Yet another tropical system came through to disrupt the area fishing but fortunately, this, too, was short lived with minimal impacts other than some rough conditions and lots of rain. The weather appears to be settling down and the weekend looks like it is going to be a great, albeit hot, one to wet a line in the ocean, the sound or from the pier or beach. Water temperatures were reading around 80 degrees last week, and the National Weather Service reports that is slightly above where we should be for this time of year, but the fish sure don’t seem to mind it.
Inshore, the fishing has just been getting better and better, with good reports coming in for several species. Flounder fishing with both natural and artificial baits in the creeks, the inlets and around the docks has been very good with lots of keeper fish being reported. With the water temps heating up, the deeper areas with moving water and muddy bottoms are good locations to target. Anglers are finding plenty of finger mullet in the creeks already — a good sign for those wishing to utilize live bait on Carolina Rigs. For those not handy with a throw net, you can always utilize a minnow trap dropped in a creek or around an oyster bed and catch day’s worth of mud minnows.
Red drum have been plentiful in the same areas and will also readily hit the same baits intended for flounder. Elsewhere, the sheepshead fishing around the docks and bridge pilings has been very good with some fish weighing upwards of eight pounds. Anglers are using Carolina Rigs tipped with either barnacles or fiddler crabs to entice.
The pier anglers are finding some action on Got-Cha Plugs from Spanish mackerel and bluefish. With the days getting hotter, the mornings and afternoons are better times to try your luck. The live baiters are finding some action from large Spanish mackerel and barracuda. Those fishing with minnows and strip baits have landed a few keeper flounder while dragging baits along the base of the pier. Bottom fishermen using fresh shrimp and sand fleas have caught some nice-sized Virginia mullet as well as some hefty pompano.
Surf fishing has been good early and late in the day when there are fewer swimmers to contend with. Virginia mullet, pompano, flounder, bluefish and even a few red drum have been reported during the past couple of weeks. The deeper holes and sloughs seem to be where the majority of the fish are being found.
Off the beach proved difficult earlier in the week but prior to the arrival of the storm, anglers were reporting some king mackerel being caught on live bait just off the beach. Pods of menhaden are cruising along the beach as well and anglers are reporting some very good cobia action being found while fishing around them. Spanish mackerel fishing continues to be strong in water depths of around 35 feet. Further off the beach, there have been a few dolphin caught in the 10-mile range as well as some amberjack and king mackerel. The better dolphin fishing is being found in the 25-mile range with the fishing getting better for the larger and more abundant fish the further you head offshore. Bottom fishing in the 30-mile range has produced good catches of vermillion snapper, triggerfish, black sea bass and some grouper.
