Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009

Area, state fishing reports

AREA FISHING REPORT

Saltwater

Estuary

Look for | Spotted seatrout, red drum, flounder, black drum, sheepshead, bluefish

Comments | "Today the inlet's so full of spot fishermen you could probably walk from boat to boat without getting wet," said Jamie Craddock of Inlet Convenience and Fishing Supplies on Thursday. So there you have it -- the spots are here and so are plenty of seasonal fishermen in local estuaries. Again, boaters are urged to refrain from anchoring their vessels in marked channels. Capt. Mike McDonald of Gul-R-Boy Guide Service, fresh off a spot trip, reported a 69-degree water temperature at South Island Ferry Thursday afternoon. McDonald reports decent catches of spotted seatrout in 4-7 feet of water while most red drum landed have been near or below the 15-23 inch slot limit. Capt. Patrick Kelley of Capt. Smiley Charters in Little River reports trout hitting live shrimp on popping corks at the Sunset Beach (N.C.) Bridge and undersized red drum taking live shrimp and Berkeley Gulp lures along the banks and on flats. Whiting are also prevalent in area estuaries. Look for trout, sheepshead, red drum and flounder around area jetties.

Inshore

Look for | King and Spanish mackerel, whiting, spots, pompano, weakfish, black drum, flounder, red drum, sheepshead

Comments | Prime fall fishing has arrived on Grand Strand piers with good catches of spots and whiting along the coast. Catches were excellent over the weekend, tapered off at midweek and picked back up again on Thursday. Genuine runs of spots have been reported by most of the piers this week. Plenty of other species are available including Spanish mackerel, bluefish, weakfish, pompano, flounder, black drum and red drum. By boat, Spanish mackerel and bluefish are available along the beach and at near-shore reefs, where flounder and spadefish are also available. Look for weakfish and whiting at hard-bottom areas close to the beach. Water temperature on Thursday afternoon was 69 degrees according to the Apache Pier Data Station.

Offshore

Look for | King mackerel, wahoo, dolphin, blackfin tuna, grouper, black sea bass, triggerfish, amberjack

Comments | Though there are scattered king mackerel near the beach and at near-shore hard-bottom areas and artificial reefs, the best action is at bottom spots located in 65 feet of water, reports Capt. Brant McMullan of Ocean Isle (N.C.) Fishing Center. "Schools [of kings] will be in 65 feet of water for another week or two and then by Thanksgiving they'll be about 30-35 [miles offshore]," said McMullan, who suggested looking for the mackerel in 68-72 degree water. McMullan noted that wahoo are beginning to show up farther offshore. Bottom fishermen can expect to find grouper, black sea bass, triggerfish, amberjack, porgy and red snapper but are reminded the recreational fishery for vermilion snapper, also known as beeliners, closes Nov. 1.

Freshwater

Look for | Bream, crappie, bass, catfish

Comments | Jay Booth of Fisherman's Headquarters reported a water temperature reading of 71 degrees at Bucksport on Wednesday. "I think it's a little too warm," Booth said. "I think the fish are kinda messed up on what they want to do right now. Booth says bream and morgans are biting in 3-4 feet of water, mainly on worms, but morgans are biting better in 6-7 feet of water." The crappie bite has picked up nicely on minnows. Best areas to fish are at Yauhannah, Bucksport and Samworth. Catfish catches are average on large shiners, cut eels and cut mullet. Bass action is good on large shiners in 2-3 feet of water.

STATE FISHING

Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie | Bream: Very good. Capt. David Hilton reports that he continues to find a strong bream bite over deep brushpiles in the 22-24 foot range. Striped Bass: Good to very good. Lil N8s Bait and Tackle in Sumter reports that striped bass fishing continues to be strong with very good numbers of fish being caught. Catfish: Good. Capt. Jim Glenn reports that falling water temperatures have blue catfish on the move and good catches are being reported both deep and shallow. Largemouth bass: Fair to good. Capt. Inky Davis reports that the lake is full of boats fishing the Bassmaster Southern Open this weekend and some good sacks up to about 20 pounds have been weighed in - but no exceptional weights by Santee standards. Davis is still finding that most fish he is catching are in the 2-3 pound range but some larger ones are also mixed in. Crappie: Fair. Capt. David Hilton reports that crappie fishing has slowed a bit in the last week although his boat continues to catch fish.<