Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Report - 9/3/2013

Fishing Report for the Coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina:

Rare piebald flounder from S.C. waters

Charleston Inshore: Scott Hammond at Haddrell's Point West is raving about the flatfish bonanza! Yep, the flounder bite is as good as we have seen it in several years, and they are still chomping hard for the old standby - live mud minnows! Live finger mullet is also a good option for flounder and the Zman PogyZ soft plastic bait is also working well. Fish for flounder around the edges of rock piles in three to eight-feet of water for best results, and remember that a snag on the bottom can feel exactly like when a flounder decides to pounce on your bait, so practice patience on your retrieve to catch more flatties. Bull redfish are still present in the inlets and at the Charleston jetties, and can offer plenty of trophy catch and release images for anglers. The tarpon bite has kicked in strong at the start of September with two confirmed reports of multiple shots at tarpon on a good day. Don't forget to check out the info for the upcoming tarpon tourney, to be held in Georgetown. The trout have been on the small side lately, and they are biting live shrimp, Zman DieZel minnows, and DOA shrimp fished along creek mouths and shell rakes in 3 to 6-feet of water when a steady current is present. For the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Haddrell's Point.

J.J. Owczarek at the Mt. Pleasant location of The Charleston Angler is all set for another round of tailing tides, which will position the redfish just how anglers like them - Tail Up! But when the water begins to fall the redfish will move back to ambush points to wait for shrimp and other bait to wash out of the flats. Casting soft plastics over shell beds along these same marshy areas during this ebb tide can produce good numbers of stacked up specks, also looking to ambush bait. Closer to low tide, check around structure like dock pilings for redfish and black drum, with a side order of sheepshead. If you are looking for some flounder for the dinner table, J.J. says to fish creek mouths by fan casting to cover the water, using some of the hundreds of soft plastics he has in stock now. For the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Charleston Angler.

Beaufort Inshore: Craig at the NEW Buck, Bass and Beyond shares that lots of jack crevalle are available for anglers right now. Chasing the jacks can run up your fuel bill, and they offer no table fare, but spotting a school of sickle fins breaking the water's surface is a grand feeling and experience. Ladyfish, or poor man's tarpon, and small tarpon are blowing up live shrimp fished under popping corks. Lots of redfish are showing up in the skinny water with many of them being over the slot limit! A good all-around combo for a mixed bag try the Vudu Shrimp under a Burnside Bopper (popping cork made in Savannah), when fishing near oyster rakes in moving water. Surf fishing for reds is doing well right now using menhaden and mullet, with some trout mixed in including one report of a 7-pound speck! At the nearshore reefs, mud minnows are keeping the weakfish, croakers and Atlantic sharpnose sharks busy and the anglers happy for the constant action. For the latest updates visit Buck, Bass N Beyond.

Offshore Report: J.J. says that good wahoo fishing awaits those who desire to troll offshore. Great bottom fishing can be found by using the new Shimano butterfly jigs.

Scott shares that the vast majority of all the reports are from the bottom fishing genre. Good reports of large black sea bass, vermillion snapper and nice grouper coming from 80 to 120-feet of water. The recent red snapper mini-season results were very good as well. Squid and cigar minnows have been producing well for the sea bass, with butterfly jigs and pinfish better for grouper. With only a few trolling reports, looks like a decent wahoo bite was on in 140 to 250-feet of water, and a few slinger dolphin were hanging around in 120-feet of water. Good for mahi tacos!

To view my Saltwater Season Round Up article click on Colletonian.

To view past Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Reports click here.