March 22
Morning surface water temperatures are about 57-60 degrees around Little River, and due to all the wind the water is fairly dirty.
The fishing has picked up at the top of the coast, and Captain Buddy Love with Captain Smiley Fishing Charters (843-361-7445) reports that the most consistent thing going is the trout bite. Some bigger fish are also beginning to arrive.
They are catching trout at creeks mouths, along banks and at the jetties. Fish are biting on both the rising and falling tide, as long as there is moving water. The best depth range has been 5-8 feet of water. While they are catching some fish on Vudu Shrimp, and even on the fly, live shrimp is hard to beat!
There are black drum mixed in with the trout being caught on the same live shrimp, but you can probably pick up more black drum fishing on the bottom with fresh cut shrimp. The best concentrations are also a bit deeper in 10-15 feet of water. The jetties have been good for black drum.
A few redfish are being picked up as well, mostly on low tide in skinny water or holes. Some are also being caught around creek mouths on the dropping tide when everything is being flushed out of the creeks. They are not seeing big groups of reds anymore.
Fresh cut shrimp is also working the best.
The weather has made nearshore fishing tough, but at the last warm patch a few Spanish mackerel showed up. They should return as it warms again. Bluefish, sheepshead and black drum are also around.
