SCDNR

Saltwater Report August 14, 2008

Saltwater

Little River

Flounder: Very good. Even though the water is starting to get very warm flounder continue to be caught in Cherry Grove and 53rd area creeks using mud minnows. Spottail bass: Very good. Fish Clark Spoons or other heavy, fast dropping lures deep against the rocks at the jetties for big red drum. Spanish mackerel: Very good. Look for feeding birds and motor slowly towards the fish; throw Gotcha Plugs, Hopkins Spoons, or anything else with a treble hook to land fish.

* Cherry Grove Pier: Whiting up to half a pound and black drum up to three pounds are both being caught on cut pieces of shrimp. A few small sheepshead are also being reported caught, and occasional 16 inch flounder are being landed.

Grand Strand

Spottail Bass: Good. Mud minnows, live or cut mullet, and cut shrimp are all producing. Large drum continue to be caught at the jetties; fish the incoming tide right after the tide turns against the North Jetty walls. Trout: Sporadic. Use live shrimp, finger mullet, or mud minnows or fish Gulp. Flounder: Slow. With the very hot water flounder catching has slowed to almost non-existent. Sheepshead: Excellent. Large numbers of sheepshead are being caught at the Murrells Inlet jetty, but the bite is even hotter down at the Georgetown jetties. Fiddler crabs and live or cut shrimp on a Carolina rig fished vertically are producing.

* Springmaid Pier: Some good sized flounder have been caught, as well as fair numbers of pinfish and spots.

* Second Avenue Pier: Flounder action is pretty hot; 15 or so are being caught each day, up to 3 or 4 pounds. A few black drum are being caught as well as some Spanish by jig fishermen.

* Myrtle Beach State Park Pier: Occasional flounder are being caught, as well as whiting, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel.

* Apache Pier: Fishing has slowed, but some summer trout and flounder are being caught as well as occasional pompano. A 30.8 pound king mackerel was landed a couple of weeks ago.

* Surfside Pier: Fishing remains off, and only sharks, stingrays, and sea robins are being caught in good numbers.

* Garden City Pier: Whiting and pinfish are being caught in decent numbers, and lots of small bluefish in the 11 to 13 inch size are being landed. A few pompano are being landed and some Spanish are also being jigged up. No king mackerel have been caught recently.

Charleston

Spottail Bass: Very good. Haddrell's Point reports that redfish are scattered across all of the Lowcountry estuaries, and anglers continue to have best luck fishing under docks with deep holes and plenty of shade. These fish are being caught on live or cut bait, Gulp, or Rattle Traps. Trout: Very good. Early and late in the day topwater action is hot for spotted sea trout. Use topwater lures like Zara Spooks and "walk the dog" around oyster shells and feeder creeks on moving tides. Flounder: Good. Flounder fishing continues to improve over the last few weeks, and best results are coming fishing around the edges of rock piles and creek mouths. Fish live finger mullet or mud minnows on a Carolina rig. Sheepshead: Very good. Fish fiddler crabs, clam pieces, or cut shrimp. Tarpon: Good. Fish large live mullet or menhaden in 6 to 15 foot deep slews between the sandbars on the outside of most any Charleston area inlet. Spanish mackerel: Good. Nice catches of Spanish mackerel continue to be made in the Harbor. Fish Gotcha plugs or spoons.

* Folly Beach Pier: A mixed bag continues to be caught at the pier, including whiting, bluefish, trout, Spanish mackerel, red drum, and sheepshead.

Hilton Head

Spottail Bass: Very good. First thing in the morning redfish are hitting topwater; when the sun is higher fish deeper with Gulp Shrimp. Tailing action is strong around high tide and will continue all summer. Trout: Good to very good. Early morning topwater action is very good, and some big trout are being caught on lures like Spooks. Shrimp and mud minnows fished under Cajun Thunder rattling bobbers, or Gulp grubs, are producing. Flounder: Good. Flounder fishing has improved slightly, and anglers are catching flounder using traditional flounder rigs with a bobber to float the mud minnows off the bottom. Best fishing is around low tide in the same areas as the spottails and trout, or in the mouths of creeks and inlets.


The reports on this page are supplied by our friend Jay at SCFishingReport.com