Coastal River Charters

Fishing this week started in a nice way! A nice seatrout bite near the sound. The seatrout bite isn’t red hot but definitely good! Action can best be described as interesting. Roe trout can be found near high water around marshy points. Clean water and a good drift are always a plus in trout fishing. Male seatrout can found close to sandbars in around 12 feet of water. Action around the sand bars is red hot! A variety of fish are working the bars: whiting, ladyfish, bluefish, spanish, bonnetheads and blacktips to name a few.

Redfish action is picking up but the bite remains off. Young of the year redfish are barely able to bite a hook. These small reds are likely only seven inches or so. Not catching many of these tiny fish. These young of year will quickly grow and by the July 4th they should be biting everything hitting the water and by September or October these young of year will be legal size (14 inches).

John Bruke reports our salt water catfish is in trouble. Come to think of it when the last time you caught a gaff top or regular old salt water cat? If you’re like me it’s been a long time. Most of us can remember catching so many catfish that were consider a major nuisance. Granted a lot not love is lost for an obnoxious old cat much like an obnoxious old charter captain. On the other hand as Capt. Wild Bill says, this is a sign something isn’t right with mother earth. South Carolina is immediately closing the taking of these fish while this situation is being studied. The point is to be aware of changes impacting our wetlands and that water quality is a major issue facing our coast and to stay informed.

Fishing for the remainder of this week should be good! Rain and clouds early in the week helped cool conditions and provide some much needed rain. Tides throughout the week look good. When winds kick up fish protected waters. Afternoon storms can kick up on any given summer day. Best fishing during summer is usually during the morning. This afternoon a dockhand said he launched a small boat from the marina and the family headed directly into a storm. Rain in a distance will look like sheets coming down. Running into a storm is not fun and potentially not safe. Check the weather forecast before and during your day on the water. Several GPS units have weather radar capability. A VHF radio is another good source of information and last but not least call a friend ask them to look a weather radar either on the weather channel, by internet or actual radar unit. There’s lot of information out there. Now is good time to familiarize yourself on how to obtain weather information.

Hope this of help! Good fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

The seatrout bite has been pretty good. The bite is primarily in or near sounds. Capt. Wild Bill says the sounds have cleaner water due to sand bottoms. Capt. Rick verifies the same report that the bite has been near the sounds. Contrary to the bite in the sounds roe and male trout can be up rivers in brackish water. Lots of dirty water due to the aftermath of storms and wind. Fishermen are finding fish when they find clean water. When fishing for seatrout there are lots of other fish to take your bait so take plenty of bait. Rick reports lots of small trout as well as ladyfish.

Not lots of reports on redfish this week. A couple of fisherman have reported good success on glup baits. New penny is the favor of the week. Plastics can work very well. Glup baits can produce bites at times better than live bait. On the other hand it’s good to have a variety of baits on hand. Brown shrimp are moving into local waters. New penny is basically a shrimp pattern. Another tip is change your float size when fishing. Line or float diameter is more important than color. That said trying smaller floats might be effective.

The shark bite is on! Dropping a line along a sand bar will likely produce a bite in little time. A favorite bait is the head from a menhaden. Squid can work well as well a variety of cut bait like bluefish or ladyfish. Allen from River Supply reports a variety of fish within five miles of the beach: jacks, bluefish, spanish and kings. When near shore isn’t too rough fishing could be hot!

The flounder bite near the sounds continues to heat up! Best tide to fish near low tide. Best bait large mud minnows or finger mullet.

Tides this week are building with the evening tides Thursday peaking at 8.5 feet, an a .8 negative tide in the afternoon. Spring tides can be difficult to fish due to fast currents and dirty water. For best success try to find slower moving clean water.

Hope this of help!

Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Thank goodness for the drenching rain on Saturday! It rained all day, a great soaking rain! The wildfires in South Georgia and Florida are 98% contained. Rainfall is a blessing to coastal marshes and our fisheries. Prior to the rain the river water was beginning to look cloudy. This is an algae bloom. A normal sign of warming conditions. This week there were seatrout caught on the beach fronts when conditions werent’ too rough. Small sharks are plentiful along sandbars and in deep holes. Red drum and seatrout can be in brackish water as well as near the beach. Redfish are along the flats. The flounder bite is on! During Saturday rain storm the flounder were biting. The leading edge of front can trigger an intense flounder bite. Its ‘not uncommon for a fisherman to feel a flounder picking up the bait only to miss the fish. Slowing your hook set and waiting till the fish commits is usually the best. Finger mullet and large mud minnows are a great flounder bait. Flounder will readily take a shrimp but it’s easier to lose a shrimp. Capt. “Wild “Bill Jarrell says its all about energy. If you want a quality fish use a quality bait. With that in mind a finger mullet or large mud minnow is very appetizing. Tarpon had been spotted in local waters. Large schools of menhaden are not in Warsaw although schools of medium sized menhaden can be found in creeks off of Wilmington river. Tarpon fishing will correspond with bait. When bait is abundant it’s likely the fish will find them. Seatrout and bluefish are biting. The best bite has been on high incoming tide. Key indicators for finding seatrout are a good drift, clean water, and bait. Strong winds have made fishing difficult. When wind is blowing try to make it work for you by fishing the windward side. If the wind is too strong then fish the lee shores. Excellence places to find seatrout are on points, along grass edges, small creek mouths or gullies. Seatrout will show up only for a limited period of time. The indicator is current. When the current is swirling in or out a food chain is likely taking place. Little or no current the seatrout bite will likely be slow. What’s hot one day can be cold the next. In every type fishing there are patterns: seasonal patterns as well patterns within patterns. In a fishing report likewise look for a pattern. Most fishermen are looking for that magic spot. Yes location is important. My encouragement is look for patterns. Fishing is hopefully more than just killing a bunch of fish. Keep a few to eat if you desire and release the rest.

Last Friday Capt. Ray Crawely brought a dead redfish back to the Westin dock. There was a little friendly fishing competition among a group of fishermen (for the largest fish). The fish was meant as a joke. Apparently the fish had died a short while ago but had not begun to decompose. It’s likely another fishermen caught this large red (32″ or so) and held with their fish gripper. The larger the fish the care more in handling and releasing. One fisherman can do lots of damage they arent’ even aware of. When using a fish gripper on a large fish use the gripper only to hold the head in place not to suspend the fish. Dropping a large redfish into the water is not a good idea. Often the fish will belly up. It’s likely that fish will revive. Why put the fish through that stress? Place the fish in the water, point the fish into the current and hold by the small of the tail. Hold the fish until its dorsal fin pops up then release. Swishing the fish back and forth can force water through its gills counter to the natural flow. If a fish is slow to revive wait until the fish can swim off.

Tides look good for the coming week with negative starting Saturday. The following week evening tides will be over 8 foot. Big tides again! Brown shrimp should be showing in good numbers in local creeks and rivers. Rainfall on Saturday and good tides should provide good fishing for the coming week!

Hope this of help!

Capt. Jack McGowan