Myrtle Beach April 2006
Mark, at Shallow Minded Guide Fishing, reports they have had good redfishing all spring, and the fish are beginning to spread out with the warming water getting into the mid 60s. Most of the reds were between 18 and 30 inches eating small artificials such as crabs, jerk baits, and shrimp.
Some nice trout are around, with a few around 4 lbs. caught this spring. Lots of bait is beginning to show up like mullet, small pogies, and mud minnows. The few flounder that have begun to bite prefer the mud minnows and are running pretty small. Bigger numbers and bigger size flounders should be moving in with the full moon tides this week.
Patrick, at Captain Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports warming water temperatures in the mid 60’s inshore around Little River. The redfish bite has been off and on since February. Most fish are 18 to 28 inches and are still in relatively shallow water. Gulp baits have been very productive (including the shrimp, swimming minnows, and crabs) casting into deeper holes on the flats.
A few bigger trout are mixed in with the reds, but most trout being caught are around 13 inches.
Flounder have begun to arrive but fish are very small at around 12 to 13 inches. As more bait starts to move around, the flounder should get more abundant.
Steve, at Sea Hunt Charters, reports that sea bass fishing has been real good recently, with plenty of larger sea bass in close over structure. These bigger sea bass have been running 3-4 pounds, and many of the trips are limiting out.
Other recent bottom fishing catches include snappers and some grouper.
Recent gulf stream temperatures have been around 71 degrees. The water will need to get to73-77 degrees for the action to really improve. Not many boats have been off recently, with only a handful of guys finding some wahoo.
