September 15
Inshore water temperatures on the north end of the Grand Strand have dropped and range from the low 80s in the creeks to about 77 in the surf. The water is very dirty.
The bite hasn’t changed a lot since the storm even though the water has gotten dirty, but there have been decent numbers of small redfish caught inshore – before the storm they were a little hard to locate. Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly reports that his boat is now catching them in very shallow water throwing ¼ ounce jigheads with live mullet, live shrimp or cut mullet.
Trout and flounder are still being caught, and the bull drum are being caught on dead high tide near the Little River jetties.
Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that there are lots of reds and black drum being caught off the pier in only 3-4 feet of water, with the reds running generally 30-35 inches. Plenty of 10-15 inch bluefish are around as well as the usual croaker, whiting and perch. There is a king mackerel tournament off the pier this weekend.

August 31
Inshore water temperatures on the north end of the Grand Strand are in the mid-80s, and water clarity is poor after a lot of recent rain.
It’s starting to feel like fall, and Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly reports that right on cue the larger redfish are starting to school up in the Little River Inlet. Mullet are running up and down the beaches, and as a result there are plenty of reds ranging from the larger end of the slot up to about 36 inches. They will eat both mullet and menhaden. Inside the creeks the redfish have been tough to locate recently.
There is still a strong trout bite, and on the rising tide action has been pretty consistent with live shrimp fished under a popping cork. Fish are in 3-10 feet of water around points, drops and ledges. There are also a tremendous number of snapper bluefish in these same areas, and right now it’s a pretty safe bet that if there are either trout or bluefish in an area the other species is also present.
Flounder fishing has been good on the outgoing tide with live mullet fished on the bottom. The fish have been in deeper holes with about 10 feet of water.
The black drum bite has also been strong, with fish caught around Tillman’s Docks. Fish are biting live or fresh dead shrimp on the outgoing tide.
Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that whiting, croaker, a few pompano, a few black drum and some spadefish have been caught off the pier. There are some nice-sized Spanish mackerel around but kings have not returned since April.

Jay A’Hern
Angler’s Headquarters (www.AnglersHeadquarters.com)
P.O. Box 50225
Columbia, SC 29250
jay@usfishingreport.com