April 30
Surface temperatures on the north end of the Grand Strand are in the upper 60s. The Cherry Grove area is very clear because of the lack of river inflow, while Little River is darker because of the freshwater.
The flounder continue to headline inshore fishing on the north end of the South Carolina Grand Strand, and Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that he has been fishing in the Cherry Grove area because the bite has been so good up there. He has mainly been fishing the outgoing tide, but the key has been drifting big live baits for bigger fish. Mullet, small spots and pinfish have all been working well. If you know where the good holes are you can also slow down and fish larger artificials. Gulp! jerkshad and Vudu Shrimp are both working.
There has also been a good black drum and redfish bite, with the best action coming on fresh cut shrimp fish fished in deeper holes with structure in the creeks. The lower outgoing tide has been best.
In the Little River area they are also finding fish back in very shallow creeks with 3-4 foot potholes on low tide.
There have not been a lot of anglers pursuing trout, but the action is much better with live shrimp if you can get them.
Captain Smiley has not fished the jetties but reds and black drum are there if you hit them right.
Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that some big whiting and nice keeper black drum have showed up, and just this week bluefish and Spanish mackerel have arrived. There have also been a few keeper flounder. With water temperatures hitting 68 it should not be long until king mackerel arrive.
At the nearshore reefs Spanish, blues and weakfish are all around, and king mackerel are also showing up. There have already been some reports of cobia on the south end of the Grand Strand and it should not be more than a week or two until they arrive within a few miles of the beaches.
In 60-100 feet of water they are wearing out the dolphin.

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

April 15
Surface temperatures on the north end of the Grand Strand are around 66 degrees in the surf.
The biggest change inshore this week is with the flounder, and Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that more fish are starting to show up in Cherry Grove. The most popular way to target them is trolling or drifting Carolina rigs or even double rigs with live mullet or mud minnows, but you can also spot-lock on a hole and cast.
However, the biggest change this year is that instead of there being 100 boats out there targeting them the fishing pressure is way down and so the flounder are getting a little break.
They are still catching some nice trout, and this bite should only get better in the next few weeks. Fish can be caught at low tide around oyster beds or on the Intracoastal Waterway ledges, and at higher tides they can be caught along the grass lines. The key to catching trout remains live shrimp, although DOA shrimp are producing a little better than they were.
There are also some nice trout being caught at the jetties on the outgoing tide, as well as redfish. There are also plenty of reds shallow around structure such as docks, as well as mixed in with the trout along ledges in the ICW or over shell beds. There are still some schools of redfish on the flats.
Black drum fishing is getting better, with more keepers starting to show up. They can be caught on cut shrimp around docks or other structure.
Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that rising ocean temperatures have improved the bite, and they are getting good numbers of whiting and they have also had a couple of runs of bluefish. So far they have been small, but as water temperatures stabilize and rise there will be more mature blues and better numbers. They have also had some small flounder caught, but the good fish should not be far behind them. There have been some good keeper-sized Spanish mackerel already, but that bite will also get better. Expect black drum to start to show up, and king mackerel should appear by about May 1.
There are menhaden schools starting to show up at the jetties, and nearshore at the 3-Mile Reef weakfish are plentiful and can be caught on 3/8 ounce jigs with white and chartreuse Gulp! Fish are running up to 5-6 pounds, and they will of course take natural baits too. There are also tons of bluefish and some Spanish that can be caught trolling Clarks spoons, and birds are diving everywhere.

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

April 1

Inshore surface water temperatures on the north end of the Grand Strand are in the upper 60s, but the water is fairly dirty.  

Just as public boat ramps have closed and it has become possible only to access the waterways and beaches from private access points, Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly (843-361-7445) reports that spring fishing has gotten really good.  In fact it is better than normal for the season.  

They are catching some nice trout and, while they have been doing the most fishing on low tide around oyster beds or on the Intracoastal Waterway ledges, at higher tides they can also be caught along the grass lines.  The key to catching trout has been live shrimp, which can be netted in the deep holes with taped nets, and they are making a night-and-day difference.  You can catch 1 or 2 fish on DOA shrimp in a spot, but you cast out a live shrimp you realize just how many fish there are.  

There are also some nice trout being caught on live shrimp at the jetties on the outgoing tide, as well as redfish.  There are also plenty of reds shallow around structure such as docks, as well as mixed in with the trout along ledges in the ICW or over shell beds.  

Black drum are also very plentiful, but even though there are some keepers overall fish are on the small side.  They can be caught on cut shrimp around docks or other structure.  

A few flounder are also showing up in the Cherry Grove area as they start to migrate back. 

Cherry Grove Pier (843-249-1625) reports that ocean temperatures are down to 61 degrees but good numbers of whitingas well as pufferfish, rays and small sharks are being caught.  Before temperatures dropped some bluefish had showed up and they should return once temperatures rise again.  

At the jetties bluefish are starting to be caught in good numbers, while nearshore black sea bass and sheepshead are still strong.  After being abundant last week the false albacore have disappeared, but as soon as some clean water gets blown back in they should be just a few miles out again.

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