5 Saltwater Favorites In South Carolina

Spottail Bass

Spottails are one of the most widely distributed saltwater species in South Carolina, occurring not only all along the coast, but well up coastal rivers too. Most anglers concentrate on coastal marshes and inlets.

One of the reasons spottails are popular is that you can catch them all year. Fall and winter schools are composed of various-sized fish, while similarly sized fish will school together during the warmer months.Sight-casting to tailing fish at high tides is very popular.

Many kinds of soft plastics and fly-fishing tackle will work on the flats. Fall spottails will eat bait, with live shrimp or finger mullet under a cork hard to beat.

While management assessments of spottail populations remain guarded, the bag limit was recently made more liberal. The limit is three fish between 15 and 23 inches. The state record is 75 pounds.

Spotted Seatrout

A very widespread member of the drum family, spotted seatrout live in coastal waters from Mexico to New York. In the South Carolina portion of their range, they will remain in estuaries throughout the year.

Spotted seatrout are also known as winter trout because the cooler months can produce some fantastic fishing; however, veteran anglers prefer going after the large roe trout during the early spring.

Cold weather makes trout very lethargic. Slow-moving plastic baits fished over trout holding in deep holes work well. Shrimp under floats near oyster beds on points catch trout, but the biggest fish go for baitfish.

Recently, seatrout populations have soared. Regulations were changed in 2007 to take advantage of the high population. The minimum size was raised to 14 inches, ensuring that each fish has spawned.

Flounder

Both summer and southern flounder are available to anglers in South Carolina. Fish are widely distributed in all estuaries during the summer, but during the winter they tend to move out to artificial reefs.

Flounder fishing ramps up in May and is one of the most consistent fisheries during the summer. Drifting any coastal inlet with mud minnows will put fish in the cooler. The bite spikes again in the fall.

Giggers harvest about as many flounder as rod-and-reel anglers, who troll mostly with finger mullet and mud minnows. Fishing live or large cut baits over offshore reefs in winter will catch huge flounder.

Regulations were changed in 2007. There is per- person limit of 20 but a boat limit of 40 fish, and the minimum size was raised to 14 inches; the change gives the fish a chance to spawn before being caught.

King Mackerel

Rather like tourists, king mackerel prefer water temperatures above 68 degrees. Their affinity for warm water leads to long migrations along the coast. They are most common here from late spring to fall.

For nonstop action, nothing compares to fishing near artificial reefs in October and November. Most of these kings, however, will run only 10 to 15 pounds, with an occasional bigger fish thrown into the mix.

King mackerel are suckers for slow-trolled live baits, usually menhaden. Cover the water column by pulling baits on downriggers and planers, as well as on the surface. Don’t overlook fish on tide lines near inlets.

Kings are federally regulated by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, headquartered in Charleston. The minimum size is 24 inches (fork length) and the bag limit is three fish per person.

Weakfish

Weakfish are another of the more than 30 members of the drum or croaker family. Weakfish range from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico, with the greatest abundance from South Carolina northward.

Large groups of weakfish on artificial reefs during the winter produce the most action. Weakfish will also be found along inlet channels at mid-depths for anglers who drop baits a little deeper.

Jigging spoons or grubs near aggregations of weakfish will land the most fish. Weakfish will also take live bait, such as shrimp, small crabs and baitfish. Slow- trolling grubs along inlet channels will catch fish too.

The bag limit on weakfish is 10 fish per person, and the minimum size is 12 inches. The state-record weakfish was taken in 1981 near Parris Island. It weighed 11 pounds, 13 ounces.