October 21
Morning surface water temperatures have dropped into the lower 60s inshore around Little River.
The trout fishing continues to pick up on the north end, and Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that fish are still not as prolific as they will be in a few weeks but the areas that are holding trout are fishing very well. They are catching fish drifting live shrimp on a #6 treble hook under a bobber, and the best action has been coming with the bait about 4 feet down over 5-10 feet of water. Moving water on the incoming tide has been fishing the best.
The trout fishing should get better and better then stay good right through December, or even to February with a mild winter.
There has also been some good fishing for redfish recently, and particularly on the smaller end of the slot they are catching plenty of reds on the shrimp rig. While they can be found in the same areas as the trout, redfish are more commonly found in small potholes, little feeder creeks, along the edges of grass and around rocks right now.
They are also catching lots of black drum on shrimp, and of course the drum will also eat cut shrimp on the bottom.
Reds will also take finger mullet or Gulp! fished on a 3/8 ounce jighead, and particularly when they fish this way on the bottom they are catching some nice keeper flounder. But even though there are flounder around in the same areas as the reds, they are not biting as well as this summer. The area just has really good summer fishing for flounder.
The action for bull red drum has picked up marginally, and while you can catch some fish in the inlet and around the rocks there are also some drum showing up on the beaches. Anywhere there is a bait ball there could be big drum and they will eat live or cut mullet or menhaden.
However, it just hasn’t been a banner year for them and they never showed up in the numbers they usually do.

October 13
Morning surface water temperatures are in the upper 60s inshore around Little River.
While it will only get better in the coming months, Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that the troutfishing has really picked up on the north end of the Grand Strand. They are catching fish drifting live shrimp on a #6 treble hook under a bobber, and the best action has been coming with the bait about 4 feet down over 5-10 feet of water. Moving water on the incoming tide has been fishing the best.
For now the trout are only in certain creeks, but over the next couple of months they will get more numerous and widespread. The good trout fishing could continue right through December, or even to February with a mild winter.
They are also picking up black drum the same way, and of course the drum will also eat cut shrimp on the bottom.
Redfish on the smaller end of the slot are abundant, and they are catching plenty of reds on the shrimp rig. While they can be found in the same areas as the trout, redfish are more commonly found in small potholes, little feeder creeks, along the edges of grass and around rocks right now. They will also take finger mullet or Gulp! fished on a 3/8 ounce jighead.
Unfortunately the bite for bull red drum has slowed down, and even though they are picking up a few fish the numbers are not good. You can fish for hours and only get one or two bites. It seems there just aren’t many around their inlet this year, and generally for most species the jetties have been less productive than usual recently.
The pattern is the same, and 20-30 feet is a general target depth. Sometimes they will be in holes, sometimes they will be near the rocks, and sometimes they will be a little out from the rocks. A lot depends on the stage of the tide. Cut or live mullet or menhaden are all good baits

Morning surface water temperatures are around 76 degrees inshore around Little River, and there are a ton of shrimp and finger mullet in the creeks.  In the ocean the big mullet are running.     

It was a good week for fishing at the top of the Grand Strand, but Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that yesterday when the wind started to gust a little and they could tell a storm was coming the bite began to slow.  After the storm the fishing should get hot again.   

The flounder fishing has been good for most of the past week, and the North Carolina season will close to harvest again on Saturday.  However, the bite on this side of the line has also been pretty good.  Fish are mainly in the main creek channels and around the mouths of smaller creeks, and 3-8 feet has been the target range.  The rocks in the inlet have also held some fish.   

Mullet and Gulp! are both working.   

Black drum have also been plentiful, and on the outgoing tide they are catching fish around oyster bars and docks.  Live and fresh cut shrimp are both working.   

The big bull red drum have been a little hit-or-miss in the inlet, but they can be caught around the rocks on mullet or menhaden.  Slot reds have not been great either, but they are in the usual places and especially creek mouths.  Live shrimp, cut mullet, and live finger mullet are all working.   

Trout have been slow.  

Inshore there have been a surprising number of small gag grouper, and even though they usually only get 3 or 4 all year they are catching a couple most places they stop and 10 or so per day.  They are in the creeks in shallow water.  Release them with care because they still have a lot of growing to do!   

Despite the weather Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that today they have been catching a lot of spot, croaker and whiting.  Last Sunday they had three kings and there are plenty of Spanish being caught every day the water is clear.  There is a lot of life close in right now.   

Nearshore out at the Caudle Reef there have been abundant flounder, and Spanish mackerel are also around.   

August 18 

Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees inshore around Little River, and with less wind the last few days water clarity is picking up.   

With a couple of calmer days Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that they have been able to get out to target the Spanish mackerel around the inlet.  If you chase the birds you will see the fish feeding on small pods of glass minnows or menhaden, and you can cast topwater plus or castings jigs at them.  Bluefish in the 18-20 inch range are also mixed in with the Spanish mackerel.  

Inshore fishing is still pretty good for a wide variety of species including redfish, trout, croaker and more.  Live shrimp and mud minnows have been working in holes in the creeks as well as around oyster beds and grass lines.   

The black drum fishing has finally slowed down, and while there are still some fish at the Tillman docks it’s not like it was a couple of weeks ago.   

There are also big drum at jetties, and they have been caught on the bottom with live menhaden.  Sharks are also mixed in.  

You can also float live shrimp off the rocks for trout.   

The flounder fishing continues to be outstanding, although inshore it’s best on the North Carolina side where it’s strictly catch-and-release.   Small live menhaden, live finger mullet and mud minnows are all working. 
With the cleaner water the king mackerel fishing has turned on off the Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625), and they report a 28-pound fish today, another good one lost and a 16-pound fish yesterday.  Other than that the bite has been a little spotty with small flounder and occasional croaker, whiting and sharks.