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.
