North Myrtle Beach – December 10, 2015
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that there’s been a solid speckled trout bite around the NC/SC border over the past month, and it will hopefully hold up for most of the winter barring any extreme cold. The fish have been feeding at a variety of spots, but Tubbs Inlet, Coquina Harbor, Little River Inlet, and the ICW swing bridge are all excellent places to look for them as the water continues to cool.
Live shrimp have been producing much of the trout action over the fall, but they get tougher and tougher to find as the water cools down. Anglers can find plenty of action while working artificials when they can find the trout. Soft plastic shrimp imitations like Vudu and Billy Bay models fished either solo or under popping corks are some of the best bets, but anglers can also hook up on a variety of suspending plugs like MirrOlure MR17’s and even Clouser Minnows and other patterns on the fly rod.
Black drum and some flounder have been mixed in with the specks and biting the same baits, although the flounder action will likely slow up as the water temperatures drop.
Aside from the trout, local anglers can also find some hot fishing opportunities when the water’s cold with schooling red drum. The reds who stay in the area over the winter typically make their way up the local creeks and into the backwaters of the marshes, schooling up on shallow flats where they can absorb the sun’s warmth on pretty days. Anglers with shallow draft flats skiffs who are willing to do some hunting can often find these schools and sight-cast to large groups of fish with success all winter long. Areas with dark mud bottoms are often the best bet, as the mud soaks up the solar heat and helps to further warm the surrounding water. Stealth is of the utmost importance when trying to get the shallow-water reds to eat, however, so anglers will likely have to pole their boats towards the fish and make long casts to avoid spooking the schools. Live mud minnows and Gulp baits pinned to light jigheads are the ways to fool the reds when anglers can find them.
Aubrey Hunter, of Conway, SC, with his first grouper, a 19″ gag he caught and released after it fell for a live pinfish 28 miles off Little River Inlet.
Ronnie, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that most anglers are connecting with sea mullet, small perch, and some black drum off the pier. Most of these bottomfish are taking an interest in shrimp, squid, and cut baits.
Luke Board, Nick Polumbi, and Jessey Vereen with an 89.5 lb. wahoo that bit a king mackerel rig on a downrigger off Charleston.
