North Myrtle Beach March 8, 2012
Billly Berg with a 100.4 lb. wahoo that he hooked near the Blackjack Hole while fishing out of Little River aboard the "Fin Addict IV." The huge 'hoo struck a ballyhoo under a blue/white Ilander. Weighed in at Myrtle Beach Yacht Club.
Mark, of Shallow Minded Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that the red drum bite has remained steady in the North Myrtle Beach area all year (with double-digit catches many trips), but the fish aren’t following their usual winter patterns. The water temperatures have remained high enough this year that the reds never schooled up in the shallow creeks and backwaters, and most of the action now has been in deeper water around ICW structure and along marsh edges on the rising tides.
Casting live mud minnows and Gulps on jigheads has been the most productive strategy for the reds lately, and heavier jigheads (1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 oz.) have been necessary in the deeper water where the fish are feeding.
Some speckled trout and flounder have been mixed in with the reds all winter, and anglers are picking up a few of both even when not targeting them.
The mild winter has plenty of bait still in the area, and if the warm pattern continues, anglers can expect the inshore fishing to improve even further at a pace several weeks earlier than usual.
Charlie Adler, of Oxford, MD, with a wahoo that bit a ballyhoo under a red/black skirt while he was trolling near the 100/400 with Jason Bryan of Holden Beach.
Steve, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that anglers soaking baits from the planks are hooking dogfish and skates, but little else.
The sea mullet bite usually gets going in mid-March, but with warmer-than-usual water (58 degrees right now), it could happen a little early this year.
