January 5
Morning surface water temperatures are around 51 degrees inshore around Little River and the water clarity is very good.
There has been some really good fishing at the top of the South Carolina coast this week, and Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that in particular they have found a strong trout bite. On the outgoing tide they have found good action inshore in the smaller creeks, and then at low the Little River jetties have been productive fishing over the rocks. They have also caught black drum, small sheepshead, and redfish on low at the jetties. Then on the rising tide they have found the best action back inshore fishing the ledges in the Intracoastal Waterway. In addition to a few keeper trout they have found tons of sub-14 inch fish in the waterway.
The key to everything has been live shrimp, and the hike down to Perry’s Bait and Tackle in Murrells Inlet has been worth it. While the fish will bite artificial lures like Vudu Shrimp, Gulp! and Zman scented plastics, the action is much faster on live shrimp. Black drum seem just as happy with fresh dead shrimp on the bottom.
The other major pattern right now is sight-fishing for redfish, and in the clear conditions you can find the fish inside the creeks stacked up in the shallow potholes. The best time to target them is on the low to rising tide.
