Winyah Bay - Tarpon Fishing Report

Tarpon fishing has been steady this year around Winyah Bay, Georgwtown South Carolina. It seems we are having an average season in terms of number of tarpon around our coast.  We are in the peak of the annual mullet run and tarpon seem to be most cencentrated along beaches and inlets at the moment, feeding in and around the large pods of sea mullet heading south. As the mullet run begins to taper off ,  I expect another couple weeks of solid tarpon fishing before they start thinning out. The last few weeks in Sept and early Oct have historically produced the biggest fish of the year for me and we are at that mark.
On another note, the redfish bite has been solid, as well as trout and flounder. Red Drum in the 20lb - 40lb class are being caught surfishing around the beaches as well as Winyah Bay. Some of the best inshore fishing will take place over the next three months so plan early and come enjoy fishing in the beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry

Here are a couple of recent tarpon fishing pictures... 

Tailing Tides: Winyah Bay and Cape Romain

The last round of tailing tides was a testament that summer is just around the corner as redfish have been very active on the flooded grass flats around Cape Romain and Winyah Bay.

Fishing for Tailing Redfish is one of the most exciting sight fishing that our area has to offer. The ideal times to catch tailing redfish are during the late spring to late fall, typically on the evening and early am flood tides. When the tide begins to cover the hard bottom grass flats, redfish will move in with the tide to root out small crabs burrowed down in the mud. As fish use their nose to root for crabs, their tails can been seen waiving high above the water line, often in water less than 6in deep.

There are several different methods to catch tailing redfish but perhaps the most effective is by fly fishing. 8wt-9wt outfits, and light weedless flies that mimic small shrimp or crabs are ideal. When flyfishing, the subtle presentation of lightly weighted flies are less likely to spook a weary redfish.

Other methods including using light spinning tackle with weedless flukes or even top water plugs, modified with a 2/0 octopus hook to reduce snags. Which ever method you choose, presentation and casting accuracy is critical to getting that bite.

Some of the best flats in our area can be found around Winyah Bay leaving from Georgetown, or Cape Romain leaving from McClellanville, and the best tides generally occur on the New and Full Moons from May - Oct.



If you have any interest in catching tailing redfish with us this Summer, here are some dates with ideal tailing tides...

May: 16-20
June: 1-4,  16-19
July: 1-3; 16-19; 29-31
Aug: 1; 14-18; 28-31

Spring Fishing Report

After a winter that never was, the spring fishing season is off to a great start thanks to an exceptional run of weather the last few weeks. Water temps are clocking in around 70 degrees which is more typical of late April rather than late March. Spring has certainly arrived early and I expect the rest of 2012 to be one of the best we’ve seen around Winyah Bay and Cape Romain in many years. 

Overall the inshore fishing has been exceptional this spring! Although we’ve had a few days that seem to baffle even the most experienced fishermen (which is often the case during the winter/spring transition), we certainly can't complain about the beautiful weather and early exit of Winter. Redfish have been finicky at times - here one day/gone the next, and catching them on flies and artificial baits has been challenging. When redfish are in this spring transition period, I always like to bring along a few blue crabs which can be quartered and fished on a 4/0 circle hook on a carolina rig or even a 1/4oz jig head.
 



 
Flounder are beginning to carpet the shallow creeks and we’ve caught a good many keeper size flounder in Murrells Inlet and Georgetown. This is a good sign that the new size limits are paying off so we should have a great year for flounder.


Trout have also been a bit of a surprise the last few weeks, lots of 2-4lb fish are being caught in their typical springtime spawning grounds in Winyah Bay and North Inlet. This is one of my favorite times of year to throw top water plugs which is the most productive way to target larger sea trout. Another effective way to catch larger trout is fishing with finger mullet under a popping cork, or working a 5in jerk shad in a flutter or weightless hook.


With some excellent tailing tides this month, I anticipate the redfish to settle back into their warm weather patterns and begin swarming the flooded grass flats. 

If you plan visiting the Myrtle Beach or Pawleys Island area, I hope you’ll decide to join myself or Capt. Richard for some very exciting sight fishing on fly or spin tackle.