Flounder bite on southern end of Grand Strand has cranked up

Low-tide action great in backs of creeks of Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island

Mother Nature keeps slinging unsettled weather across South Carolina’s coastal area, yet guides in Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island report steady catches of flounder.

Capt. Englis Glover of Tee to Sea Charters reports a hot flounder bite in the area.

“The flounder have really turned on here,” said Glover (843-655-5459). “Just about every place I have fished over the past couple of weeks has produced quick bites and lots of flounder.”

With water temperatures steadily rising, flounder are looking for food wherever they can find it; Glover said he can’t keep live minnows in the water very long.

Capt. Shannon Currie of Catch-1 Fishing Charters (843-450-1430) is catching his fair share of flounder, too, but mostly away from the main creek channels in Murrell’s Inlet and Pawley’s Island.

“The main creeks are still full of that aggravating snot grass that covers your hook and bait, but the backs of the creeks have warmed up enough to clear out the grass (so you can) get to the flounder,” Currie said.

Due to their shallow nature and the effects of the spring sun, the backwaters warm up first, firing up the flounder bite in these areas. Recently, local weather data indicated water temperatures at 65 degrees in the ocean and near 70 degrees in the back of the creeks.

Currie’s best success has been at the bottom of the falling tide when fish are more concentrated in the flooded pockets of feeder creeks near oysters and marsh grass. The low tide congregates any resident bait into these solar-heated areas, allowing flounder to eat without much competition.

However, little bait is available to be caught in the region with cast nets. Until the annual flush of live bait arrives, anglers coming to the area to get a piece of the action should set out minnow traps the night before or stock up on store-bought mud minnows.