Please give me hope…a reason to pack the fly gear in the minivan!!! I’m visiting Myrtle Beach for the first week of April and would really appreciate any suggestions on where to do some fly fishing. No time (or $) for the big ticket guides, so i’m shore bound. I chased down a few tips from the local BPS down there last year,but they yielded nothing. As per last year, anything saltwater would be my first choice, but bass/sunfish would be a good back-up plan I suppose. Size of fish is not important, i’d bring gear to match whatever you guys/gals would suggest. I look forward to your responses…even lobbing dead shrimp into the surf with s_ _ _ _ing gear last year didn’t work!! lol
Try these folks out. I’ve used this site primarily for Virginia Beach but they have a pretty broad range of locations and choices for all things fishy on the coast. Good luck!
The only surf fishing I do is with a (God forbid) surf spin casting rig, usually using squid for bait. Great way to spend an afternoon enjoying the beach, but not too productive for harvesting a bounty from the sea. Need to get into some marsh areas where there are tidal creeks. That would be to the north or south of M.B. - to the north, would be around Little River, right at the North/South Carolina state line. The very best is to the south, down to the Cape Romain Nat’l Wildlife Refuge. A boat works best, but there are some areas where you could access some tidal waters in these marsh areas.
Best bet for fresh water, and not having a boat, is the Waccamaw River. There’s a boat landing right where the river and Hwy 9 cross, jsut west of Little River. There’s some areas where you will be able to cast from shore and maybe not tangle in too many trees!
Thanks guys, this is the kind of help i’m looking for. Dale~having not DONE any wading in these sorts of places, is there anything I should be on the lookout for? (things hazardous to my health…?) Are there rays? Obviously, shore fishing would be preferred, but I recognize that is a limitation. Stealing time away to fish is OK, but driving a couple of hours only to wonder if you’re in the right type of spot (at the right time) can be frustrating. Getting a guide is pretty much out of the question, unfortunatley.
The more details, the better!! Hell, i’d take the 4wt. and fish sunfish if I knew where to go down there!
You don’t say where your going to be staying while in M.B., will it be to the north or the south end?
Anyway, you can do the boat landing right there on the Waccamaw River, right from the bank … maybe even wade out a little, but it do drop off kinda fast! There you can use your 4wt for bluegil (call them “bream” around the local folk), L/M bass and there still might be some crappie activity still going on.
As for getting into the saltwater your best bet would be right there around the mouth of the Little River. Have to be careful of the current, deep holes and getting into the fluff mud. What you really need there is a small boat and I don’t know if they have any for rent there. I’ll try and find out for you.
Hey Dale~we’re staying at the Captain’s Quarters. (I think thats S. Myrtle) I don’t have a map of Myrtle Beach…where is the Waccamaw River from there? I did fish at the mouth of a “river” (more like a canal) in north Myrtle last year at the advice of the local BPS guy, but didn’t even get a knock. (and he had given me the tide chart, I followed his advice re:arrival time etc.) Very strange.
Anyhow, thanks again…looking for any/all info. that can put me where the fish are in Myrtle!
TZB,
Go south to Murrell’s Inlet. It’s not too far from where you are staying. Ask for directions to the public boat landing. Right beside the landing is a marina…Capt ???'s. You can rent a jon boat there and fish the inlet. It is a small inlet so no problem with getting lost or in too much trouble. It’s mostly creek channels through the marsh areas.
Or, if you want to fish from the shore, go over to Garden City Pier and drive south down to The Point as far as you can go and park and walk (about a mile) down to the mouth of the inlet and fish along the rock jetty and in the inlet.I usually take my 8 wt because you never know what you might get into at the mouth of the inlet!
I grew up just 60 miles west of there. I go down a couple of times every year.
The Waccamaw River (fresh water), flows from north to south and parallel with Myrtle Beach. Any major road leading west from M.B. will either lead to or cross over the river. There are some some public access points, starting from Hwy 9 (Little River), along south of M.B. to Pawley’s Island. Should be real easy to get information on the landing sites to the river once you get to M.B. - send me an email just before you leave and I’ll do my best to give you any updates on fishing info.
TZB,
Forgot to mention just south of Murrell’s Inlet is Huntington Beach State Park. From the park you have access to the other side of the inlet and can fish off the jetty there. You will also have a lot of beach area to fish in the park.