North Myrtle Beach – November 12, 2015
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are seeing an excellent speckled trout bite around Little River at present. The fish are feeding along shell and grass banks and around current breaks like points and docks. Live shrimp have been producing the lion’s share of the trout action, but anglers are also hooking up on soft plastic imitations like D.O.A. and Vudu shrimp. Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are seeing an excellent speckled trout bite around Little River at present. The fish are feeding along shell and grass banks and around current breaks like points and docks. Live shrimp have been producing the lion’s share of the trout action, but anglers are also hooking up on soft plastic imitations like D.O.A. and Vudu shrimp. The area is also inundated with smaller black drum and bluefish, and anglers are hooking plenty while fishing shrimp and lures for the specks. Small red drum are starting to congregate in the marshy shallows of the area’s estuaries, where they’ll spend the winter. Anglers with shallow-draft boats can sneak up on the fish and cast mud minnows, shrimp, and Gulp baits to them to hook up. There are still large red drum feeding around Little River Inlet. Anglers looking to hook up with the big reds can drift or anchor in the inlet with live and cut mullet or menhaden to tempt them to bite.
Danielle Wilson with her first red drum, hooked on a live menhaden in Little River Inlet.
Larry, of Voyager Charters, reports that anglers on offshore bottom fishing trips are connecting with big numbers of grouper, beeliners, grunts, triggerfish, cobia, sea bass, African pompano, and more. Squid and cigar minnows dropped to bottom structure along the edge of the Gulf Stream have been producing most of the action. Some king mackerel and dolphin are feeding in the same areas and biting free-lined cigar minnows and other baits. Bottom fishing closer to shore is producing black sea bass, porgies, gray trout, pigfish, and sharks, primarily on cut baits. Offshore trolling trips have been productive as well, with wahoo, blackfin tuna, and dolphin making their way into the fish boxes. Some sailfish have been mixed in and providing some exciting battles as well. Ballyhoo paired with skirted trolling lures are fooling most of the blue water predators.
Laura Watts of Raleigh, with a red drum she caught and released in Little River Inlet after it bit a live finger mullet.
Mike, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that anglers have seen some solid spot runs over the past weeks (with most not lasting long but producing red-hot action while it’s on). Good numbers of sea mullet and croaker along with a few black drum have been mixed in, and all are falling for shrimp and bloodworms on double-drop bottom rigs.Anglers working casting lures from the pier are connecting with plenty of bluefish, and they also saw some spanish mackerel before the most recent cold front. Some flounder are falling for live baits fished under the pier.
