South Carolina DNR Saltwater report 8-5

Little River – Grand Strand – Charleston – Beaufort – Tides – S.C. marine recreational fishing regulations (PDF file). Saltwater Fishing License site.

Fishing trends courtesy www.SCFishingReport.com. Check the site for recent updates and detailed reports.

Little River

Cherry Grove Pier reports that some flounder are being caught on mullet minnows. A few whiting and spot are being caught on shrimp and bloodworms. Black Drum caught on shrimp.

Grand Strand

Flounder: Slowing. Cast or troll Carolina rigged live mud minnows on the bottom over sandy bottoms and around hard structure. Fishing is often best for a couple of hours either side of low tide. Redfish: Good. Doing well in creeks and around jetties with the incoming tide best. Live mud minnows, live finger mullet, live shrimp producing.

Charleston(unchanged from July 28)

Red drum: The Charleston Angler reports the redfish bite has been great early in the mornings and late in the evenings. During these times the topwater bite has been awesome and is always an exciting way to target these fish. Soft plastics have also been productive as the sun comes up and into the early morning. As the day goes on and with our record hot temperatures, it seems that cut or live bait has been much more productive targeting docks and deeper creeks. All of the estuaries around Charleston are holding plenty of bait such as shrimp, finger mullet, and menhaden. All of these baits have been very productive at coaxing these overheated fish into biting.
Trout: The Charleston Angler reports he trout bite has been slower than normal due to the past few harsh winters we have had, but as of the last few weeks we have been seeing some good numbers of fish in the deeper creeks and off the beaches. The early morning bite has seemed to be the way to go with these fish and they have also been actively feeding on the topwater plugs. As for fishing the deeper creeks and off the beaches or piers, shrimp or mud minnows have seemed to be the bait of choice for most anglers.
Flounder: The Charleston Angler reports flounder guides in the Charleston area say this has been one of the best years for flounder they have seen in years. They have been chasing bait on the mud flats as well as actively feeding on sand flats and over any types of submerged rocks. Bright colored soft plastics have seemed to do the trick for most and as always a Carolina rigged mud minnow or a mud minnow under a popping cork have also produced fish.
Tarpon: The Charleston Angler reports the tarpon bite has been a key focus for many anglers in the Charleston area. Fishing around many of the larger bays or any of the inlets that are directly connected to the ocean have been very productive. Most of these fish have been caught by either larger mullet on the bottom or menhaden floating towards the surface of the water. One of the most important things to look for when trying to catch the silver king is clean moving water. These fish like the deeper channels that are mostly found between sandbars.

Beaufort

Spottail Bass: Improving. Bay Street Outfitters in Beaufort reports that fishing with mud minnows on higher stages of the tide in the morning, when the water is a bit cooler, has been most productive. The dropping tide has been a bit better than the rising tide, and the best bite has been around the edges of grass and around holes in thicker grass.