Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Report - 3/18/2014

Fishing Report for the Coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina:

Humorous wooden sign found outdoors at a fishing pier - Isn't this always the way!

Inshore: Scott Hammond at Haddrell's Point West shares that Spring is starting to kick into gear and we the fish are starting to show signs of transition as well. Redfish are beginning to slowly break out of the large winter schools and beginning to spread out amongst the lowcountry estuaries as the water temps continue to climb. Trout have begun to show back up in a little bit of shallower water from 5-8ft, with numerous reports of 20+” fish being caught. Surprisingly enough, we have even seen some pictures of a few flounder being caught in the past week….just another sure sign that spring has finally started to descend on the Lowcountry. Fort all the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Haddrell's Point.

Ed. Note: Special Congrats to Scott Hammond for tagging a boss gobbler on opening day when most were unable to do so due to winter weather holding out. He told me that his three weeks of continuous scouting made the difference on opening day, and while the tom was in  full strut, he was not saying much. Cast and Blast enthusiasts can rest easy that warmer weather lies ahead - good for turkeys and redfish!

Speaking of redfish, here is a nifty recipe from the Coastal Conservation Association: Redfish Sliders.

Offshore: Scott relays that early season trolling reports usually mean two main-stay species being targeted: Wahoo and Blackfin Tuna. While only scattered reports of blackfin have been coming in, the wahoo bite has really begun to take off along the ledge with reports 2 to 8-fish days.  Try high speed trolling to cover more territory in order to locate the fish. Bottom fishing continues to produce some very large sea bass in 60 to 100-feet of water, and the nearshore reefs are still producing some decent reports on the sheepshead and black drum, that is when you can get a bait past the sea bass!

To view past Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Reports click here.