Summer is settling in. Fishing very early in the morning or late in the afternoon is a good way to beat the crowds and the heat. Dawn patrol this week was good for trout on the falling tide. Most of the trout were holding on steep banks or submerged ledges in 10 to 15 feet of water. Finding good tidal flow was critical to finding biting fish and four-inch GULP swimming minnows on lead head jigs produced some good catches. Friends that were fishing mud minnows on lead head jigs in the same area put up better numbers. Many of the trout were just short of the 14-inch slot limit, but there were enough larger fish to keep things interesting.

A malfunctioning trolling motor kept me off the water for a couple of days, so I did some fly fishing in the ponds around the island. This produced some bream and a couple of decent size bass. It also served as an introduction to the local alligator population. Most of the alligators were docile and kept their distance. So it was quite surprising when a four- to five-footer swam right my feet. It stayed in the water and snapped at (and missed) the first fish that I caught. Needless to say, I quit fishing in its pond. With the arrival of summer, lets all keep a wary eye open for alligators when enjoying the waters within and around our island.

Spottail Bass: Very good. More and more bait is showing up everyday and tailing action is starting to get hot on the flats. Lots of fish are also being caught in the ICW, creeks, and Wando River, with tons of 5-12 pound redfish being caught on live and dead mullet, shrimp and crabs.

The Harbor, inlets, and creeks are teeming with bait, and some monster spottails are being caught out around the Charleston jetties fishing cut bait. Trout: Very good. Fish are in the Wando, Cooper, and the creeks around Wild Dunes. Early morning topwater action on Spooks has heated up, and during the day anglers should fish live shrimp under a float, or DOA and RipTide shrimp with a slow retrieve around oyster beds.

Night fishermen have also done well fishing DOA shrimp under well-lit docks. Flounder: Very good. Flounder can be found throughout inlets, the ICW, and creeks. Target flounder using live mud minnows fished slowly on the bottom. Small flounder are also being caught in the surf. Sheepshead: Very good. Sheepshead are schooled up at the nearshore reefs such as Capers Reef and are also being caught inshore. Reports of nice catches around inshore structure, as well as at the Charleston jetties, are common.

Folly Beach Pier: Some whiting, spots, pompano and a few trout are being caught, but pier fishing has yet to really pick up in the area.

Offshore: Out at nearshore reefs sea bass are still being caught in good numbers, and spadefish have started to show up as well as large bluefish. Dolphin are abundant and being caught in large numbers, and wahoo fishing is great. Barracuda are out in full force, and some tuna are being caught at the Georgetown Hole.

Moultrie is within one foot of full pool and water temperatures are around 76 degrees; baitfish are feeding in shallow areas where grass grew during low water and drawing predators shallow, too. Largemouth Bass: Very good. Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits fished early and late have both been very effective, and during the day dragging Texas rigged worms in green and blue shades through deep lily and primrose patches has been productive. Also look for areas where the bait is concentrated. Topwaters like buzzbaits and Zara Spooks have also been working as well as floating worms.

The last couple of weekends have been productive days and nights for drifting for blues. A little slow down probably because of weather changes and high winds was replaced with an improved bite lately. A couple of trips yielded 40 lb. plus class blue cats with numbers of other fish from 10 to 25 lbs. Bigger fish have come in 10 to 20 ft depths. Some folks are still catching numbers of blues in 30 plus feet but the average sizes are 3 to 6 lbs with some bigger fish now and then. Anchoring when the lake is too calm to drift has produced fish as well. Fish have been active in depths from 6 to 20 ft during the day the last couple of anchoring periods.

Catfish: Very good. The catfish bite is improving and very large fish are being caught, as well as good numbers. Bigger fish are being caught in 10 to 20 feet of water, and while some anglers are catching numbers of big blue cats in 30 plus feet of water average sizes are 3 to 6 pounds in deeper areas. Drifting is productive, as well as anchoring and fishing cut bait on the bottom when the lake is too calm to drift. Best catches are coming in 5 to 10 feet of water using cut mullet and herring, and an unusually large percentage of flatheads are being caught right now. Crappie: Slow. Crappie are in between spring and summer patterns right now and fishermen are having trouble finding them. Try fishing in 8 to 12 feet of water around major creek mouths and over medium depth brush until they move over deeper brush for the summer. Shellcracker: Excellent. Really large fish weighing two pounds and better are being caught around cypress trees, especially where they meet lilies. Fish worms shallow.