Morning surface water temperatures are about 71-74 degrees around Little River and the water is still pretty dirty with all the wind.   

With windy conditions it’s been all about the inshore fishing the last week or two at the top of South Carolina’s coast, and Captain Buddy Love with Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the flounder fishing has been pretty good if a bit inconsistent.  It seems that because of the fronts and wind some days they bite well and some days they do not, but yesterday even though they only caught 8 fish they had an impressive 5 keepers. 

In general the falling tide has been best, and fish are feeding in 3-8 feet of water around creek mouths and oyster beds.  Mud minnows are working but some finger mullet are also showing up and producing.    

They are also catching a few redfish in the same areas on mud minnows, cut mullet and sections of blue crab.  On cut mullet they caught a monster 41 ½ inch fish this week and on a crab they had a 37 ½ inch bull.  With crab you can also catch black drum, but with most of them running a little on the smaller side cut shrimp are working better.   

You will also pick up the occasional trout on mud minnows, and they are averaging 3 or 4 each day.  If you had live shrimp you could slay them, but shrimp are hard to net right now.   

While they have picked up a rogue Spanish mackerel or two in the creeks, if you could get off the beaches in 20-25 feet there are plenty.  However, it’s been too rough this week.   

Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 60s around Little River and the water quality is very bad after all the wind.  

Some larger trout have been showing up at the top of the coast this week, and Captain Buddy Love with Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that they have caught fish up to 24 inches.  The key is live shrimp, and the best place to fish is creek mouths in 3-8 feet.  It doesn’t matter if the tide is rising or falling, but it has to be moving.  Black drum have also been in the same areas eating the same bait, although they will also take fresh cut shrimp.   

There are also flounder scattered everywhere right now, especially in the Intracoastal Waterway and at creek mouths.  The tide hasn’t made too much of a difference, but they do seem to be catching a few more on the falling tide.  Mud minnows are working great, but the crabs are so bad right now that artificial lures like Gulp! are sometimes less frustrating.  

Unfortunately redfish have been a little rare recently, but they are picking up the occasional one drifting shrimp.  Reds may also be feeding better on low water which they have targeted less often.   

The jetties are also holding redfish and black drum, but it’s been too windy to get out there.  The same is true for the nearshore reefs, and when they were last able to get out to the 3-Mile a week ago it was covered up in bluefish and Spanish.