Fishing report for SC nearshore reefs, inshore creeks
As the early March weather continues to warm the ocean, the bite is heating up for numerous species along the SC coastline. And that includes fishing nearshore reefs as well as fishing in the inshore creeks.
Capt. Rob Bennett of Lowcountry Inshore Charters has been catching a healthy mixed bag on the nearshore reefs. But he said the bite is still plenty hot in the creeks around Kiawah.
On calm days, he said it’s worth the trip out to about 60 feet of water where he’s finding a mix of pink snapper, chunky black sea bass, grouper, weakfish, and sheepshead. He’s been especially pleased with some of the recent weakfish his clients have caught.
One thing about catching the weakfish — Bennett said anglers should be picky about what to keep. The daily limit is only one fish, so he said don’t always keep the first one you catch. Weed through the small ones and settle when you’ve caught a big one.
The fishing report is very good, and will get even better as spring arrives
On not-so-calm days, or when his clients simply prefer to fish inshore, he’s catching big numbers of redfish. Most of the redfish are coming on mud minnows under popping corks. Bennett said on most days, they aren’t popping the corks — they’re just casting them out and letting the minnows do the work for them. Very shallow water over oysters are holding big groups of these fish.
During one of his recent trips, a couple booked him for three hours. It was one of the cold, dreary mornings. They caught 37 redfish in that short trip, including slot-sized fish and over-the-slot ones.
Bennett is also always on the lookout for speckled trout. When he’s in a likely area, he said you simply can’t beat the Z-Man Slim SwimZ on a mushroom-head jig. This is a small lure that gives big results. Some anglers like to hop these lures up and down, but Bennett said a straight retrieve usually does the trick just as well.
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