North Myrtle Beach June 18, 2009
Dr. Jeff Wallen, of Myrtle Beach, SC, with 4.9 and 6 lb. flounder he hooked on live mullet near Ocean Isle Beach.
Mark, of Shallow Minded Inshore Fishing, reports that anglers are catching good numbers of flounder around the Little River jetties and Tubbs Inlet. More and more of the fish are keepers each and every week. Live mud minnows and pogies are both producing action with the flatfish.
There’s been a good red drum bite around Sunset Beach Bridge, and mud minnows and pogies are also producing on the reds.
More reds are feeding around oyster beds and other structure in the smaller creeks with some black drum mixed in. Live shrimp rigged on jigheads and suspended beneath floats are fooling the red and black drum.
Drifting thorough the middle of Little River Inlet is producing some action with ladyfish, bluefish, spanish mackerel, and flounder. Casting live finger mullet and pogies on Carolina rigs with 1/2 oz. weights is working for all of the fish, and oftentimes the bait doesn’t even make it to the bottom before a blue, lady, or spanish pounces on it.
Spadefish have shown up at the General Sherman. Anglers can hook up with the hard-battling spades by chumming them up with cannonball jellies tied to a rope, then using small strips of the jelly as hook baits.
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Lee Frick and Jeremy Foster with a hogfish and an American red snapper they caught 45 miles off Shallotte Inlet aboard the 32' Yellowfin "Hooyah."
Patrick, of Capt. Smiley’s Fishing Charters, reports excellent fishing in some of the area’s shallow creeks and marshes lately. Anglers fishing structure and deeper pockets in the midst of the shallows are hooking big numbers of red drum, speckled trout, and black drum. Live shrimp pinned to light 1/8 oz. jigheads are producing most of the action, and the rising tide’s been the best tide recently.
Red drum are also feeding in the ICW underneath docks and the Sunset Beach Bridge.
Anglers are catching more reds and black drum in Dunn Sound on live shrimp. Most of the reds are running 18-28+”.
Speckled trout are feeding along some of the deeper cut banks in the area, and anglers can locate them by paying attention to egrets and other birds that eat the same baitfish the trout do.
The flounder bite has been good in the area lately as well, with most fish falling for mud minnows. Anglers have been putting together good catches of flatfish while fishing in Tubbs Inlet and around the Sunset Beach Bridge.
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Cameron, of Little River Fishing Fleet, reports that anglers found some excellent action while Gulf Stream bottom fishing last week 45-55 miles off the inlet. Bottom fishermen landed some gags and some hefty scamp groupers on cigar minnows.
Anglers dropping bottom rigs baited with squid and cigar minnows also hooked big numbers of triggerfish, jumbo sea bass, beeliners (2-4 lbs.), and other tasty bottom dwellers. Some amberjacks also fell for the bottom rigs last week.
Light-lining cigar minnows while bottom fishing produced some action with dolphin and king mackerel.
Nearshore, boats are still catching plenty of spanish mackerel while trolling Clarkspoons and hooking sharks on cut mackerel.
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Daniel, of Cherry Grove Pier, reports that anglers fishing with live shrimp hooked good numbers of stout black drum last week.
Casters working gold hook rigs and Gotcha plugs decked some spanish mackerel and bluefish.
The king bite was solid last week, with over 20 fish hitting the deck (the largest around 25 lbs.). Live bluefish and pogies fooled most of the mackerel.
The water is 77 degrees.
