November 17, 2008
Saltwater Fishing Trends:

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

Little River

Spottail bass: Very good. Very large red drum are available at the Little River jetties, but a series of windy fronts have kept many inshore anglers from going after them. Fish the incoming tide with large chunks of cut bait, or live mullet and menhaden.
Black Drum: Very good. Cut shrimp are productive in the Dunn Sound area, and black drum are plentiful in the 15 to 18 inch range.
Trout: Slow. Try live shrimp under a popping cork against grass, or Gulp shrimp imitations.
Cherry Grove Pier: Overall the bite has slowed down as the first wave of the spot run has passed. Pompano, including some very nice fish in the 1.5 to 2 pound range, are being caught, and snapper bluefish continue to be common.

Grand Strand

Trout: Excellent. Live shrimp and artificial baits are both effective in the Murrells Inlet area.
Sheepshead: Excellent. Fishing for sheepshead at the jetties is the best it has been all year; fish fiddler crabs on a Carolina rig.
Spot: Very good. Although the spot run has slightly slowed Murrells inlet is still thick with them, and 60 to 70 fish days remain easy. Fish cut shrimp or blood worms on small hooks.
Black Drum: Very good. Large numbers of black drum are being caught around jetties, piers, and sea walls, with lots of 14 to 27 inch eating size fish. These can be caught on cut, whole dead, or live shrimp, as well as on crabs.
Spottail Bass: Very good. The very largest drum have arrived at the jetties and in the surf, and they can be caught using cut mullet or menhaden. Use live bait beneath a popping float, or Gulp grubs, around low tide.
Flounder: Very good. Flounder fishing is hot in Murrells Inlet, and for the first time this year large fish are being caught with lots of two and three pound fish mixed in. Fish live mud minnows or finger mullet on a Carolina rig on the bottom.
Surf and Pier Report: From day to day spot are abundant in the surf, and whiting and pompano are also around. Bluefish, including fish up to 3 or 4 pounds, are common, but most blues are in the 8 to 12 inch range. Bull red drum are being caught in the surf, and large black drum are around, too.

Charleston

Trout: Very good. Trout fishing is hot as water temperatures have dropped and fish are feeding heavily to fatten up for winter; in addition to good numbers some large fish are being caught.
Spottail Bass: Very good. Fish live shrimp under a popping cork, or cast artificial grubs or plugs, for these fish. Large breeder sized red drum are being caught in the surf, particularly in the inlets north of Charleston and in Bulls Bay.
Sheepshead: Very good. For now fiddler crabs are the bait of choice, but as these crabs go into hibernation live shrimp will become an effective bait.
Weakfish: Good. At nearshore reefs good numbers of weakfish, or summer trout, are being caught in roughly 30 feet of water.
Folly Beach Pier: Spottail bass, trout and black drum are all being caught off the pier, and whiting and other bottom fish are taking cut shrimp.

Hilton Head

Spottail Bass: Very good. Small redfish about 14 or 15 inches long are abundant in the feeder creeks when water drains out of the grass, and they can be caught on live shrimp or mullet as well as Gulp shrimp and minnows.
Trout: Good. Lots of small trout are being caught with live shrimp fish against the grass, and some better fish are mixed in, too.