Murrells Inlet captain shares mahi mahi fishing tips
“This is a great time of year for anglers along the coast. There is a lot going on, inshore, nearshore, and offshore. Everything is biting,” said Capt. Ned Campbell of Murrells Inlet Outpost.
When it comes to offshore, Campbell (843-651-6602) the mahi bite is definitely one that is getting a lot of attention from anglers.
“In the past couple of weeks, the mahi have really come on strong, and anglers are catching plenty of them, and they’ve been a wide range of sizes. Some are peanuts but there have been plenty of gaffers too,” he said.
Trolling is the way to go for these fish, and Campbell said one of the best tips he can give anglers is to look for debris when they’re trolling. Trolling your lures close to any type of debris can pay off, and Campbell said if you troll by debris a few times and don’t get any hits, don’t hesitate to slow down, or even stop, next to the debris and get your lures down deeper.
“If you find debris, no matter what it is, you are going to find fish, and this time of year, you will find a lot of mahi around that kind of stuff. It can be a floating tree, a wooden door, or half of a pallet. Anything floating out there is going to attract tiny fish, which attract bigger fish, which attract even bigger fish,” he said.
Most of the mahi bites are coming around 60 miles off the coast, in areas with water depths around 120 feet. Sea Witches and similar lures are good bets when trolled, and Campbell said now is the time of year to downsize those lures.
“When you find floating debris, make sure to pull your lures as close as you can get to it. If nothing bites, troll past it again, this time a little slower, which will let your lures drop down a little deeper,” he said.
Another approach that Campbell said works around debris is to stop trolling and simply drift alongside it.
“I’ve had days where we’ve just drifted alongside the debris, casting plugs on top and dropping down chunks of baitfish. We’ve limited out on mahi doing that before, and we’ve had trips where we’ve caught some really nice ones that way, then when that bite turned off, we went back to trolling,” he said.
Stop by the Murrells Inlet Outpost for all your fishing needs at 3525 US 17 in Murrells Inlet.
