Inshore: Captain Patrick Kelly reports that as temperatures rise and even more bait starts to return in May the redfish should feed more regularly. The tailing activity at high tide should pick up as reds devour consistently available fiddler crabs, and fish should also eat better at low and moving tides in the creeks. Docks will continue to hold fish. If you can get live shrimp they are hard to beat, but finger mullet, small menhaden, mud minnows, and more will also catch redfish. Trout fishing should also pick up in moving water over shell bars, and both jigs and shrimp will catch fish - as well as finfish baits. Big roe trout will be in the main rivers to spawn. Topwater activity for both trout and reds should also improve this month during low light periods, but the most exciting development in May is usually that the cobia return in numbers to the Broad River. A few had already been seen by late April, and people will catch them both sight-fishing and anchoring baits on the bottom. Tripletail, bluefish, ladyfish, and other migratory species will also be around in ever-greater numbers, and the bigger flounder should continue to show up after starting to trickle back inshore during April. Finally, don’t overlook the sheepshead bite around docks and other structure on fiddler crabs – especially before it gets very hot and patterns change.

Inshore: Captain Patrick Kelly **hidden content**) reports that in April redfish will be almost completely broken out of their tight winter schools on the flats, although there will continue to be docks that hold good numbers of fish. Although they can be a little finicky, cut mullet will be a good bait for reds this month as will live shrimp. As temperatures continue to rise they will feed more and more on fiddler crabs, and tailing activity should get better and better on high water. Trout fishing will also improve in April in moving water, with small live shrimp, mud minnows, and grubs all working. By the end of March big trout were already showing up and biting well. Topwater activity for trout and reds should also start this month during low light periods. This month many of the larger sheepshead that have moved offshore will return inshore, where they can be caught around docks and other structure on fiddler crabs. By the latter part of the month some cobia should arrive and perhaps other migratory species such as bluefish, ladyfish and more.

Inshore: Captain Patrick Kelly reports that March fishing will depend on weather conditions, and at some point river flats redfish will start to break out of their tight winter schools. There were some early signs this was happening at the end of February. Early in the month sight-fishing should be productive, and both live bait and artificials can catch fish. Later in the month fish should start to spread out more and forage for fiddler crabs. At the same time, structure like docks that hold fish virtually year-round should fish well throughout the month. Trout should continue to get more active in March, particularly in clean, moving water, and they will take live shrimp fished on a jighead or under a cork. Finally, this month many of the larger sheepshead that have moved offshore will return inshore, but there are also plenty of small and medium-sized fish that never left. They can be caught around docks and other structure on fiddler crabs.

Great fishing today! Sunny and cold but bite was fire!!

Inshore: Captain Patrick Kelly (843-reports that February should look a lot like January, and redfish will stay in tight schools. On the river flats they will sometimes be focused on avoiding dolphins, but in the clear conditions you should be able to sight fish for them and get some reaction strikes. Both live bait and artificials can catch fish. There should also continue to be a good bite around creek docks, as the population of redfish in the Beaufort area is clearly strong and structure seems to hold fish 12 months a year. Captain Pat has seen but not yet caught trout after the snow, and this month some fish should be caught in moving water on soft plastics fished on ¼ ounce jigheads. If you can get live shrimp they will often work even better. There are also tons of juvenile sheepshead that can be caught inshore this month, while the bigger ones usually head out to the reefs or the deepest inshore structure to spawn.

Inshore: Captain Patrick Kelly reports that in January redfish will get in even tighter schools. In January sight-fishing is an excellent way to target fish on the flats with natural baits or artificial lures in the clear conditions, but if it gets very cold at some point they may get more lethargic. There can also be reliable fishing around docks, particularly those with some oyster beds nearby. Trout should continue to be caught in deeper holes in the creeks on soft plastics fished on ¼ ounce jigheads as long as it does not get super cold, and they will also take mud minnows – or live shrimp if you can get them. There are still black drum around inshore that will eat cut shrimp, and until the bulk of the better sheepshead move offshore next month they can still be caught on deeper structure with fiddler crabs.