August 1
Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s or higher in Murrells Inlet and mullet are abundant.
It’s an up-and-down inshore bite for Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850), who reports that he has had two of his slower trips in the last ten days – but also two of his best catches of the year. To make matters slightly frustrating it’s hard to figure out a whole lot of rhyme or reason to the patterns, and basically you just have to go fishing and put in the time.
For example, just a few days ago they caught a 6-pound trout in 2 feet of water on a menhaden, but instead of the fish coming when there was clean moving water coming in it was caught on low, stagnant water. Similarly, some of their best flounder have come when there is no current – and both the big trout and some better flounder have been biting in the middle of the day in the worst heat.
Overall the jetties have been fishing better for flounder than the inside, and yesterday they caught a giant 7-pounder at the jetties on mullet – as well as about a 3-pound fish. But there are other days where flounder don’t bite well. About 5-15 feet has been the target depth, and the big one yesterday came in about 7 feet. Inside the fish are shallower, they seem smaller and there are apparently less of them.
Mullet has been working the most consistently for everything, and lots of smaller redfish are starting to show up.
July 18
Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s or higher in Murrells Inlet.
It’s still a good inshore bite for Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850), but last week he noted just how shallow a lot of the flounder have been while this week it’s a little different story. While they aren’t frequently in the middle of deeper holes in the creeks, he has been finding them on the sides of the holes or right beside them. Mullet, menhaden, and mud minnows are all working as bait.
They are also still catching good numbers of redfish, mostly in about four feet of water near oyster bars.
That’s very similar to the report from Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464), who adds that the incoming tide is usually fishing better when there is cooler water coming in. However, time of day also matters and as we get into afternoon rising tides the dropping tide may actually be better before it gets very hot.
Captain Robert also notes that, while the numbers aren’t great, when they do happen upon a trout it’s often a good one.
Off the beaches there is still a lot of bait and some sporadic king mackerel and cobia are being caught around the pods – as well as lots of sharks. Very soon they expect to be able to catch them on topwater lures.
While getting out nearshore has still been very difficult, at the reefs there have been some flounder and cobia caught. Meanwhile the Spanish mackerel are still off, and Captain Robert speculates that we may be in the transition period where you have to move from artificials to live bait to catch fish.
Offshore wahoo and tuna are still being caught in fair numbers.
July 11
Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s or higher in Murrells Inlet.
It has also been a good inshore bite for Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850), and one of the most interesting things he has noted is just how shallow at a lot of the flounder are. He has had times on low tide where he is fishing a hole with 5-6 feet of water and sees mud boils in just six inches of water, only to cast up there and catch a couple of keeper flounder on successive casts. His other major inshore target has been redfish, and Captain Tom notes that they are around in better numbers that last year at this time. That bodes well for the rest of the summer. He has been reds around oyster bars, and for both species right now decent menhaden have been hard to find so he has been leaning on decent numbers of catchable finger mullet as well as mud minnows.
Tom has also spent some time at the jetties, and while the fishing has not been remarkable he did manage a 5 ½ pound trout on a live pinfish. He has also found some flounder and a couple of back-to-back 30-inch reds.
On the beaches it’s easy to get your line pulled by small to medium-sized sharks right now.
July 10
Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s or higher in Murrells Inlet.
It’s a time of year when water temperature makes a big difference, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) notes that, while they are still catching fish inshore, the bite is noticeably better on the incoming tide. On the outgoing and at low water it just seems so hot that the fish don’t really want to feed. While there are a few, jumbo trout being picked up every few days, in general the catch is redfish and flounder. Both species are eating mud minnows and the finger mullet have also gotten big enough for bait.
Off the beaches there is a lot of bait and some sporadic king mackerel and cobia are being caught around the pods – as well as lots of sharks.
While getting out nearshore has been tough, and there have only been five or six days in the last three weeks when the wind laid down enough to allow it, at the reefs there have been some flounder and cobia caught. Meanwhile the Spanish mackerel have been a little tough, and Captain Robert speculates that we may be in the transition period where you have to move from artificials to live bait to catch fish.
Offshore wahoo and tuna are still being caught.
June 26
Morning surface water temperatures are in the mid-80s in Murrells Inlet.
It’s a fairly good early summer bite inshore fishing in Murrells Inlet, and Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that this week they have been having good success with redfish at the lower end of the slot. The best time to catch them has been on the falling tide, and they are catching fish with both mud minnows and menhaden.
The flounder fishing has generally been good, although they did have one day with only a single fish – luckily a 19 ½ incher. The fish are in their usual ambush spots, but there just seem to be some days when they bite better and other days when they do not. They will take both mud minnows and menhaden but minnows are more durable and for that reason preferred.
The trout fishing has slowed way down, although that may be partially a function of the fact that you basically can’t fish with shrimp since there are so many pinfish and croaker around.
Captain Tom’s last time out at the jetties there were some flounder around but otherwise it was unremarkable.
June 12
Morning surface water temperatures are around 80 degrees in Murrells Inlet and clarity has been good.
The inshore fishing has picked up in Murrells Inlet, and Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that the “big three” species are all feeding well right now. They continue to catch a bunch of 15-17 inch flounder on mud minnows, and ambush points like the mouths of creeks on the falling tide are the best spots. There are also plenty of flounder over 20 inches around but they aren’t coming every trip.
More redfish have also showed up this week, and Captain Tom is catching them up to about 27 inches on both mud minnows and artificials around oyster bars.
But perhaps the most exciting species recently has been the trout. Some years big schools of trout move into the inlet in the summer, and that could happen this year, but already some monster stud trout have moved in. While Tom’s boat hasn’t caught many their biggest so far was more than 26 inches and came in about 4 feet of water in a current rip. While there’s no doubt trout (and other game species) would love to eat live shrimp, the pinfish have gotten so thick that you really can’t fish them. They are pretty much using live finfish and particularly mud minnows, or artificials, for everything.
There are also plenty of sharks and bluefish up to 3 or more pounds around.
May 23
Morning surface water temperatures are around 72 degrees in the ocean on the south end of the Grand Strand and a bit warmer inside Murrells Inlet.
Inshore, Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that there have been plenty of 13-15 inch flounder around – although perhaps not as many as last year, so far. But that’s okay when there are more big fish, and earlier this week Captain Tom managed two 4-pounders and a 5-pound, 23 inch fish on one trip! They all came on mud minnows. The best fishing continues to be around creek mouths and other ambush spots, and in general the falling tide is better than the rising. But fish can be caught when water is moving in either direction.
There are also some occasional trout being caught, although Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) notes that really the fall and winter are when they catch more “winter” trout in the Murrells Inlet area. A few redfish are also showing up, but they should bite better once mullet get more abundant.
Captain Tom also notes that bluefish continue to terrorize baits, and we are also entering the period where abundant stingrays will trick anglers into thinking they have hooked a flounder.
From the surf to nearshore menhaden have arrived off the beaches, but so far they haven’t drawn the king mackerel in close. Spanish mackerel are much more abundant but they are picky eaters right now.
May 15
Morning surface water temperatures are around 73 degrees on the south end of the Grand Strand and 68-69 degrees nearshore.
The inshore fishing has tailed off a little for redfish and trout inside Murrells Inlet, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) believes that may have a lot to do with fish starting to transition to different bait. There are some small schools of mullet here, but there are lots of small menhaden arriving inside the inlet and big ones just outside of it. But the flounder fishing is getting better each day, and in particular they are catching a lot of fish around Pawley’s Island. It’s a pretty standard mud minnow bite around creek mouths and other ambush spots, and in general the falling tide is better than the rising. But fish can be caught when water is moving in either direction.
Nearshore, the cooler weather has moved the Spanish mackerel from the nearshore reefs closer to the beaches. While there are still some small king mackerel on the nearshore reefs (with bigger ones 10-11 miles out), the weakfish, black drum and sheepshead have all slowed out there. There have been some keeper flounder caught.
Any time now they expect spadefish and cobia to show up.
At least 25-30 miles offshore the grouper fishing is pretty good, but at 30-40 miles out it gets better. They are also picking up a few dolphin but it’s not wide open yet. The wahoo and blackfin also seem to be in a bit of a lull but should ramp up soon as it gets warmer again.
May 9
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 70s inside Murrells Inlet and more bait is arriving all the time.
The inshore fishing is picking up around Murrells Inlet, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that more flounder are showing up each day. It’s a pretty standard mud minnow bite around creek mouths and other ambush spots, and in general the falling tide is better than the rising. But fish can be caught when water is moving in either direction. However, on the rising tide it’s often better to look for trout and redfish which are still here-and-there. Live shrimp under a cork along grass lines and structure is hard to beat.
There are occasional black drum and reds at the jetties, but overall it’s not a hot time at the jetties right now.
But the nearshore fishing is getting very good, with weakfish and black drum still around and more Spanish mackerel coming every day. The most exciting arrival is the king mackerel, and trolling with artificials or fishing live bait around menhaden schools are both working. Fish are as close as three miles but bigger further out. The first spadefish have also been spotted 10-11 miles offshore while cobia have not yet showed.
Finally, offshore the peanut dolphin have arrived while the bigger ones are further out. Wahoo and blackfin tuna are still around.
May 1
Morning surface water temperatures are in the low 70s inside Murrells Inlet and more bait is showing up every day.
For now the majority of the flounder that are being caught on the south end of the Grand Strand are smaller, and Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that it’s usually mid- to late May before the consistent keepers arrive. For now they are catching fish on both tides, and it’s lucky that that bait-sized menhaden have moved into the area because the bluefish are abundant and voracious! You could go through $20 of large mud minnows in short order. Most of the blues are smaller snappers, but there are also some medium-sized fish in the 2-3 pound range and they even hooked a 15-pound chopper!
There are also some redfish around in the usual spots inside the creeks, while it has been too rough for Captain Tom to fish the jetties.
More to follow.
April 25
Morning surface water temperatures are around 67 degrees just outside of Murrells Inlet and bait is showing up.
It’s getting to be flounder time on the Grand Strand, and Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that they are catching lots of 14-inch fish but some bigger ones have also started to show up. They had one 22-inch doormat this week. Beyond that there have been picking at some schools of slot-sized redfish and occasional bluefish. The sharks have also arrived, and they had a 150-blacktip eat a fish they were winding in and strip a couple hundred yards of line.
Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that they are also starting to lean on the flounder, and they are finding them in deeper holes just out from areas where redfish and trout like to feed over top of oysters. The flounder are seeking places where they can lay down, and the absolute best spots are where there is a deep hole at the mouths of creeks on the dropping tide. For a period the early flounder only wanted live shrimp, but now mud minnows are working too.
Beyond that it seems like the redfish, trout and black drum are slowing down a little in the inlet, with the latter two species getting a bit more finicky as temperatures rise. They
will have good days and then slower ones.
Nearshore the report is pretty similar but the bonito and Spanish mackerel are getting a little more hit-or-miss, and the biggest black drum seem to have already come through and moved on fast. There are still some weakfish, sheepshead and black drum on the reefs.
For now the king mackerel are mostly about 10-15 miles offshore, but very soon they should be pushing in a bit.
April 11
Morning surface water temperatures are around 67 degrees just outside of Murrells Inlet.
There has been a ridiculously good nearshore bite on the reefs, and Captain Robert Orr with Fish Finder Fishing Charters (843-347-4464) reports that he has never seen the bonito fishing this good. In one trip three miles out they caught 50 fish in one hour with a guest, and the Spanish mackerel and bluefish have also been plentiful. Another morning they caught fifty fish with half Spanish and half bonito. Trolling is the best way to catch them, but you can also cast although you will mainly hook blues.
If you can keep your bait away from the bluefish there are also still some big weakfish around, and sheepshead and black drum are also out there.
When the weather allows they have been heading out, but inshore the bite has been fair in Murrells Inlet. They are mainly catching black drum and redfish with just the occasional trout, and the key for everything has been shrimp. Redfish and trout are showing a preference for live shrimp under a float, while the black drum are happy to eat cut shrimp on the bottom.
While he doesn’t guide in the Gulf Stream, Captain Tom Cushman of Cush’s Calmwater Charters (843-997-5850) reports that they have had some fair early-season trips offshore for wahoo and tuna. With 80-degree weather next week the fishing should get better fast as the fish prefer once it hits the 70s.
