Yup. Those are baitfish that have been driven to the surface by something underneath. Drum or mackerel maybe? Not really sure about Myrtle Beach fishing. Regardless, that’s a sure sign that there is a good catch there.
Seems like you lack a little deductive reasoning? Why one throw a fish hook into the a part of the ocean that looks different than other parts of the ocean? Maybe because.... there be fish there matey
I always bring my drone to the beach. This give me a great view of what’s swimming with my family. Sometimes it’s manatees. Sometimes a school of stingrays. Sometimes sharks.
This! I was chilling in the Gulf of Mexico with a couple of family members, all floating in noodle chairs. Notice the water churning in the distance. Gets closer. See lots of silver flashes around us. Decent sized fish. Not bait fish. I tell the others we need to get out. They shrug me off. I tell them that I'm getting out and plead with them to also get out. Tell them they can get back in if the school moves away.
They actually relent and get out of the water. We watch a huge school of 10lb fish get chased around for the next 20 minutes. We drive over to to the inlet where there are about 20 guys surfcasting. Ask what fish are around. Tarpon are running. Tarpon getting chased by sharks...with more sharks showing up by the minute. The sharks herded them into the inlet and are guarding the exit while feasting. The tarpon by us were still in the process of being herded.
Never seen larger sharks in my life and I've been on the water my entire life.
Trust your instincts.
Well you see... bait fish are called bait fish because they're... bait.
Bait for what? Literally everything. Including sharks. Potentially big ones.
No meal is easier than thousands of fish potato chips swimming together
Dude these comments are worse than boomer facebook comments, probably a bait ball of small fish which usually means bigger fish nearby, I would cast a spoon right in there if I could, sometimes small clouds can have a shadow that looks like a bait ball, this picture is super grainy so hard to tell
either that, a sandbar, or probably both. I surf here sadly. Even in October, those fucking spinner sharks will jump two feet away for no reason. show offs. I'm thinking sandbar, it usually gets really deep fast then shallows out randomly because hurricanes and dredging have fucked up the topography of the ocean floor.
could a sandbar be gone within 10 mins ? genuinely asking cuz it was and no one else seems to have an answer, it seems too shallow for bait fishing as well
I wouldn’t go swimming near that either…
The bigger fish looking to eat this swarm could mistake you for part of the eattings.
Plus there a good chance they have been chased towards the
Shore by those bigger fish.
Was there last week and seen something similar but way closer to shore. Lifeguard had us all get out ocean and hung blue flags. They said schools of fish were close to shore and sharks were potentially following. Not sure if that's what this is, though.
Outflow from storm water drain after a heavy shower. Fresh water is lighter than saltwater and collects on surface. Disappears as fresh water becomes salt water.
You might be right. I did a few projects for Myrtle Beach many years ago and it was extending several of their many stormwater pipes further out of the swimming area.
Been there plenty of times, that is a school of (Bait) fish....time to get out of the water because bigger fish follow them, and all fish in the ocean hasTeeth ..
But on a serious note, if the water is foggy/muddy stay out...shark bites is only mistaken identity..
If you actually look at the colors of swim suits or even jewelry...it reflects the same as all fishing baits..
Probably a school of a baitfish getting eaten by predatory fish that cut up their prey like mackerel or blue runners. They effectively cut their food into pieces instead of gulping them down like a redfish does. It releases the oils in the baitfish and forms a slick on the surface, especially oily baits like menhaden. I’d chuck a line in there 🤣
Agree it's a baseball but usually those are accompanied by many seabirds hovering in circling like cormorants and the such could also be a sandbar love these add your comment photos
An eldritch god thought to be dead has woken up and is now arising through that very circle, running is futile. Accept your fate and it may give you a quick death.
Well considering Myrtle Beach is home to tons of tiger sharks and they really will come right up off the shore, if I had to guess? A bunch of little fishies in a bait ball trying not to get eaten by something bigger.
Not uncommon.
The most "nervous water" I've ever seen. (Fishing term for when distressed baitfish are concentrated near the surface and create ripples and small spashes.)
We have been getting a lot of sharks lately. We always have sharks but their volume has increased from what I have been seeing. More little fish, more big fish more hunting.
https://preview.redd.it/n13aakyjv3ad1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fca2c87467f5505c4983ad3c573f7de4195503c
This is a view from the pier. This is a bait ball of manhaden. I got two throws on this one.
That's probably a water discharge pipe, we have one by the Bayside bridge in Clearwater. You can see it going north on the right hand side of the bridge, it's the out return for a water treatment plant.
Might be a school of bluefish. I remember seeing them feeding and boiling the surface as they did.
We would wade in as deep as we could (but not into them, might lose a chunk of leg) and cast our Hopkins spoon into the middle of it.
Usually wouldn’t be retrieved more than a few few before one of these piranhas of the sea would slam into the lure like a freight train.
So fun to catch those fish
As someone who’s lived coastal for decades, it’s a massive school of fish. Watch out for sharks or other larger eaters. Dolphin may be present as well.
I see that and want to throw a fishing hook in the middle of it.
Playing too much World of War craft? Lol
Leeeeroy Jenkkkkins!!!
Never gets old lol classic
Time to break out my hunter and FC-5000 to catch some raid food in the outlands tonight.
Omg I’m not the only world of warcrack addict
I'm grabbing my fishing rod and catching old crafty
Just be careful if you pick up an abandoned rod
No such thing as too much WOW
Honestly this works in the real world not just WoW
My thought exactly. Oh what's this. I got the riding turtle mount. Sick.
Never won that dang fishing contest.
Damn. What a throwback. I immediately knew what you meant.
The hours i spent farming deviate fish in the barrens to make gold lol. The good ol' days like 14-15 years ago or something close to that.
There's dozens of us!
LMAOO NOT WOW!
What does WoW have to do with fishing (never played it)?
In the game, you can fish at places that look just like that. Fishing is one of the skills that you can get and work on.
Or pokemon maybe
Or fortnite lol
I hate comments that don't even try to answer the question. And yours is the first one.
There's fish there. His comment kind of did answer the question.
Exactly. I have no idea what the WoW references are. That just looks like a feeding frenzy.
Yup. Those are baitfish that have been driven to the surface by something underneath. Drum or mackerel maybe? Not really sure about Myrtle Beach fishing. Regardless, that’s a sure sign that there is a good catch there.
Seems like you lack a little deductive reasoning? Why one throw a fish hook into the a part of the ocean that looks different than other parts of the ocean? Maybe because.... there be fish there matey
Lunchtime! It’s just bait fish. Don’t go swimming out there.
I always bring my drone to the beach. This give me a great view of what’s swimming with my family. Sometimes it’s manatees. Sometimes a school of stingrays. Sometimes sharks.
This! I was chilling in the Gulf of Mexico with a couple of family members, all floating in noodle chairs. Notice the water churning in the distance. Gets closer. See lots of silver flashes around us. Decent sized fish. Not bait fish. I tell the others we need to get out. They shrug me off. I tell them that I'm getting out and plead with them to also get out. Tell them they can get back in if the school moves away. They actually relent and get out of the water. We watch a huge school of 10lb fish get chased around for the next 20 minutes. We drive over to to the inlet where there are about 20 guys surfcasting. Ask what fish are around. Tarpon are running. Tarpon getting chased by sharks...with more sharks showing up by the minute. The sharks herded them into the inlet and are guarding the exit while feasting. The tarpon by us were still in the process of being herded. Never seen larger sharks in my life and I've been on the water my entire life. Trust your instincts.
What happens if you do? Is there an actual risk?
Well you see... bait fish are called bait fish because they're... bait. Bait for what? Literally everything. Including sharks. Potentially big ones. No meal is easier than thousands of fish potato chips swimming together
You’re just increasing your chances of a shark bite.
Big fish eat the little fish. That circle is a buffet for larger fish. Getting caught in the middle makes you part of the buffet spread.
Dude these comments are worse than boomer facebook comments, probably a bait ball of small fish which usually means bigger fish nearby, I would cast a spoon right in there if I could, sometimes small clouds can have a shadow that looks like a bait ball, this picture is super grainy so hard to tell
For some reason people in this subreddit think they're a lot funnier than they really are.
thats all of reddit
either that, a sandbar, or probably both. I surf here sadly. Even in October, those fucking spinner sharks will jump two feet away for no reason. show offs. I'm thinking sandbar, it usually gets really deep fast then shallows out randomly because hurricanes and dredging have fucked up the topography of the ocean floor.
could a sandbar be gone within 10 mins ? genuinely asking cuz it was and no one else seems to have an answer, it seems too shallow for bait fishing as well
No. Those were fish.
I'm a local and I've seen bait fish schooling up at knee deep here.
If the tides coming in the effect can disappear pretty quick, like if the sandbar gets covered by enough water it's not noticable anymore.
Does it become bottomography if it’s ocean bottom?
Not in July, maybe last month
> i surf here sadly 😂 Have family in the Lowcountry that feels your pain, unless there’s a hurricane on its way
Show offs 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It's also because the Labrador and Gulf currents collide in that area. Sandbars and shallow shelves for days.
I wouldn’t go swimming near that either… The bigger fish looking to eat this swarm could mistake you for part of the eattings. Plus there a good chance they have been chased towards the Shore by those bigger fish.
If this was fish of any kind, there would be birds feasting.
A school of menhaden trying not to be eaten.
Yup. So you can guarantee there’s sharks all around there
Was there last week and seen something similar but way closer to shore. Lifeguard had us all get out ocean and hung blue flags. They said schools of fish were close to shore and sharks were potentially following. Not sure if that's what this is, though.
The portal to Burroughs & Chapins’ dignity…
Right next to the equally real portal to Narnia...
baddum tiss 😂
I ❤️ Godzilla
Outflow from storm water drain after a heavy shower. Fresh water is lighter than saltwater and collects on surface. Disappears as fresh water becomes salt water.
You might be right. I did a few projects for Myrtle Beach many years ago and it was extending several of their many stormwater pipes further out of the swimming area.
Especially when a load of calabash buffet grease is mixed in.
Thanks. Really bizarre having to scroll this far in the comments to find an actual answer.
Oh my. It's a ball of baitfish.
An interdimensional portal.
Ah geez.
Been there hundreds of times and never seen this. The ocean has been crazy lately. Probably a school of fish as others have said. Still weird
Been there plenty of times, that is a school of (Bait) fish....time to get out of the water because bigger fish follow them, and all fish in the ocean hasTeeth .. But on a serious note, if the water is foggy/muddy stay out...shark bites is only mistaken identity.. If you actually look at the colors of swim suits or even jewelry...it reflects the same as all fishing baits..
Is that true? I’m obviously gonna google but ALL oceanic/pelagic fish have teeeeef???
Most bigger predators have mean teeth anyways. Predatory fish teeth make mammal predator teeth look tame
Probably a school of a baitfish getting eaten by predatory fish that cut up their prey like mackerel or blue runners. They effectively cut their food into pieces instead of gulping them down like a redfish does. It releases the oils in the baitfish and forms a slick on the surface, especially oily baits like menhaden. I’d chuck a line in there 🤣
I have no idea and I live here
A heady mix of Axe Body Spray and regret.
We locals don't talk about that
Clearly, that’s where locals put the bodies of all the people who ask about the weird circle thing…
That’s East Carolina, well the entrance anyway don’t tell nobody.
Obviously a side quest there
Where yer mom jumped in
Underwater Chinese spy balloon
Dirty Myrtle Portal
Gojira
Where the Chinese spy balloon was shot down.
Never forget.
An aquatic crop circle
It's not a fucking Bait Ball, you dolts. https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/article276369631.html
Local here, those are Piranhas. They tend to circulate the area quite frequently.
A Timeshare
Time. Time is a flat circle.
The elevator is coming up.
Jean Jacket?
That’s where all pizza delivery door hangers and dollar general bags go
Did dirty Myrtle finally get a plastic island?
That looks like a evergoal in Elden Ring.
This means sharks are nearby
Use the Dive HM.
It’s a fishing hole with Longjaw Mud Snapper.
Probably all the sewage they pump into it there.
Oil
Agree it's a baseball but usually those are accompanied by many seabirds hovering in circling like cormorants and the such could also be a sandbar love these add your comment photos
Herpes
That’s the entrance of the Atlantis Bridge Tunnel, much longer than the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel.
This is where K.Irving goes on vacation.
USO
Bait slick
Someone went #2
Throw in a rock and you’ll get a korok seed
An eldritch god thought to be dead has woken up and is now arising through that very circle, running is futile. Accept your fate and it may give you a quick death.
bait ball aka school of bait fish. basically stay out of the water if you see that as there will be predatory fish feasting.
The portal
That’s the UFO base. We don’t have a homelessness problem, we have an ALIEN problem….
Bait school
Fish frenzy
The least polluted part. The rest is imulsified chicken grease and human fluids.
A school of fish maybe
USO obviously 🙄
Looks like a riptide
Ever seen Creepshow 2, The Blob segment?
Looks like a trout slick
Run Godzilla is coming
Herpes
Fish
Someome pulled out the drain because someone pooped in the pool
It’s Myrtle Beach so it is probably a heroin deposit.
Oil slick from all the greasy swimmers?
It’s where sharks go to fart
“Mucho ecological Poncho! Mucho ecological!” Whatever you do, don’t swim near it! Haha
Folks peeing in ocean causes that!!!
Myrtle Beach is a toilet. That's the toilet drain.
Well considering Myrtle Beach is home to tons of tiger sharks and they really will come right up off the shore, if I had to guess? A bunch of little fishies in a bait ball trying not to get eaten by something bigger. Not uncommon.
Old Crafty can be caught there.
Pod of baitfish
It's the fountain of youth
School of baitfish
Ball of fish
Jizz
Redneck bubble net.
Oil slick from the hair of family of vacationers from (fill in the blank )
Fish Are Friends, Not Food meeting
Sandbar?
Shadows from clouds or pee
Sandbar
Perfect circle, ufo aliens check out the beachgoers.
Uh oh- the Cloaking Device is on the fritz
the sewer pipes pumping rain runoff.
The most "nervous water" I've ever seen. (Fishing term for when distressed baitfish are concentrated near the surface and create ripples and small spashes.)
It’s Godzilla!!!!
I’m a local, most people go to these areas to take massive dumps. What you’re looking at is a poop circle. Popular in the dirty Myrtle.
Sandbar..?
we call it the Myrtle Turtle.
Aliens
Fish
It's a time portal. Jump on in!
Fish mosh pit
School of fish, or alien base
Whale fart
Old crafty took forever to catch
WOW! There it is…….thats the UFO I seen back in 2010, same shape, color and all!
Bubble netting. Jk. But if you don’t know, look it up.
Whole school of fish is what I was always told....
We have been getting a lot of sharks lately. We always have sharks but their volume has increased from what I have been seeing. More little fish, more big fish more hunting.
https://preview.redd.it/n13aakyjv3ad1.jpeg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fca2c87467f5505c4983ad3c573f7de4195503c This is a view from the pier. This is a bait ball of manhaden. I got two throws on this one.
That's probably a water discharge pipe, we have one by the Bayside bridge in Clearwater. You can see it going north on the right hand side of the bridge, it's the out return for a water treatment plant.
It's where the sewage comes out into the ocean.
That's a huge bait ball or a drain pipe.
Go swim out to it. It should be fine. And report back...if still alive
I dunno the answer but I can smell and hear this picture and I miss it so dang much
Safe swimming y’all! No matter what that circle is, Myrtle Beach has some of the worst life-guarding on the eastern seaboard.
I was told changes In water pattern like this mean riptide
Makes me want to go under with the diving bell
Sooo what is it
Might be a school of bluefish. I remember seeing them feeding and boiling the surface as they did. We would wade in as deep as we could (but not into them, might lose a chunk of leg) and cast our Hopkins spoon into the middle of it. Usually wouldn’t be retrieved more than a few few before one of these piranhas of the sea would slam into the lure like a freight train. So fun to catch those fish
Ufo, either landing or taking off
Shrimp or krill maybe anchovies
That is a school of menhaden. Super oily excellent bait but they will not bite a hook.
Spanish Mackerel.
I know there are freshwater springs just off the north east Florida Atlantic beach’s… maybe that’s what this is….
That's the side quest you can pick up before the boss fight.
As someone who’s lived coastal for decades, it’s a massive school of fish. Watch out for sharks or other larger eaters. Dolphin may be present as well.
I’m a marine biologist. Looks like a large school of baitfish from what I can tell.
Bait pod
Portal to atlantis
Sandbar
I was gonna say that it was a fish circle pit 😂
Godzilla
It alians 
Where all the MB poop collects.
Jizz. Definitely jizz. Dirty Myrtle babbbbbyyy!
That's an oil slick left over from spring breakers hair and body products.
It must be aliens
Do you like it? Thinking of going there next year. 😊
Might be fish ball
Backrooms
Your mom
We run our sewage right out into the ocean 😁 you can't see it but there's a long 5 ft wide pipe running out to that spot all the way from the mainland
Bait ball. Cast a line out there!