NY'er going to fish at Myrtle Beach, SC

[FrozenJig]

Just booked a vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC in April. Of course I'm stuffing the truck with as much fishing gear as possible. If there's room for the wife & kids after that then I guess they can come too 

Anyone have any advice for someone who's never fished in the ocean?  I'm planning on shore fishing every morning & evening and will probably hit up some nearby piers too. I've heard there are many surrounding freshwater lakes that are excellent as well.

Thanks! 

[basshunter12748]

Ive been fishing every summer down off topsail beach near Wilmington Carolina.  Been going with some buddies every year in june and the fishing has been very tough overall.  I think you should do really well in april. 

Most guys down there use pretty light rigs with sandworms and shrimp as bait.  Basically consists of an ounce pyramid weight up to a leader which has two hooks probably like 1/0.  They catch alot of small fish not sure exactly what. Pinfish and others

We setup for bear with heavier weights 3 ounces pyrimids to steel leader with two 7/0-10/0 heavy gauge hooks and we threw chunks of mullet or needlefish. That tied to 25 lb mono.  First night down there (after dark) we crushed redfish or drum as locals down there call them. It was a low tide and the were cruising a trough that formed in sand near the shore.  Keep your eye open for where those form in the sand cause i wasn't catching at first because my casts were well past that area.  Also lost several fish down there that absolutely destroyed our gear, sharks and a long silver fish i saw jump out of a wave tarpon or lady fish?  i am not sure.  So make sure your swivels and all connections are heavy duty. 

We spent hrs fishing, lots of dead time but we were out there any way drinking and hanging out on the beach, lots of days no fish came through at all.  According to most of the stuff I read those bigger species of fish don't cruise the bank after the water gets warmer.  Anyway im no expert but that has been my experience. Hope you get into them!

[Tightliness]

I fish in North Carolina from the surf/pier once a week every August. A good tip is to talk to the local bait shop. I've learned a lot and they are usually very friendly down there. Good luck!

[Oldtimer]

Check to see where the troughs are at low tide. Then fish them on incoming and high tides.  Use circle hooks...

[BVasi]

Are you looking to surf fish, Pier fish or charter?

[gil_lunkage]

From surf I suggest a really light freshwater rod that you don't mind wrecking up the reel and using very small hooks with small pieces of shrimp above a small pyramid sinker.

You should be able to catch a bunch of small fish in the surf like croakers etc.

Save them, chop em up as you need them and then use a heavy duty rod(I prefer a long stout rod w/power pro, but heavy mono will work) a large circle hook and chuck it out there as far as you can.

Set in the rod holder, set the drag and crack a beer. 
Pay attention or you may lose your rod.  I got spooled once with 40# power pro.

Another tip is to bring your reels, but leave your big rod home and buy a cheap one for $10-$20 at Walmart.  Much easier to travel at least 1 way.

Lastly ALWAYS RINSE YOUR REELS WITH FRESHWATER THOROUGHLY AFTER EACH OUTING.  THE SALT WILL CHEW THROUGH THEM IN NO TIME IF YOU DONT DO THIS.

GOOD LUCK!! PM me how you do if you want.

[FrozenJig]

Are you looking to surf fish, Pier fish or charter?

Not looking to hook up with any charters, just fish from the beach and hit up some of the piers

Thanks Everyone, really, really good info so far. This is extremely helpful. Especially the tip on how saltwater will destroy the reels. Makes sense but I never thought about it.

[BVasi]

I would look at the Pier sites some of them have been ripped apart by the last Hurricane, with that cold weather the main fish to target will be Black drum, Red Drum and Convicts (sheephead), with cape fear going after stripers. Drum are simple in the surf shrimp on the bottom or a chicken rig, if your looks to get in to some bigger drum then I would suggest other rigs and baits. As for convicts rocks and piers with fiddler crabs are the best but they will eat shrimp. The baits to use right now are shrimp and squid.

if you need any more suggestion for rigs just ask

[Birdslayer]

Lastly ALWAYS RINSE YOUR REELS WITH FRESHWATER THOROUGHLY AFTER EACH OUTING.  THE SALT WILL CHEW THROUGH THEM IN NO TIME IF YOU DONT DO THIS.

GOOD LUCK!! PM me how you do if you want.
[/quote]


This is critical!!!! Also OIL EVERYTHING before you go out and after you rinse when you get back.... salt water maintenance on reels is a PAIN in the .......!!!

[Tightliness]

Also if you have an extra tackle box I'd advice using it because one time I didn't and idk what it was that I put back into the tackle box wether water or sand got in but a lot of nice things including my pliers and knife were ruined

[piscesman]

You didn't mention where you are staying there. We go down 1-2 times a year to Myrtle Beach State Park. Fish both the surf and the pier depending on the water temps and tide cycle. Other places there to fish also. Shoot me a pm if you want and I'll try and steer you in the right direction. Heading back down in May during Bike Week. Had no choice but can still enjoy it there.
      Kim

[Longlegg]

We once rented a small boat and fished Myrles Inlet and caught a cooler of bluefish. Also fished down at Litchfield off  the shore and also caught bluefish. We used our standard bass rods and jigs, or mudminnows. Lake Moutrie and Marion about an hour inland also have large catfish, crappie, bass, and stripers.

[piscesman]

Make sure you buy a salt water license if fishing from the shore or inlet. Good up to rt 17 business. None required if fishing from pier. You need a freshwater license for the lakes. Bait shop or Wal-Mart for license. There is a site that deals with salt water fishing in that area and gives a ton of information of what is biting and what to use. Not sure if I can post that here.
      Kim

[FrozenJig]

Staying near ocean lakes campgrounds. Will be right near the beach so looking forward to doing a lot of shore fishing and pier fishing. I saw they have temporary licenses pretty cheap so I'll get both so i can fish wherever.
Thanks again to all who have replied so far... This is great

[icejohn]

Buy a cheap crab net and toss it out with cut bait or checken leg .....find out from locals best place lots of fun and good eating....lots of blue crabs down there
icejohn

[piscesman]

You have many spots to get blue crab for free access. Oyster Banks and Morris Landing to name a few. Have to be 5" across the points to keep. Taste good but lots of work. Go to You Tube and type in Myrtle Beach blue crab. The website is pierandsurf.com
      Kim

[buz23]

The water at Myrtle Beach itself is very shallow a long way out, so most people fish the piers.  You can observe others fishing on the piers for free, which I suggest you do before diving in yourself.  Believe it or not, a popular rig is a string of bare hooks with short lengths of red soda straws on them, with a sinker on the bottom.  A long rod is used and the rig is pumped up and down (up and down, up and down) using the edge of the pier or a small Y holder as a fulcrum.  They catch small bluefish and spanish mackerel with these rigs.  Use of small cut bait targets whiting and there are usually a couple of guys at the end of the pier using a trolley rig with large live bait trying to catch kingfish or something else big.

Good luck. 

[FrozenJig]

Buy a cheap crab net and toss it out with cut bait or checken leg .....find out from locals best place lots of fun and good eating....lots of blue crabs down there
icejohn

Now that's some good info, I could get into that!! Thanks to you too Piscesman & everyone else who has been replying!!

[FrozenJig]

The water at Myrtle Beach itself is very shallow a long way out, so most people fish the piers.  You can observe others fishing on the piers for free, which I suggest you do before diving in yourself.  Believe it or not, a popular rig is a string of bare hooks with short lengths of red soda straws on them, with a sinker on the bottom.  A long rod is used and the rig is pumped up and down (up and down, up and down) using the edge of the pier or a small Y holder as a fulcrum.  They catch small bluefish and spanish mackerel with these rigs.  Use of small cut bait targets whiting and there are usually a couple of guys at the end of the pier using a trolley rig with large live bait trying to catch kingfish or something else big.

Good luck.

....interesting    Thanks for the reply and especially the specifics.  This is very helpful!

[crzyeyevan]

April can be a good time to fish. We use to travel to surfside every Easter when the kids were still in the house. I believe that the surfside pier took a beating during a recent hurricane, not sure what's left of it. If the water has warmed up the whiting will be hitting, we used shrimp, get them uncooked from Walmart and cut them up,  what you don't use you can eat lol. If the fish are biting the piers will show it by the number of fishermen. Adjust your weights with ocean conditions. Most important, have fun and good luck.
DP

[piscesman]

The straw rig as suggested is for when SCHOOLS of certain fish are running at the pier. Most notably Spanish Mackerel. If you hook 2 at 1 time your reel will scream from the tension they are putting on it. The water temps play an important role in all this. That is why you need to check the website and prepare yourself before going down there. Have fun and don't be afraid to try new things as now you are in Salt Water Country and fresh water rules does not apply...........
      Kim

[FrozenJig]

Went to Walmart last night to start stocking up on some supplies for the trip and, as luck would have it, they had an entire display of large hooks & leaders on clearance sale!! only $1 per pack! I can cross those off the list now.

I looked at some of the rod combo's and am thinking it might be best to just buy one for the saltwater trip as was previously suggested.

[filetandrelease]

Go to captain George's seafood restaurant , out standing

[piscesman]

Another thing to remember is SHARK FISHING is illegal in Horry County which is where you are staying. If you hook a shark you must cut line if it's big or release a small one immediately. Any hook over size 2 or 3 will get you in trouble as the Game Warden will think you are targeting sharks. The time of the year you are headed down red fish aka-- red drum are almost non-existent and small. If you want to target shark you have to go to Georgetown County in Murrells Inlet. The state park beach would be fine. You really should check pierandsurf.com for info, plus you tube Myrtle Beach fishing. Good Luck........
      Kim

[NNYIceangler]

Ive been fishing every summer down off topsail beach near Wilmington Carolina.  Been going with some buddies every year in june and the fishing has been very tough overall.  I think you should do really well in april. 

Most guys down there use pretty light rigs with sandworms and shrimp as bait.  Basically consists of an ounce pyramid weight up to a leader which has two hooks probably like 1/0.  They catch alot of small fish not sure exactly what. Pinfish and others

We setup for bear with heavier weights 3 ounces pyrimids to steel leader with two 7/0-10/0 heavy gauge hooks and we threw chunks of mullet or needlefish. That tied to 25 lb mono.  First night down there (after dark) we crushed redfish or drum as locals down there call them. It was a low tide and the were cruising a trough that formed in sand near the shore.  Keep your eye open for where those form in the sand cause i wasn't catching at first because my casts were well past that area.  Also lost several fish down there that absolutely destroyed our gear, sharks and a long silver fish i saw jump out of a wave tarpon or lady fish?  i am not sure.  So make sure your swivels and all connections are heavy duty. 

We spent hrs fishing, lots of dead time but we were out there any way drinking and hanging out on the beach, lots of days no fish came through at all.  According to most of the stuff I read those bigger species of fish don't cruise the bank after the water gets warmer.  Anyway im no expert but that has been my experience. Hope you get into them!

I have family in topsail. We usually go down every fall.  Drum can be on fire especially to the north up on onslow island.  We do pretty well on the blues and Spanish in the inlets.  Anywhere along the beach I would say hopkins spoons or any other 1oz spoon.  Bass gear is plenty.  When the action is slow a good surf setup with some cut bait will do well.  One hint.....Don't use braid on your surf rods....The heavy weights will actually pull a little drag when you throw it and you will cut your fingers to the bone.  It's also hard to get your weight to stick with the braid because there is no give.  I really like my setup which is a ten foot Penn with 25 lb mono....Can land anything that bites there if you have patience.

[FrozenJig]

I'll be sure to steer clear of the sharks then, I'm not looking to attract any attention from our friends wearing the badges.  I'm not staying at the actual campground but given the amount of people that do stay there, plus the additional vacationers I'm a bit skeptical of being able to actually get some free space to fish from the beach.

[piscesman]

If you are heading down in April there won't be any problems with people on the beach. Head out early, say 7:00 ish or before and start fishing. If headed to piers I would hit Garden City, "The Pier". Super nice folks. Off street parking too. The high tide and low tide seem to be better fishing. Read the waters and remember on high tide. 2.5 months for me and can't wait.
      Kim

[geo315]

Off the piers the locals go for spot tails.  small  little fish with a bk spot near the tail.  they go wild for them.  When we stay at P.L campground, on the beach. During spring break, we fish in the surf for blues. The locals do not fish for them.   Also crab the tidal inlets.  Lots of blue crabs. Have fun and good luck, Geo.