September 29 Morning surface water temperatures are around 76 degrees inshore around Little River, and there are a ton of shrimp and finger mullet in the creeks. In the ocean the big mullet are running. It was a good week for fishing at the top of the Grand Strand, but Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly **hidden content**) reports that yesterday when the wind started to gust a little and they could tell a storm was coming the bite began to slow. After the storm the fishing should get hot again. The flounder fishing has been good for most of the past week, and the North Carolina season will close to harvest again on Saturday. However, the bite on this side of the line has also been pretty good. Fish are mainly in the main creek channels and around the mouths of smaller creeks, and 3-8 feet has been the target range. The rocks in the inlet have also held some fish. Mullet and Gulp! are both working. Black drum have also been plentiful, and on the outgoing tide they are catching fish around oyster bars and docks. Live and fresh cut shrimp are both working. The big bull red drum have been a little hit-or-miss in the inlet, but they can be caught around the rocks on mullet or menhaden. Slot reds have not been great either, but they are in the usual places and especially creek mouths. Live shrimp, cut mullet, and live finger mullet are all working. Trout have been slow. Inshore there have been a surprising number of small gag grouper, and even though they usually only get 3 or 4 all year they are catching a couple most places they stop and 10 or so per day. They are in the creeks in shallow water. Release them with care because they still have a lot of growing to do! Despite the weather Cherry Grove Pier **hidden content**) reports that today they have been catching a lot of spot, croaker and whiting. Last Sunday they had three kings and there are plenty of Spanish being caught every day the water is clear. There is a lot of life close in right now. Nearshore out at the Caudle Reef there have been abundant flounder, and Spanish mackerel are also around.

August 30 Morning surface water temperatures are around 83 degrees inshore around Little River, and on the beach side the water is very clear. More calm days have made fishing outside the creeks accessible again, and Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly **hidden content**) reports that the Spanish mackerel bite has been pretty outstanding. Fish can be caught anywhere nearshore that there are pods of bait (and usually birds diving on them), but probably the best fishing has been out by the jetty rocks. Live chumming and then casting out live baits has been working really well for nice fish up to the 3-5 pound range, and they have found the hook-up ratio is better hooking the baits through the tail. You can also cast topwater lures at the fish which is a blast. Bluefish and small cobia can also be caught out at the nearshore reefs, but the flounder fishing has been really good out there. Inshore the flounder patterns are about the same, but the big news is that starting this Thursday you can keep one flounder per day out of North Carolina waters for the month of September. All summer the flounder population has been excellent in the Tar Heel State, but every fish has had to be released, and so this is an exciting opportunity. Inshore the usual early fall patterns for redfish are working, and Captain Smiley reports that you can catch fish around docks, oyster beds and downed trees. While you can certainly get into an area where there are more very small redfish regardless of bait, in general it seems like live shrimp are getting more little bites while cut mullet are catching bigger fish. Out at the jetty rocks the big breeder-sized redfish have moved in, and you can catch them on live or cut menhaden or mullet. Trout have not been especially prolific yet but if you drift with live shrimp you will find them. The ocean is beautiful right now and so it’s no surprise that Cherry Grove Pier **hidden content**) reports that they have had four or five king mackerel in the last few days and also jumped some tarpon. For now they are catching pretty good numbers of mostly smaller flounder, trout and Spanish mackerel while eating-sized whiting have been fairly abundant.

August 18 Morning surface water temperatures are around 82 degrees inshore around Little River, and with less wind the last few days water clarity is picking up. With a couple of calmer days Captain Patrick “Smiley” Kelly **hidden content**) reports that they have been able to get out to target the Spanish mackerel around the inlet. If you chase the birds you will see the fish feeding on small pods of glass minnows or menhaden, and you can cast topwater plus or castings jigs at them. Bluefish in the 18-20 inch range are also mixed in with the Spanish mackerel. Inshore fishing is still pretty good for a wide variety of species including redfish, trout, croaker and more. Live shrimp and mud minnows have been working in holes in the creeks as well as around oyster beds and grass lines. The black drum fishing has finally slowed down, and while there are still some fish at the Tillman docks it’s not like it was a couple of weeks ago. There are also big drum at jetties, and they have been caught on the bottom with live menhaden. Sharks are also mixed in. You can also **hidden content** shrimp off the rocks for trout. The flounder fishing continues to be outstanding, although inshore it’s best on the North Carolina side where it’s strictly catch-and-release. Small live menhaden, live finger mullet and mud minnows are all working. With the cleaner water the king mackerel fishing has turned on off the Cherry Grove Pier **hidden content**), and they report a 28-pound fish today, another good one lost and a 16-pound fish yesterday. Other than that the bite has been a little spotty with small flounder and occasional croaker, whiting and sharks.