North Myrtle Beach – April 9, 2015
Mark, of Shallow Minded Inshore Fishing Charters, reports that anglers are seeing an improved inshore bite in the Little River area at present, and the action is only getting better by the day.
Speckled trout are still feeding in Coquina Harbor, where anglers can connect with them while slowly working soft plastic shrimp imitations like Vudu and Halo models.
Samuel Zeng with a 23″ speckled trout that struck a MirrOlure at the west end of Ocean Isle Beach.
Solid numbers of red drum are still feeding in the area’s shallow creeks, but they’ve become rather skittish due to boat traffic. Anglers looking to connect with the reds should employ a stealthy approach and use light tackle for the best odds of hooking up.
Anglers are also reporting some red and black drum feeding around the Little River jetties and Tilghman’s Dock. Shrimp and live baits fished on the bottom will fool the drum in the deeper water.
Flounder have begun feeding in the shallow marshes around Cherry Grove, but prevalent slimy algae on the bottom can make targeting them a headache.
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports that flounder have begun to show up and feed in the marshes around Cherry Grove. Anglers have been hooking solid numbers of the flatfish over the past few days, but most are undersized. The bite and keeper ratio should improve over the coming weeks as the water temperatures inch up a bit more. Gulp baits on jigheads and live mud minnows on light Carolina rigs will attract attention from the flatfish.
Conditions are also getting good for the flounder fishing to turn on in Tubbs Inlet, but it typically lags behind Cherry Grove by a few weeks.
Fishing around Little River has been a bit slow lately, but anglers are connecting with a few red drum and speckled trout while casting artificials in the area. The reds and specks should begin feeding more heartily once the water temperatures rise a few more degrees.
Larry, of Voyager Charters, reports that anglers are connecting with some healthy black sea bass, snapper, triggerfish, porgies, and other bottom feeders while dropping baits to structure 30-50 miles off Little River Inlet. Squid and cut baits are fooling the bottomfish.
Anglers fishing structure closer to shore are catching plenty of smaller black sea bass, dogfish, and other bottom feeders.
Bluefish are starting to show up around the nearshore structure, and anglers are hoping to see a run of Atlantic bonito on their heels.
Steve, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that anglers are catching a few sea mullet, pufferfish, and plenty of small sharks while bottom fishing with shrimp. An occasional black drum has been mixed in.
Some bluefish also showed up last week and were biting bottom rigs.
The water is 59 degrees.
