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Best score today · 7 AM · Black sea bass

73/100Great

Now: 5510 AM EDT
Best window: 2-11 PMHigh slack
Tide now: Ebbing1.7 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time10ANOW

Score55Good

Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing

Current0.1 knmodeled · toward S

Wind10 kn NNEgusts 22 · steady

Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 5 s

Air temp73°Warm

WeatherOvercast100% cloud

Water82°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

7A

8A

9A

NOW

11A

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

55

60

59

55

49

41

51

56

57

55

48

55

60

55

53

51

40

42

50

53

54

51

44

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.2

189

199

209

2210

2310

2410

2310

239

229

219

209

199

2.7

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.4

31%

39%

43%

39%

33%

82°

83°

82°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with SCDNR before you keep a fish.

Always check with SCDNR ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: SCDNR · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Black sea bass in South Carolina →

Spot profile

Long Bay

Depth: 25-30 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · flat bottom
Season: Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Long Bay

Long Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 NM, South Carolina. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, king mackerel and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, king mackerel, Atlantic croaker and spot, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, gray triggerfish, black sea bass and red snapper. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass: Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
Crevalle jack: Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
King mackerel: Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.