North Myrtle Beach May 26, 2011
Nick Ryder, of Little River, SC, with a pair of dolphin he hooked on feather/ballyhoo combinations while trolling in 180' of water at the Winyah Scarp aboard the "Blue Water."
Mark, of Shallow Minded Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that the high-tide red drum bite is back on. Anglers have been finding most of the fish recently on the flats near Tubbs Inlet on flood tides and casting Gulp jerk shads on weighted hooks to hook up.
Flounder fishing in Tubbs Inlet remains excellent, though there are still plenty of undersized fish to weed through on the way to the keepers (but some larger fish to 25” are in the mix as well). Anglers are also catching plenty of flatfish in the Cherry Grove marshes. The striped tiger-side minnows have been the most productive baits for the flatfish recently, at times producing a fish on every cast. Gulp baits on 1/8 oz. Mission Fishin’ jigheads are also producing plenty of action with the flatfish.
Spanish mackerel and bluefish are feeding just outside the inlet and along the beaches, and anglers can hook up with them while trolling Clarkspoons or casting small metal lures like Deadly Dicks to fish they see feeding on the surface.
Spadefish have shown up on nearshore structure like the General Sherman reef, and anglers can hook up with them by chumming with jelly balls and then using small pieces of the jellyfish as hook baits.
Monica Hardee, Matt Hamer, and Well Alford, all of the Grand Strand, with keeper flounder they hooked in Tubbs Inlet on Gulp baits while fishing with Capt. Patrick Kelly of Capt. Smiley's Fishing Charters.
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that the flounder bite is still hot in Tubbs Inlet (with plenty of 15-20” keepers in the mix). Most of the flatfish are falling for Gulp jerk shads, shrimp, and mud minnow/croaker baits on 1/4 oz. jigheads.
The rising tides have been producing the best flounder action in the inlet lately.
Plenty of small bluefish are feeding in Tubbs as well, and they will strike just about anything anglers can cast.
Red drum are feeding in the shallows in Bonaparte Creek, Dunn Sound, and around the Little River crossroads (with fish ranging from 15-25”). Gulp baits, chunks of crab, and live mud minnows are all attracting attention from the reds.
Ronnie, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that bottom fishermen are decking some sea mullet on shrimp. A few black and red drum are mixed in.
Plenty of flounder are also coming over the rails, but most are undersized.
Bluefish and spanish mackerel are taking an interest in Gotcha plugs and mackerel tree rigs worked from the pier.
Live-baiters landed a 9 lb. bluefish last week.
