weather could change that. Jumbo mud minnows have been working the best.
At the same time the action for redfish and black drum has been slow, and there aren’t many trout around right now.
Meanwhile action in the surf is heating up, and when the water is clear some nice pompano are being caught as well as lots of whiting. However, the water has to be clean for the pompano or else they head offshore. Live sand fleas are working well.
At the nearshore reefs there have been a few flounder caught and mostly undersized black sea bass, while the Spanish mackerel continue to come in waves. A couple of weeks ago catching 50 or 100 was no big deal, but right now catching 10 is a lot. Numbers will probably return.
The king mackerel have also come closer into 30-50 feet, and some have been seen at the 3-Mile Reef. With tons of menhaden present there are also some cobia around and trolling around live bottom or reefs is working well. A few fish spadefish have also showed up and soon there should be more.
Dolphin have moved closer to the ledge and fishing in the Gulf Stream has gotten very good. There are also lots of blackfin tuna around, while the wahoo action is only sporadic.
May 6
Morning surface water temperatures are around 69 degrees in Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fiddler crabs, blood worms, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits.
Even though surface water temperatures have not moved much this week, Captain Jay Baisch reports that there has been significant improvement in the catch since last week. While no one is pretending that most of the flounder you catch are over 15 inches, some really good fish over 20 inches have started to show up in catches. The best catches have come trolling jumbo mud minnows, and the creeks around Pawley’s have been particularly good.
There are a few redfish around and some very scarce trout, but the sheepshead are starting to pile back up at the jetties again. They are eating fiddler crabs.
While the surf is not quite yet warm enough for the fishing to be great, some nice pompano up to 14-15 inches are showing up as well as lots of whiting and a few small black drum.
The Spanish mackerel fishing continues to be phenomenal, and people are catching easy limits trolling spoons or Christmas tree rigs on planer boards. This is the best spring in many years. Out in 40-60 feet they are also doing well trolling dead cigar minnows on cigar minnow rigs with a jighead for king mackerel. Soon they expect to see cobia come closer to the beaches, but right now they are out in 100 feet.
The offshore bite is good for blackfin tuna and dolphin.
April 30
Morning surface water temperatures are hitting the low 70s in Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, crappie minnows, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Fiddler crabs are available again.
The fishing on the south end of the Grand Strand is just starting to pick up again, although Captain Jay Baisch reports that it still has a ways to go. However, they are now catching tons of flounder again, although generally sizes are small. Catching 20-40 fish on a trip but with only 2-4 fish over 15 inches is not unusual.
Whether you are fishing in Murrells Inlet, Pawleys or around Litchfield there are a few redfish and trout around, but the numbers are not good yet.
In better news the Spanish mackerel fishing has been phenomenal, and people are catching easy limits trolling spoons or Christmas tree rigs on planer boards. Out in 50-60 feet they are also doing well trolling dead cigar minnows on cigar minnow rigs with a jighead for king mackerel. Soon they expect to see cobia come closer to the beaches, but right now they are out in 100 feet.
At the Georgetown Hole they have caught some blackfin tuna and dolphin, but soon the fish should come in a little closer. For right now they are all the way out in the actual Gulf Stream.
April 2
Morning surface water temperatures are around 60 in Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, crappie minnows, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Most days fiddler crabs are available again.
Because it was a real winter this year things are little slow kicking off on the south end of the Grand Strand this spring, but Captain Jay Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that fish are starting to return to the Murrells Inlet area creeks. There are a bunch of flounder in the creeks already, but while you might catch 20 on a trip only one could be a keeper. There are also a few trout and redfish being caught, but once again the action is better for these species around Pawley’s Island and Litchfield where some fish are being caught in holes on afternoons where the water is able to warm. However, there has been so much accretion this winter that Litchfield creeks are very hard to access outside of dead high tide. Large trout have not really showed up yet anywhere in the area.
Black drum are just starting to move around inshore, but at the jetties some nice black drum and sheepshead are being caught as they leave the reefs.
While the sheeps have mostly vacated the nearshore reefs there are still plenty of black drum to be caught out there, and there are a bunch of weakfish around right now. The first Spanish mackerel are also being caught trolling nearshore or even at the tips of the jetties with Christmas tree rigs on #1 planer boards. Bluefish are also around, and there even some big bluefish inshore in the creeks.
Offshore some big wahoo have showed up recently and the bite for blackfin tuna has been very good. There are also some yellowfins around.
March 11
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 50s in Murrells Inlet and the water is crystal clear.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, crappie minnows, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Most days fiddler crabs are available again.
For the first time in a little while we had a real winter this year, and so even as water temperatures start to warm Captain Jay Baisch (843-902-0356) points out that they are starting from a low point. As a result inshore fishing has been slow in Murrells Inlet. There are a very few trout and redfish being caught, but overall there is not much to report. The fishing is a little better in the creeks around Pawley’s Island and Litchfield, and there are some redfish and trout being caught in holes on afternoons where the water is able to warm. Soft plastics and Mirrolures are the baits of choice.
There are also decent numbers of flounder around, albeit very few if any keepers yet, but the “snot grass” that grows in cold winters is going to make bottom fishing for them tough for a time.
With some nice weather the past few days the action at the nearshore reefs in 30-40 feet has been good for black drum and sheepshead fishing.
Offshore the wahoo fishing has been excellent, and a boat yesterday caught 10 fish!
February 24
Surface water temperatures are in the 40s in Murrells Inlet.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, crappie minnows, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits. Soon fiddler crabs should be available again.
Inshore fishing is almost non-existent on the south end of the Grand Strand, as Captain Jay Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that 8 inches of recent rain when the air temperature averaged about 39 degrees have pummeled the fishery by causing water temperatures to plummet. Additionally, with the water already extremely high most boat ramps are unusable, and it’s expected to come up another 2-3 feet with freshwater from the rivers!
There have been a “skeleton crew” of a very few redfish, trout and black drum out at the jetties, and if you can get live shrimp (Perry’s carries them from time to time) those are working well for trout. Grubs and Mirrolures are also good options, and for redfish and black drum fresh cut shrimp are effective.
When you can get there, at the nearshore reefs in 30-40 feet of water black drum and sheepshead fishing is pretty good, and clams and shrimp have been working in the absence of fiddlers (which should soon be catchable again).
In about 60 feet of water there starts to be some decent bottom fishing for black sea bass, but the better sea bass as well as grouper, snapper and more are in 80-90 feet.
February 5
Surface water temperatures are around 49 in Murrells Inlet, and when the weather is decent the water is crystal clear.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fresh shrimp, a full range of frozen baits – and has just started carrying crappie minnows!
The fishing is pretty tough on the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain Jay Baisch (843-902-0356) points out that this is probably the result of seasonal factors. For the last couple of years we haven’t had a real winter, but this year we are!
There were only four or five good, fishable days with sunshine in January, and this week on the one decent day the various area guides reported extremely slow catches. There are a couple of trout, black drum and redfish in Murrells Inlet – but not many. Pawley’s and Litchfield have a bit warmer water so the fishing is a hair better there, but not much.
On a recent calm day Jay managed to get 25 miles offshore where he caught a bunch of keeper black sea bass as well as some grouper and red snapper which they had to let go.
The fishing in the Gulf Stream has been decent when you can get offshore, with the wahoo fishing the best thing going. There are also a few blackfin tuna around as well as some billfish, and on a recent trip one captain had a marlin try to eat a blackfin as they were pulling it in. You could also get lucky and pick up a dolphin but they are very scarce.
January 22
Surface water temperatures are in the low 50s in Murrells Inlet and the water is very clear when the weather is decent.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, fresh shrimp, and a full range of frozen baits.
The water has gotten so cold on the south end of the Grand Strand that there frankly aren’t that many fish feeding inshore, but Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that there are a few trout in Murrells Inlet while the Litchfield and Pawley’s areas are a bit more productive. Look for fish in 3-4 feet of water along grass banks; the last few hours of the outgoing tide have been productive. Live bait and grubs will both work. You can also troll Mirrolures, but regardless of how you fish you are having to put in some time to catch them.
While there don’t seem to be many trout at the Murrells Inlet jetties, redfish and black drum are both there. You can also catch a few of both species inshore on live or dead shrimp, while with mud minnows you will mainly catch redfish. In the Murrells Inlet area there are not too many dolphins forcing them to get into very skinny water and so you can catch fish around most live or dead shell banks. A warm afternoon low tide is best and gets the fish more active.
Black drum wander more and so they will be found around sand ripples as well as shell.
There are also tautog at the jetties which are delicious and only around for a brief period. They eat the same crustaceans as sheepshead. Because they are here from Northern waters for such a short time there are no South Carolina limits on this species.
At the nearshore reefs and shipwrecks there are still a few weakfish around as well as plenty of black drum. At night the black drum fishing can be spectacular. There are also some sheepshead starting to stack up as they arrive to spawn.
While the nearshore reefs have millions of little black sea bass, you need to get out 15-16 miles to catch keeper ones. Meanwhile the bigger ones are out 35-40 miles, where there is also good bottom fishing for a variety of species including triggerfish and vermillion snapper. 120 feet is covered up in illegal grouper and snapper.
When you can get out to about 70 miles there are wahoo and blackfin tuna around.
January 14
Surface water temperatures are around 56 degrees in Murrells Inlet and the water is very clear when the weather is decent.
Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live finger mullet (sometimes), blood worms, fresh shrimp, salt clam, and a full range of frozen baits.
The trout fishing is pretty good on the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that even though shrimp are very hard to get right now (and would be dynamite) floating mud minnows under a cork is also working. There are not a lot of trout in Murrells Inlet but both the Litchfield and Pawley’s areas have trout, and someone weighed a big 7-pounder at the store this week. Look for fish in 3-4 feet of water along grass banks; the last few hours of the outgoing tide have been productive. You can also troll Mirrolures, but regardless of how you fish you are having to put in some time to catch them.
While there don’t seem to be many trout at the Murrells Inlet jetties, redfish and black drum are both there. You can also catch both species inshore on live or dead shrimp, while with mud minnows you will mainly catch redfish. In the Murrells Inlet area there are not too many dolphins forcing them to get into very skinny water and so you can catch fish around most live or dead shell banks. A warm afternoon low tide is best and gets the fish more active.
Black drum wander more and so they will be found around sand ripples as well as shell.
There are also tautog at the jetties which are delicious and only around for a brief period. Because they are here from Northern waters for such a short time there are no South Carolina limits on this species.
At the nearshore reefs like the 3-Mile and Pawley’s Island there are still a few weakfish around as well as plenty of black drum. At night the black drum fishing can be spectacular. There are also some sheepshead but there will be more in the coming weeks and months as they arrive to spawn.
While the nearshore reefs have millions of little black sea bass, you need to get out 15-16 miles to catch keeper ones. Meanwhile the bigger ones are out 35-40 miles, where there is also good bottom fishing for a variety of species including triggerfish and vermillion snapper. 120 feet is covered up in illegal grouper and snapper.
Yesterday Captain J made it out 70 miles where they caught a big 50-pound wahoo and lost several more. They also got blackfin tuna and one small dolphin.
