Things are heating up on the coast as Memorial Day draws near! Temperatures are rising and it feels nice! The sea trout bite is picking up coming off of last week spring tides. Water is temperature in the mid to upper 70’s. Subsequently, there are lots of sharks are in sounds: sand bar, black tip, atlantic sharp nose to name some of the more frequent marauders. Most sharks are protected from being harvested. The regulations state if in doubt of the species please release. A good idea for those species that can be harvested is just take the males. In general males seem to be more abundant.
Brown shrimp are becoming more plentiful! One fisherman stated it took little effort to catch some bait for fishing. Ample bait is always a good sign!
Keeper sized reds can be found in the heads of creeks with larger reds towards the sounds. The flounder bite is picking up but its still a little early. Ladyfish are starting to appear. Ladyfish are fun, energetic fish while not thought of as table fare. A ladyfish can be a great bait to catch a bigger fish.
The whiting bite is slowing as predator fish are appearing. When fishing for whiting be prepared for some large pulls because of the sharks. One easy solution to avoid tangling with a shark is a light leader, allowing the leader to break when a large fish is hooked. The sheepshead bite offshore and inshore is slowing due to more bait, more competitor fish, as well as the fish being more spread out. Fiddler crabs can be seen by thousands on muddy banks with male waving their large distinctive claw. It’s not unusual this time of year when cleaning a redfish to see their stomach’s stuffed with crabs.
When conditions have allowed those going offshore for cobia have fared well1 As well as good action in the Broad River.
Warming conditions and more bait will likely mean good fishing! Fishing has been little slow. Fishing will likely be picking up as conditions continue to warm!
Hope this of interest and help! Keep only what you intend to eat and release the rest!
Fish On!
Capt. Jack McGowan