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Best score today · 7 AM · Sheepshead

73/100Great

Now: 504 PM EDT
Best window: 4 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now: Flooding4.4 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 · 4 PM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time4PNOW

Score50Good

Tide4.4 ft ▲Flooding

Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSW

Wind10 kn NNEgusts 22 · steady

Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 5 s

Air temp79°Warm

WeatherOvercast98% cloud

Water82°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

1P

2P

3P

NOW

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

8A

9A

10A

11A

12P

43

47

49

50

46

38

45

50

46

45

33

36

44

47

46

43

35

41

49

48

42

41

35

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.2

0.1

2410

2310

2210

2110

2210

219

209

199

189

1910

2010

2110

2210

2110

2211

2311

2612

2712

2612

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

3.5

33%

35%

36%

37%

39%

82°

81°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sheepshead 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Sheepshead is best here

Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 18 more weeks at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Sheepshead in South Carolina →

Spot profile

Long Bay

Depth: 25-30 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · flat bottom
Season: Shoulder seasonSheepshead

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 Florida pompano, gray triggerfish, Spanish mackerel and black sea bass. 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

Sheepshead: Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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.