December 23
Water temperatures are around 54 or 55 in Murrells Inlet and the water is gin clear. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, fresh shrimp, fresh squid, salt clam, and a full range of frozen baits.
Inshore fishing is becoming more spotty along the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that trout are getting more difficult to catch. There are still some fish being caught along the jetty rocks on Trout Tricks or shrimp when the current is moving, but they are becoming fewer and further between. When water temperatures drop below 52 pretty much all of the fish will leave.
There are still some black drumbeing caught in the creeks on cut shrimp, and redfish are also around inshore. In the very clear water fish are easy to spot, but they don’t eat every day this time of year and so they can be hard to get to bite.
Probably the best bite in the area right now is out at the reefs and wrecks in 30-50 feet of water. Black drum and sheepshead are spawning out there, and they are eating very well.
Keeper-sized black sea bass can also be caught fairly close in right now, such as at the 11-Mile Reef or the North Inlet Reef.
December 13
Water temperatures are around 55 or 56 in Murrells Inlet and the water is very clear before the heavy rains arrive. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, fresh shrimp, fresh squid, salt clam, and a full range of frozen baits.
The trout fishing continues to be very good along the south end of the Grand Strand, although Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that the bite has largely transitioned out to the ocean since most of the shrimp have left the creeks. Shrimp are migrating down the beach, and as long as there is current trout will be found feeding somewhere along the jetty rocks. Stage of the tide does not matter as long as there is water moving in some direction. Trout Tricks have been working very well, and they have also picked up some impressive by-catch such as a 2.02 pound whiting just shy of the state record!
Sheepshead can also be found out at the jetty rocks, and there are nice black drum there too. The creek black drum are mainly small.
There continues to be a surprisingly good bite for flounder, with some anglers catching a half dozen or so legal fish on a trip (and lots of small fish). Vudu shrimp have been working very well for flounder, and the key has been fishing inside the inlet on shallow flats at low tide where the water has warmed up.
Some redfish have been caught in the creeks but the better action has come in the ocean. Redfish usually get lethargic before trout do, and the best pattern for catching them right now is to fish an easy meal they do not have to chase like cut mullet on the bottom around the tips of the jetties. Most of these fish have been over the slot.
Black sea bass have come closer in to areas like the North Inlet Reef, while you still have to go way offshore for most bottom fishing.
November 25
Water temperatures are around 57 in Murrells Inlet. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, salt clam, and salt sand fleas as well as a full range of frozen baits.
Late fall is usually a good time for trout fishing on the Grand Strand, but Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that right now the trout bite is about as good as he can ever remember. Last year there were a lot of 13-inch fish at this time, but now they are all grown up to a very nice 17-19 inch range. The pattern is highly related to the tide, and at the end of the incoming and beginning of the outcoming there is a great bite out at the jetties – even though slack water is slow. On middle to lower tides the bite in the creeks is good deep off of oyster beds.
The easiest way to catch them is with live shrimp fished under a cork, but since the fish are fairly deep a slip bobber is working better than a rattling cork. A size 4 treble hook is getting much better hooksets.
However, the biggest fish seem to be coming on artificial lures. Mirrolures and grubs have both been working well, cast or trolled. A suspended X-Rap is also working really well.
The bull redfish are gone, but lots of smaller fish are mixed in with the trout. Black drumhave also been biting extremely well at the tip of the jetties as well as in the creeks on cut shrimp. With the pinfish gone they are much more fun to fish for. There are also plenty of sheepshead around, and tautogare also beginning to show up.
There are still some nice flounder around in the creeks but the numbers are starting to thin out. The good news is that, while there are still some small fish, a high percentage of the remaining flounder caught have been large. A 6-pound fish was caught this week.
November 1
Water temperatures have remains in the low to mid-70s in Murrells Inlet. Shrimp and mullet are still prolific. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, live finger mullet, live pinfish, salt clam, and salt sand fleas as well as a full range of frozen baits.
Water temperatures are finally beginning to drop, but already Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that troutfishing is getting stronger on the Grand Strand. Since pinfish are still abundant fishing live shrimp in the creeks can be a nuisance, and so suspending jerkbaits and grubs have both been working pretty well. As the bait stealers migrate away then floating shrimp under a cork will become the premier pattern.
The best places to catch trout are over oyster shells covered with water on higher tides.
The action for slot-sized redfish has picked up, with mullet the best bait for catching them. Fish are around oyster beds and areas where gutter creeks drain the marsh.
There are also bull reds to be caught off the beaches.
With persistent northeast winds recently, muddy water conditions have lent themselves to black drum fishing, and at the tip of the jetties the bite remains very good. They have also been eating well at low tide inside the creeks on shrimp fished in deep holes and around structure.
Inshore flounder fishing continues to be just so-so.
October 18
Water temperatures have dropped into the low to mid-70s in Murrells Inlet. Shrimp and mullet are still prolific. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, live finger mullet, live pinfish, salt clam, and salt sand fleas as well as a full range of frozen baits.
As would be expected in October, Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that fishing is picking up on the Grand Strand. There have been some good trout catches inside the creeks early on surface lures, and when the sun comes up artificial lure anglers are switching over to suspending jerkbaits. Right now fish are on a better mullet than shrimp bite.
The best places to catch trout are over oyster shells covered with water on higher tides.
There are quite a few rat redfish around in the creeks, and there are also some fish over 27 inches. However, there are not a lot of fish in the slot. With pinfish still around fishing live mullet is the best bet. Fish are around oyster beds and areas where gutter creeks drain the marsh.
On windy, muddy days the black drum fishing at the tip of the jetties has been fantastic. Black drum feed best in low light conditions so they like muddy water, which also means they can be caught really well at night (when a lot of the shrimp bait stealers are hiding from predators).
Inshore flounder fishing has been off.
A few hundred yards off the beaches around hard bottom areas in 15-20 feet, bull red drum, weakfish and big whiting can be caught. Today Captain J caught about 17 whiting up to two pounds, 20 or 30 weakfish (you can only keep one per person), and several bull reds. They will all take pieces of cut mullet.
Through Thanksgiving there is the potential for king mackerel to be caught, but they just have not been around. To the north and south the fishing has been good.
September 30
With no significant cooling water temperatures are still very warm in Murrells Inlet. Shrimp and mullet are still prolific, and the mullet run remains the biggest in years. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, live finger mullet, live pinfish, salt clam, and salt sand fleas as well as a full range of frozen baits.
Even though air and water temperatures have yet to really drop fishing has picked up on the south end of the Grand Strand, and Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that catches of flounder, redfish and trout have signficantly improved. It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that more fish have been caught inshore in the last week than in the previous few months! However, the flounder have been a little on the small side with a fairly low keeper ratio. With finger mullet still so abundant it’s hard to beat mullet on a Carolina rig for most species.
In the surf pompano, whiting and black drumare still being caught, while catches of redfish appear to have slowed down off the beaches. Bluefishhave not been as thick as could be expected with this many mullet around, but they should be coming.
There are still some bull reds being caught at the jetties but the numbers haven’t quite arrived yet.
Nearshore there are a lot of flounder being caught out at the 3-Mile, and Spanish mackerel are around close to the beaches and at the jetties. However, while there are always some fish busting they don’t seem to be in huge schools. And with so much bait around they are a little selective.
This should be a prime king mackerel time but right now the action is a little spotty.
September 20
After two recent storms the water inside the Murrells Inlet jetties is warm and muddy. Shrimp are prolific but the September mullet run is noteworthy as one of the biggest in years; it should continue for some time. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle (843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, live finger mullet, live pinfish, salt clam, and salt sand fleas as well as a full range of frozen baits.
Shortly after Dorian left the waters on the south end of the Grand Strand got pummeled by another offshore storm, and the net result is that a lot of new water has come into the inlets but it is very dirty. What is clear is that the big reds have started to show up, with some fish over the slot being caught at the jetties and some bull drum being caught off the live bottom areas in 15-22 feet off Surfside Beach. Cut mullet are working well.
The floundercatch has been okay but not exceptional since the storms, and there have been some good days and some not-so-good days for trout. One angler caught six nice keeper-sized fishing trolling paddletail grubs in Murrells Inlet, but the next two days only caught one or two.
In the surf bluefish and whiting are being caught, and if the water ever clears before it gets cold some pompano should show up again.
September 13
Inshore water temperatures inside the Murrells Inlet jetties are around 84 degrees. There are plenty of shrimp back in the creeks after storm, and the mullet migration is well underway, including the big roe mullet. Baisch Boys Bait and Tackle(843-651-1915) has regular and jumbo mud minnows, live shrimp, live fiddler crabs, live finger mullet, live pinfish, salt clam, and salt sand fleas as well as a full range of frozen baits.
The first pretty, clean water since the storm finally arrived again yesterday.
Post-Dorian the fishing has gotten better on the south end of the Grand Strand, and
Captain J Baisch (843-902-0356) reports that perhaps the most exciting development is that the big bull reds have started to show up. They can be found in live bottom areas just off the beaches in 20-30 feet of water, and they will take cut mullet or most any other cut bait.
Weakfishcan be found in the same areas as the bull reds, and they also eat the same cut mullet. The key to catching both species is their excellent senses of smell, and Captain J advises dropping multiple lines straight down to draw the fish in rather than fan-casting all around the boat.
Inshore there are also a pile of small redfish to be caught, from the creeks to the jetties. The freshwater inflow after the storm has also pushed a ton of redfish into the ocean from the inlets, and they are right in the surf. Two days after the storm there were redfish at the tip of the north Murrells Inlet jetty, but they seem to have left (perhaps temporarily) now.
Some better trouthave just started to be picked up inshore, and in the early morning casting surface lures has generated some nice blow-ups from good fish. There have also been some better flounder caught trolling live finger mullet or mud minnows again.
In the surf there have been waves ofbluefish around as well aswhiting and somepompano. There have also been sometarpon feeding on the big roe mullet, although targeting them can be unpredictable.