# Christmas Fishing - Any Advice/Direction Appreciated



## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

Long time member / infrequent poster (life .........)

Our normal run south to SC was postponed this year due to illness. Over the Christmas break, the wifey wants to run down to Myrtle Beach to visit her elderly grandma and aunt. This leaves me with some time to kill. 

I will be in Surfside / Garden City. Can't remember specifically what pier I often fish around (I THINK Garden City) but I often park in the public sand / beach access lots south of the pier in between the houses (north of the south jetty if that makes sense). Open to other options. 

Just looking for an idea of what may be swimming around (drum, blues, shark/accidentally of course, etc.). Any recommendations on bait / presentation would be great. I am a S. MD (Ches Bay) or OBX boy myself and I realize SC is a bit different. Just looking to maximize my time. I realize a boat is probably my best option for success but as long as the weather is decent, I am quite fine soaking some bait and enjoying the scenery. 

Searching the forums was hit or miss and I realize that last years weather / water were likely different as things stayed warm. Anything current would be great. 

Thanks in advance for any advice!


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

OK, I'm gonna have to brag a bit here. If you look at the post regarding the South Jetty at HBSP or "hum de dum" (which is also about the Jetty) you'll see that I've been dropping a LOT of big fish in my cooler there. It's a mile and a half walk to the Jetty from the North parking lot, so if you have a cart it's nice to go during lower tides. If it's a higher tide then skip the cart and go light. I often walk down to the jetty at dawn and fish for an hour, then leave and come back at dusk to fish another hour. In that case I only take a rod, net, bucket for holding fish and a small backback with some grubs, DOA Shrimp and Mirrolures in it. Yesterday I hooked up with this 21" seatrout. Go on a moving tide at dawn or dusk.


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## pmcdaniel (Nov 13, 2013)

If it were me, and I was near the Jetty, that's where I would be fishing.


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

I'll be out there paddling my kayak in the marshes or on my buddy's boat.

My go-to lures would be the Mirrolure 52MR in pink with dots no rattle and a z-man minnowz in space guppy or any good paddletail with a chartruese contrast on a 1/4 oz jighead. I have not done it myself, but I am willing to bet that you can catch trout wading in the marsh. Specks often move in with the incoming tide or bunker down in certain holes. Find creek mouths and other bottleneck points. As for bait fishing, get some fresh local shrimp and fish a fish finder or carolina rig with a 2/0 kahle hook. Supposedly, the black drum bite as been decent this fall and you can possibly get a slot red as well.


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## Hannibal (Aug 10, 2007)

bluefish1928 said:


> I'll be out there paddling my kayak in the marshes or on my buddy's boat.
> 
> My go-to lures would be the Mirrolure 52MR in pink with dots no rattle and a z-man minnowz in space guppy or any good paddletail with a chartruese contrast on a 1/4 oz jighead. I have not done it myself, but I am willing to bet that you can catch trout wading in the marsh. Specks often move in with the incoming tide or bunker down in certain holes. Find creek mouths and other bottleneck points. As for bait fishing, get some fresh local shrimp and fish a fish finder or carolina rig with a 2/0 kahle hook. Supposedly, the black drum bite as been decent this fall and you can possibly get a slot red as well.


Is there a better option/preference between the ocean and marsh? I've fished the bridges at Pawley over the marsh in late November and had decent luck with flounder (on mud minnows). Kind of boring to be honest. Haven't had much luck tossing bait on the south end of the island back into the creek/marsh but not sure if I'm feeding them the right stuff. 

Any action with cut bait such as mullet on a circle/FF (reds / blues, etc.)? 

I thought about bringing the yak down for Pawley's but thought it would be a lot of effort (8 hour drive) for little payoff. Perhaps that is incorrect.


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## ChefRobb (Jan 8, 2016)

Hannibal said:


> Is there a better option/preference between the ocean and marsh? I've fished the bridges at Pawley over the marsh in late November and had decent luck with flounder (on mud minnows). Kind of boring to be honest. Haven't had much luck tossing bait on the south end of the island back into the creek/marsh but not sure if I'm feeding them the right stuff.
> 
> Any action with cut bait such as mullet on a circle/FF (reds / blues, etc.)?
> 
> I thought about bringing the yak down for Pawley's but thought it would be a lot of effort (8 hour drive) for little payoff. Perhaps that is incorrect.


If you can deal with the walk, the South Jetty at Huntington Beach State Park is my go-to. You'll see me posting often about the goings on there, and I'm pretty consistent at catching nice fish there too.


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## bluefish1928 (Jun 9, 2007)

Hannibal said:


> Is there a better option/preference between the ocean and marsh? I've fished the bridges at Pawley over the marsh in late November and had decent luck with flounder (on mud minnows). Kind of boring to be honest. Haven't had much luck tossing bait on the south end of the island back into the creek/marsh but not sure if I'm feeding them the right stuff.
> 
> Any action with cut bait such as mullet on a circle/FF (reds / blues, etc.)?
> 
> I thought about bringing the yak down for Pawley's but thought it would be a lot of effort (8 hour drive) for little payoff. Perhaps that is incorrect.


Reds- def somewhere around- both ocean and marsh
black drum- jetty/ocean
specks-both, but I prefer the marsh because I have some tight spots up small creeks that I like to work.
bluefish- mostly gone, but possibly still some around in the ocean

If you have a properly outfitted paddle yak and plan on fishing 2 or more times, it is def worth it. If you might get a day to fish, go rent a yak from Yak-kayak Fishing and Outdoor Guide Service. 

Huntington Beach jetty is easily the best non-boater fishing spot, but you need some sort of cart or wagon to transport gear if you plan on keeping fishing for dinner.


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