North Myrtle Beach June 24, 2010
Holden Carroll (age 10), of Cary NC, with his first cobia, which fell for a naked ballyhoo under a balloon while he was fishing at the General Sherman Reef with his father, Ray, and sister, Lila.
Mark, of Shallow Minded Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are catching some healthy (many 30+”) red drum around Little River Inlet on the rising tides. Live and cut pogies are excellent baits for the big reds. Some bonnethehad sharks have also been in the mix.
Drifting the inlet with live shrimp has been producing a mixed back of other catches, including black drum, large whiting, speckled trout (some 4-5 lbs.), and more.
Some flounder are feeding in the inlet and will attack the shrimp or small live baits. The flounder bite is still solid inshore as well.
Spanish mackerel are feeding just outside the inlet, and anglers are hooking all they want while trolling Clarkspoons behind planers not far from the jetties.
Jean Myers, of Fayetteville, NC, with a gag grouper that fell for a cut bait while she was bottom fishing 40 miles offshore of Murrell's Inlet with Capt. Englis Glover of Tee to Sea Fishing.
Spadefish have shown up at the General Sherman and other similar structure, but large sharks in the vicinity have been making them nervous and somewhat hard to hook lately. Chumming with cannonball jellyfish and using bits of the jellies as hook baits is the best way for anglers to try and get them to eat.
Some cobia have been around the Sherman as well, and anglers have hooked several over the past few weeks on bucktails after the fish showed up to have a look at the boat.
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that the past week produced some solid fishing for speckled trout and red drum.
Anglers are hooking most of the specks around the Little River jetties. Live shrimp on split-shot rigs cast into the rocks are producing the majority of the action.
There’s also been decent trout and red drum fishing in the creeks around the grass banks and oyster beds. Casting live shrimp on popping cork rigs and allowing them to drift along the grass banks and shell beds will draw bites from both fish.
The red drum bite’s been best lately around Sunset Beach Bridge and other spots along the ICW, and live shrimp are fooling the majority of the fish.
The flounder bite has slowed down a bit.
Athan Vrettos, Greg Kline, and Charlie Booth with a sailfish that fell for a naked ballyhoo around 20 miles NE of the Georgetown Hole and leapt into the cockpit after Booth grabbed the leader. They were fishing aboard the "Drug Runner" out of Southport.
Mike, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are hooking some whiting, pompano, and a mixed bag of other species on shrimp.
Anglers fishing live shrimp on the bottom are catching decent numbers of flounder (with more than half keepers). Some red drum are also falling for the shrimp (including some too large to muscle away from the pier).
Plug casters have been catching a few spanish mackerel and speckled trout on Gotchas.
Live-baiters fishing from the end of the pier hooked a large tarpon last week.
