Black drum and sheepshead in Myrtle Beach

Black drum

Black drum are the red drum's heavier, whiskered cousin. Young fish have vertical black stripes; adults are gray to bronze. They root along the bottom for shrimp, clams, and crabs around jetties, oyster bars, docks, and pier pilings, and along the surf in spring and fall.

How to catch them: a Carolina rig or fish-finder rig with a 1/0 to 3/0 circle hook, baited with fresh shrimp, clam, or cut blue crab, fished on the bottom near structure. Black drum make a drumming sound and pull steadily rather than running.

Rules: South Carolina has a slot limit and bag limit for black drum that protects the largest fish. Check the current rules.

Sheepshead

Sheepshead have black and white vertical bars and a mouthful of teeth that look almost human. They eat barnacles, crabs, mussels, and oysters off hard structure, so they gather on the Murrells Inlet and Little River jetties, pier and bridge pilings, docks, and nearshore wrecks and reefs. Late winter and spring is the peak, as fish gather to spawn on nearshore structure.

How to catch them:

1. Bait: live fiddler crabs are the classic; barnacles scraped from pilings, oysters, and clams also work.
2. Rig: a short leader and a small, strong hook (size 1 to 1/0) with just enough weight to hold bottom tight against the structure.
3. Technique: drop straight down next to the pilings or rocks, keep the line tight, and set the hook at the slightest change.

Rules: sheepshead have a state minimum size and bag and boat limits. Check the current rules.

Where to try

• Murrells Inlet south jetty, via Huntington Beach State Park.
• Little River Inlet jetties by boat.
• Pier pilings at any Grand Strand pier (license covered on licensed piers).
• Waterway docks and bridges, with a license.

See inshore fishing and fishing piers.