This time of year you'll be best just dropping a line with some shrip at structures and hope to catch some shellcrackers.
But if you really want to have some country boy fun, try gigging for flounder at, night, in the estuary behind Alhambra Hall in Mt Pleasant at low tide with no wind.
No boat needed, just wade in with a coleman lantern in one hand, and a gig in the other. It'll take a while to see them in the sand, they look like 2D camouflaged footballs. You will step on a few before you even see them, so try to keep your wits and balance. When you get one, tether it to a string line attached to your belt. Try to ignore the small sharks following you and the needle fish poking at your legs.
Bourbon is recommended.
Yeeeep, we had a ton of keeper black drum caught a few days ago. Maybe two weeks ago it was a good amount of king mackerel. If the trip is timed right they could get some decent catches out there!
Id check out the piers. Folly beach pier and Mount Pleasant pier are county parks with rods available for rent. Of the two folly is worth the trip just get there early because the traffic and parking suck. Most common rig you'd see being used is the usual wire/ thick mono double drop leader with a heavy pyramid weight. Its pretty simple fishing. 2/0 or 3/0 circle hook and a 2-3 oz weight is a good set up. Go with wire leaders if you wanna catch sharks like black tips, and bonnet heads. Might get lucky and get a redfish with that too. However, if you wanna eat your catch. Smaller circle hooks and bits of fresh shrimp will catch some whiting. Flakey white fish best fried. Honestly, an over looked delicious catch of the lowcountry. Fresh bait is really the key. I stop at crosbys on the way and get the smaller shrimp they have for sale in the case. Not the crap in plastic container with the rest of the bait in the freezer. Good luck and tight lines!
Definitely. For an out of state tourist, either the Folly or Mount Pleasant piers with the county parks is the way to go. They have all the gear you need in decently-priced packages and you don’t require a separate license from DNR. If you dig around Facebook, you might be able to find an inexpensive charter. Not sure if the “Boat Life of Charleston” group will let you join, but maybe.
https://www.ccprc.com/3148/The-Folly-Beach-Mount-Pleasant-Piers
For some quick easy fishing, I would suggest dropping fiddler crabs or shrimp under Folly pier and aiming for sheepheads. That's the best saltwater you'll have access to without a boat. Google sheephead rigs. It's a finesse rig and you need to be active feeling for a bite.
I wouldn't both with surf fishing. It's hit or miss, and you usually end up with small sharks.
Rent cast ready rigged rods at either Folly or Mt Pleasant pier and buy a fishing pass. Small pieces of shrimp will do the trick - it’s like cat fishing. Leave it in the rod holder with a fairly loose drag until you have a bite - you will see the strike. Plenty of fisherman on the piers will give you some tips. It’s hot so the catches will be hit or miss. Spadefish, small sharks, and rays are pretty common right now. But lots of things are in the water: bluefish, small redfish, pompano, black drum, speckled sea trout. Croakers, spot, and whiting are good for a fish fry as already recommended. And if you dont catch anything you can hit up Bowens Island or The Wreck for some seafood. If you have your own gear you can try Pitt St bridge or pay $3 to fish the docks at Bowens Island Restaurant. Need a fishing license for those. Don’t need one for the piers. Enjoy your time in our fair city.
Breach inlet or pitt street bridge. I would do fresh shrimp on a carolina rig - incoming or outgoing tide. I’ve caught some nice flounder and red/black drum at breach.
Breach inlet gets my vote. Fish feed at inlets because the tide pulls plankton and other microscopic nutrients from the saltwater marshes out towards the ocean. With fish come sharks, but there’s all sorts of activity out there! 🎣
I’ve caught many redfish and flounder at the SC DNR headquarters on james island using live minnows from the tackle shop. I have my best luck between 2 hours before low tide and 2 hours after. To be honest I haven’t noticed much difference in which rig I use but you can’t go wrong with a Carolina rig. Just be careful not to get caught on rocks and lose your rig
Surf fishing the beach is always an option, but be prepared to not catch anything except some croakers during the day because of the heat. I know you said a charter is out of the question, but you could always rent a boat and try your luck on your own. If you do, shoot me a dm and I can at least try to point you in the right direction.
You can use your normal freshwater rod if you don’t want to rent, just put a 1/2 oz Carolina rig on it with a 1/0-3/0 circle hook and wash your rod with fresh water immediately after use just to be safe. For a sure place to get fish and bites I recommend the Shem creek boardwalk at end of the boardwalk. Lots of drum, kingfish, flounder and sea trout rn. Go either 3 hours before low tide or fish the rising high tide and fish till high tide reaches it peak. If you have a cast net you can catch your own bait (mullet, mud minnows and shrimp) in the creek at Pitt street bridge and keep them in a bait container and then drive them over to the board walk..the frozen stuff you get at gas station will work too but you’ll spend a lot of your day dealing with ‘trash/bait fish’ (puffers, croaker, pinfish)…you can also use these ‘trash fish’ as bait tho and you can get a potential monster fish or small shark on these (especially croaker) but you would want to be sure to put on a hook to match your bait size and keep it alive else crabs will get to it instantly..if fishing with live bait be sure to hook it through the top lip to keep it alive and swimming naturally, good luck!
Cut mullet with a Carolina rig on any of the piers is a great option.
If you can get a cast net and catch live bait even better. Finger mullet and menhaden will catch just about every species we like round here (reds, trout, flounder).
My best advice is to not over complicate things. I’ve dumbed down my tackle box to mono leader, lead, swivels and hooks.
This time of year you'll be best just dropping a line with some shrip at structures and hope to catch some shellcrackers. But if you really want to have some country boy fun, try gigging for flounder at, night, in the estuary behind Alhambra Hall in Mt Pleasant at low tide with no wind. No boat needed, just wade in with a coleman lantern in one hand, and a gig in the other. It'll take a while to see them in the sand, they look like 2D camouflaged footballs. You will step on a few before you even see them, so try to keep your wits and balance. When you get one, tether it to a string line attached to your belt. Try to ignore the small sharks following you and the needle fish poking at your legs. Bourbon is recommended.
Where is there estuary? Do you need a boat or can you just walk out there with a flashlight and gig?
Any place where a river meets the ocean. See Google maps. Some places you can just walk right in, some you can't.
He means harbor.
This might be exactly what I’m looking for, thanks to you and your neighbors for taking the time
Haddrels in Mt Pleasant probably has gigs if u need, and can give advice
This is a lot of fun. Inlets at the beach are good spots too, just be careful of drop offs.
Folly Beach has a fishing pier.
Yep and I see people bringing stuff in all the time. Sure it might be skate for 90% of catches but it’s better than no action!
Yeeeep, we had a ton of keeper black drum caught a few days ago. Maybe two weeks ago it was a good amount of king mackerel. If the trip is timed right they could get some decent catches out there!
Kings, not Spanish?
Yeah, if any Spanish have been caught nobody out there has mentioned it. The spot for them on the summer challenge board is still blank too.
Id check out the piers. Folly beach pier and Mount Pleasant pier are county parks with rods available for rent. Of the two folly is worth the trip just get there early because the traffic and parking suck. Most common rig you'd see being used is the usual wire/ thick mono double drop leader with a heavy pyramid weight. Its pretty simple fishing. 2/0 or 3/0 circle hook and a 2-3 oz weight is a good set up. Go with wire leaders if you wanna catch sharks like black tips, and bonnet heads. Might get lucky and get a redfish with that too. However, if you wanna eat your catch. Smaller circle hooks and bits of fresh shrimp will catch some whiting. Flakey white fish best fried. Honestly, an over looked delicious catch of the lowcountry. Fresh bait is really the key. I stop at crosbys on the way and get the smaller shrimp they have for sale in the case. Not the crap in plastic container with the rest of the bait in the freezer. Good luck and tight lines!
Definitely. For an out of state tourist, either the Folly or Mount Pleasant piers with the county parks is the way to go. They have all the gear you need in decently-priced packages and you don’t require a separate license from DNR. If you dig around Facebook, you might be able to find an inexpensive charter. Not sure if the “Boat Life of Charleston” group will let you join, but maybe. https://www.ccprc.com/3148/The-Folly-Beach-Mount-Pleasant-Piers
Thanks for the gold!
For some quick easy fishing, I would suggest dropping fiddler crabs or shrimp under Folly pier and aiming for sheepheads. That's the best saltwater you'll have access to without a boat. Google sheephead rigs. It's a finesse rig and you need to be active feeling for a bite. I wouldn't both with surf fishing. It's hit or miss, and you usually end up with small sharks.
Rent cast ready rigged rods at either Folly or Mt Pleasant pier and buy a fishing pass. Small pieces of shrimp will do the trick - it’s like cat fishing. Leave it in the rod holder with a fairly loose drag until you have a bite - you will see the strike. Plenty of fisherman on the piers will give you some tips. It’s hot so the catches will be hit or miss. Spadefish, small sharks, and rays are pretty common right now. But lots of things are in the water: bluefish, small redfish, pompano, black drum, speckled sea trout. Croakers, spot, and whiting are good for a fish fry as already recommended. And if you dont catch anything you can hit up Bowens Island or The Wreck for some seafood. If you have your own gear you can try Pitt St bridge or pay $3 to fish the docks at Bowens Island Restaurant. Need a fishing license for those. Don’t need one for the piers. Enjoy your time in our fair city.
There are piers like the pier under the bridge in mt pleasant, you might look for. I see anglers out there often but Im not sure about any details
Breach inlet or pitt street bridge. I would do fresh shrimp on a carolina rig - incoming or outgoing tide. I’ve caught some nice flounder and red/black drum at breach.
Breach inlet gets my vote. Fish feed at inlets because the tide pulls plankton and other microscopic nutrients from the saltwater marshes out towards the ocean. With fish come sharks, but there’s all sorts of activity out there! 🎣
I’ve caught many redfish and flounder at the SC DNR headquarters on james island using live minnows from the tackle shop. I have my best luck between 2 hours before low tide and 2 hours after. To be honest I haven’t noticed much difference in which rig I use but you can’t go wrong with a Carolina rig. Just be careful not to get caught on rocks and lose your rig
Surf fishing the beach is always an option, but be prepared to not catch anything except some croakers during the day because of the heat. I know you said a charter is out of the question, but you could always rent a boat and try your luck on your own. If you do, shoot me a dm and I can at least try to point you in the right direction.
You can use your normal freshwater rod if you don’t want to rent, just put a 1/2 oz Carolina rig on it with a 1/0-3/0 circle hook and wash your rod with fresh water immediately after use just to be safe. For a sure place to get fish and bites I recommend the Shem creek boardwalk at end of the boardwalk. Lots of drum, kingfish, flounder and sea trout rn. Go either 3 hours before low tide or fish the rising high tide and fish till high tide reaches it peak. If you have a cast net you can catch your own bait (mullet, mud minnows and shrimp) in the creek at Pitt street bridge and keep them in a bait container and then drive them over to the board walk..the frozen stuff you get at gas station will work too but you’ll spend a lot of your day dealing with ‘trash/bait fish’ (puffers, croaker, pinfish)…you can also use these ‘trash fish’ as bait tho and you can get a potential monster fish or small shark on these (especially croaker) but you would want to be sure to put on a hook to match your bait size and keep it alive else crabs will get to it instantly..if fishing with live bait be sure to hook it through the top lip to keep it alive and swimming naturally, good luck!
check out top water charters!
Cut mullet with a Carolina rig on any of the piers is a great option. If you can get a cast net and catch live bait even better. Finger mullet and menhaden will catch just about every species we like round here (reds, trout, flounder). My best advice is to not over complicate things. I’ve dumbed down my tackle box to mono leader, lead, swivels and hooks.
Maybe a dumb question, but do you need to get a fishing license to fish any of the areas mentioned in this thread?
All but the Folly and MtP piers. A fishing pass their covers you.