Little River or Hilton Head

My wife has to go to North MB (not too far from Little River) in mid September & then to Hilton Head in Mid October. I was planning on going to one of them with her to do some inlet fishing in my boat (18ft jon boat). I have never fished either one of them & was wondering what would be the better choice for fishing. If any one could chime in that has fished one or both of them that would be great, keep in mind time of year.
Also could you point out any public boat ramps. I saw some while looking around on google but could not tell if some are public or private & I am sure there are some others that I did not see.

Another option would be to leave the boat at home if there are enough good public bank fishing spots at either one of those areas?

Thanks guys.

Little River is a tough place to just go and start fishing. It’s a strange place. If you do decide to go, I’d advise just fishing around the jetties. The redfish should be on fire then, but as always, it’s weather dependant with a jon boat. I’d think HH has many more options, but I really know nothing about the place! Good luck in whatever you choose.

Thanks for the help. I am thinking HH may be the better choice.

I live in NMB and fish this area often. I agree with Goozeman that the LR area can be tough to figure out for some reason. I think it has to do with the size and diversity of the area and making choices about where/how to fish them. There’s the ICW with docks, miles of grass flats, warrens of oyster bottom feeder creeks, shell banks, sand bars and the jetties. That said, when you pick the right spot at the right time, it can be very good and I’ve caught some of my biggest trout and redfish in the area. September was a good month for me last year mainly fishing shallow points on topwater plugs and you can never go too wrong just going from one creek mouth to the next on falling tides. There are big public landings on either side of the ICW span bridge in NMB. Be aware this is right on the SC/NC line so be sure you know where you’re fishing, have the right license and know the size limits as they differ from state to state.
Hog Inlet (aka Cherry Grove) inlet is a much smaller inlet that easy to access on the north in of NMB. There is a public landing and fishing pier at 52nd and some areas to bank fish there and along the Lake Drive causeway. I mainly fish CGrove when the flounder are biting but have caught some nice trout & reds in the pursuit. It does get crowded quick when the fish are biting and small boats are preferred.


16’ High Tide Flats (Green) w/Yamaha 90
Wilderness Ride 135
Wilderness Tarpon 120

Thanks. I think i am going to try hog inlet just to see how it is. If no luck then try the jetty area the next day.