This week, I had a really fun trip with Jim Thesing and Jim Ducker. Our fishing results were average but our laughs were through the roof. We started early in the morning casting top water plugs. The trout were only marginally cooperative. A slow, more subtle retrieve of our Zara Spook Juniors produced the most bites.

With the sun up and the tide rising, we abandoned top water and headed to a shallow flat to look for some redfish. The flat was clearly holding some good fish, but they were spooky and unsettled. Getting them to bite was problematic. After switching to live bait (finger mullet on lead head jigs), we started picking at the fish. Our most successful technique was staking out and casting to the occasionally red that would show itself by crashing some bait. This is a pretty passive fishing method which provided me the time to enjoy talking with both Jims. They are very entertaining guys. After a couple of hours and a lot of laughs, the redfish left the flat and so did we. It was a very fun day on the water!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at captaingreg@shallowwatercharters.com or (843) 224-0099.

Tarpon: Very good. Tarpon have arrived in the Lowcountry in very good numbers and are being caught in all of the inlets up and down the coast. Anchor in 4 to 10 feet of water and fish between slews or sandbars funneling into the inlets.

Trout: Very good. For the first couple of hours in the morning there has been good topwater action fishing around oyster shell rakes with moving water - Super Spooks are the bait of choice.

Spottail Bass: Good to very good. The redfish bite is strong around creek mouths with oyster rakes. There are also good numbers of spottails ganged up around docks and rock piles; they will take live or cut bait.

Flounder: Good to very good. As water temperatures rise the flounder bite continues to get hotter. Fish in shallow inlets, around rocks piles and at the mouths of feeder creeks and use live minnows, menhaden or finger mullet on Carolina rigs.

Folly Beach Pier: Fishing is strong off the pier and good numbers of Spanish mackerel are being caught, including a pier record 7 pound 11 ounce fish a couple of weeks ago. Some kings are also being caught, including a 32 pound fish last week. Small pompano, some whiting and nice black drum are also being caught, including several 6-8 pound fish in the last week.

Catfish: Very good. Captain Jim Glenn reports that the bite for nice sized catfish from 10 pounds into the 30s has been very good, even in the heat of the day. Cut herring and perch have been the baits of choice, and cut herring has been slightly more productive. Largemouth bass: Fair. Captain Inky Davis reports that on the upper part of Lake Marion around Pack’s Landing the water has been full of crayfish and it has been too easy for the bass to eat. However the crayfish seem to be going back into hiding and the bass bite on soft plastics has picked up somewhat in the last week. Bream: Fair. Fish around trees and move around to find the fish; crickets and worms fished beneath a small toothpick cork will both work. Crappie: Slow. Crappie fishing has dropped off in the last two weeks; fish around brushpiles in 18 to 20 feet of water with crappie minnows.