Inshore: Captain Patrick Kelly (843-962-3503) reports that as temperatures rise and even more bait starts to return in May the redfish should feed more regularly. The tailing activity at high tide should pick up as reds devour consistently available fiddler crabs, and fish should also eat better at low tides and moving tides in the creeks. Docks will continue to hold fish. If you can get live shrimp they are hard to beat, but finger mullet, small menhaden, mud minnows and more will catch fish. Trout fishing should also pick up in moving water over shell bars, and both jigs and shrimp will catch fish. Big roe trout will be in the main rivers to spawn. Topwater activity for both trout and reds should also improve this month during low light periods, but the most exciting development in May usually comes when the cobia should return in numbers to the Broad River. A few had already been caught by late April, and people will catch them both sight-fishing and anchoring baits on the bottom. Tripletail, bluefish, ladyfish and other migratory species will also be around in ever-greater numbers, and the bigger flounder should continue to show up after starting to trickle back inshore during April. Finally, don’t overlook the sheepshead bite around docks and other structure on fiddler crabs – especially before it gets very hot and patterns change.
