Santee stripers back down lake and feeding heavily

Striped bass have made the transition from the upriver spawn in upper Lake Marion all the way back to the Pinopolis Dam in Lake Moultrie, where they are being caught in huge numbers and good sizes.

Charleston inshore bite is on fire

Anglers fishing the inshore waters around Charleston are having good luck with three different species of fish – with a fourth one just starting to show up.

Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island flounder are on the feed

Mother Nature keeps slinging unsettled weather across South Carolina’s coastal area, yet guides in Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island report steady catches of flounder.

North Augusta team wins big at Lake Thurmond

Bart Blackburn and Punk Gentry, both from North Augusta, teamed up to win $15,000 in the April 27 Kicks 99 Hooked on Country Bass Tournament on Lake Thurmond with a 5-fish limit weighing 24.76 lbs. The duo beat out 256 other teams with one of the best limits of fish weighed in on Thurmond in years.

Go beyond lures to catch redfish

Despite the best marketing attempts of lure manufacturers, casting soft-plastic baits is not the only way to catch redfish. In fact, under some of the less-than-ideal prevailing weather conditions that have plagued the state’s coastal regions, notably high winds, cold fronts and freshwater inundations, live baits may be the best choice when targeting redfish. It’s a situation that makes Capt. Jimmy Skinner of Fontaine Charters smile.

Learn to catch your own live bait in a cast net

This time of year, striped bass will move out of the main-lake deep water in many of South Carolina’s reservoirs and up into some of the longer tributary arms, and one of the top baits is large gizzard shad – which are often right under your boat. Being able to throw a cast net and catch your own bait adds an additional facet to your fishing outings.