SAA Unofficial Official Fish Report
& LeaderBoard

JUNE

2008 LEADERBOARD
Black Sea Bass Janie Waddell 3.08#

Bluefish Michael Schweiger 9.36#

Flounder Barry Rose 4.79#

Red Drum Keith logan ( R ) 6.90#

Sheepshead Michael Schweiger 2.22#

Spadefish Bobby Hooks 6.10#

Spanish Mackerel Mark Bender 0.48#

Speckled Trout Michael Schweiger 5.40#

Summer Trout Michael Schweiger 2.74#

White Grunt Chris Carbone 1.14#

Whiting Mark Bender 0.54#

       The 3rd Annual Family Flounder Tournament proved the Flounder are here! They have been doing very well putting them in the cooler in Cherry Grove! Most of the Flounder in the tournament came from there, (65%). Same old story... They like almost any kind of live bait, even Pinfish! The bait of choice has been mud-minnows. Pick some up at Johnny’s Bait & Tackle...they are the fish-catchin’ type! Bigger live bait gets bigger Flounder! Make sure your line is as light as possible and light tackle, just enough to hold bottom will do the job. Use fluorocarbon as the bottom has a lot of bad thingee’s that can chop up your line and a regular line won’t do. A few are also at the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge on the ICW, in Tubbs Inlet, Bonapartes Creek, Dunn Sound.
    Pier fishing has really picked up in the last few weeks. Croaker, Whiting, Bluefish, Red Drum, Black Drum, Sheepshead and Spanish Mackerel are showing up at Cherry Grove Pier. There have also been some King Mackerel caught off the Cherry Grove and the Sunset Beach Piers in the 10-15 pound range.
    Red Drum are at the Little River Jetties and in the fast moving creeks. Look for them in the current. Live bait works well as does Gulp baits. Again, light line does it, make sure it’s florocarbon.
    The same goes for Black Drum. They are being caught in Dunn Sound and Bonapartes Creek. They are in the shallows of the creeks and in the ICW near the grass. They have been biting on just about any kind of frozen bait available in the bait shops. Cut bait and chunks of squid seems to get them excited. Get creative!!
    Many nice size Spotted Seatrout have been caught in the creeks and the ICW. Good spots are the Sunset Beach Pontoon Bridge area of the ICW and Tubbs Inlet area. Some have been caught in Coccina Harbor as well. Check out the Little River Jetties too. Look for moving water at the dropping tide for best fishing. Cast net for some live Shrimp. Hang the shrimp on a short leader (about 12-15 inches) under a small float and make sure the shrimp is swimming. Working Gulp lures on a leadhead off the bottom has been productive as well.
    As usual, the Black Sea Bass are out on the reefs. You will catch a ton of them. Some nice ones have been caught at the Caudle Reef. You have to anchor up right over the structure or you will not catch them. If you move off the structure you will catch smaller fish.
    The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark moved in. So have the Spinner Sharks and the Blacktip Sharks. These Sharks are good eating however, so take care to correctly ID the shark you catch. They make for tasty fillets and the bigger ones make good steaks. (Be sure your boat has a NMFS Permit to catch & keep sharks. Big fine if you don’t!
Check out their website at http://www.nmfspermits.com.)
    The Spadefish are finally here in great numbers. Check out over structure and use anything from small pieces of shrimp to small fiddler crabs to pieces of jelly balls. They are a big fish with a small mouth so make sure the hook is no bigger than a #4.
    King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel have showed up. The King Mackerel are mostly offshore in 90 ft. of water but they are here near the beaches and over the local reefs as well. The Spanish Mackerel have been filling some coolers in front of Cherry Grove and Waites Island near the breakers trolling Clarkspoons about 5-6 mph. They are mixed with some nice Bluefish. They are seen chasing bait fish.
    There are a number of King Mackerel rigs available and most are for dead bait like cigar minnows or ballyhoo which is what most anglers use. Check with your local tackle store to find out what to use. The King can be found at the 390/390, 410/510, Christina Ledge, the Jungle, Myrtle Beach Rock, the Sherman, and Little River Offshore Reef in South Carolina and at the reefs & rocks in North Carolina. Check your charts for structure and head out!

Stop Wishin’...Go Fishin.’
If you have any info on the local fishing, email THE ANCHOR at SeacoastAnglers@aol.com and let us know.