# Charleston area



## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

I will be in charleston the second week of March and was wondering what kind of fishing i can find in the area. Wanna know what grear to bring and wouldnt mind meeting some of you guys in the area. Thanks in advance.


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

Are there fish in the charleston area? I will have 4 days of free time and a car and i am looking to catch some fish. What fish should i anticipate being there?


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## johnnyleo11 (Dec 17, 2003)

I am sure sharks and other cartiligous fish wouldn't be out of the question. I will be experimenting with what runs in the spring this year as well. I didn't get to go fishing much at all last spring.


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

where is there to fish in the area? Any good piers?


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## johnnyleo11 (Dec 17, 2003)

The only public one that I have gone to is Folly Beach Pier. It is a very nice pier.

It costs out-of-towners $8 to go fishing there and $5 to park at the pier. It won't cost you $13 to fish there b/c they take off the $5 from parking when you bring your receipt up to the bait and tackle shop to get your wristband for fishing. If you want to try to fish for king mackeral, it's $10, and again, if you pay the parking fee, you can subtract that from the fishing fee. I wouldn't recommend it however b/c I don't recall seeing posts of people pulling in king mackeral over the rail in March. It costs a little more to fish for them b/c there is a big livewell with mullet in it for you to use should you want to fish for the kings. The end of the diamond is usually reserved for the king fishermen (and women) and there might be a plastic yellow chain denoting where that area is. The couple of times I went out there this summer, I did not see a single soul with pin rigs out there. That being said, I think only one came over the rail!

If you plan on fishing there more than a couple of days (I think you're coming down for spring break) you can purchase a 10 day pass for $45.

Hopefully this freakish warm winter will keep the temps warm and the fish will make their run up the coast a little earlier in the season so you can get into a mess of some chomper blues and spanish macks. Many people have used gotcha plugs to catch these pier favorites. There are artificial reefs that have been dropped along the pier to creat habitat among the breakers for fish to hang out. You will see where these are at if you walk down the pier and look at the seating areas that are situated down the center of the pier. I think they are bright yellow signs with black bold lettering. You see many a whiting, spot, and croaker come up over there.

There are very nice cleaning stations along the pier for when you are done fishing. The people with the Zebco 33's that have the reel cover painted hi vis orange are tourists that have rented those rods. I suggest you bring your own lawn chair should you go for there is not a lot of seating surfaces along the pier except for some picnic benches at the diamond head.

Hopefully the fish are running in March for ya!


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## Hurricane44 (Aug 16, 2006)

Just to add to JLeo's awesome and informative post... The pier is a sweet setup, lots of room and very fisherman friendly. I don't know if water temps will be warm enough in March for anything to really be biting besides sharks and skates. I don't believe the water temps will start to go up until April, but it may be possible to catch some whiting, drum, or trout. I was there this past Monday and only saw/caught skates and sharks. It looks like air temps this week are going to plummet into the 30s at night and low 50s in the day so the warm waters (54-58) will pretty much be gone very soon. There are a few websites to consider checking out if you want to get an idea of the area: search google for 'surfline Folly Beach cam' and you'll get a webcam that updates every 3-4 seconds with a live beach/wave image. The other site to check is http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat_data/?product=sst&region=georgia&nothumbs=0 which shows the satellite derived water temps for the SC/GA coast. 

Not to deter you from fishing the SC waters in March, but you may have a better chance of catching some fish in the Outer Banks of NC or Gulf/East coast of FL, just my opinion. As you can see there aren't many of us in SC actually posting right now. Hell, my spring break is in March and I might even visit the FL coast for some :fishing:


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

Thanks guys. Yea i would love to go somewhere else but my dad is heading to the area on a business trip and i can tag along for free. Dont really mind what i catch as long as there is pullage. Will bring the drum and trout gear as well as the gotcha plugs. Thanks again guys...


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## bottomfeeder (Jan 31, 2006)

you need to fish folly if you come down.the trout,whiting,possibly flounder,blues. should be bitin good by then.when you hit folly,drive all the way to the north end of the island.there is an old coast guard base.there is parking,you just walk right out on the beach.if you walk north on the beach down to the end,there is some awesome fishing down there at times.bring a surf rod.


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

cool. Thanks bottomfeeder. Are there any bait shops along the way? And what is the best bait gonna be?


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## kelsch (Aug 7, 2003)

*How about August?*

I'm hoping to stay in Isle of Palms in August. Is there any thing in the surf at this time? How would Folly Pier be then? Any help would be appreciated.


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## johnnyleo11 (Dec 17, 2003)

If you want to fish the north end of Folly, get ready for a really good walk. It is paved for a couplel hundred yards, then it's sand for just as long to the water. Parking can be a big pain there b/c it is on a dead end street, and the cops there make some $$$ on tickets.

As for B&T's, there is a weird mix here in Charleston. They are either very white collared (Charleston Angler) or they could pass for a hole in the wall bar (Folly Road Tackle Shop). There is also a good amount of stuff at the pier itself and the prices aren't too crazy. They mostly have weights, rigs, and an assortment of lures and pier gear there with frozen bait. We don't have a place like BPS or Cabela's in the area, so try and stock up on your hardware that you know that you will be using and losing. Crosby's is a seafood/ B&T place that has fresh fresh bait and it's on your way to Folly Beach. They also have a small pier out there that you can pay to fish on. It's on a tidal creek.

In August, there will be a lot of croakers, spot, crabs, sharks and skates around. Water here gets very warm and the beach is very flat, so a lot of the big ones go out to the deep blue to cool down. This is all I've ever caught in the middle of summer down here.


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

Preciate it Johnny. I have all the gear i need just looking for some good bait. Anyone in the area sell live shrimp?


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## kelsch (Aug 7, 2003)

*Kayak oppurtunities*

Solunds like surf fishing will be pretty limited in August. Could I do any good in a kayak in the shallows around Isle of Palms or thereabouts?


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## bottomfeeder (Jan 31, 2006)

as johnny said there are plenty of tackle shops from all ends of the spectrum.n folly is a long walk,but in 20 some odd years of fishing i have never gotten a ticket.he is also right about the shallow water(gradual slope) surf we have.however,in august this past year we were catching trout and even some spottails at n. folly.it is also shallow out there mostly,but there are some holes here and there where the fish will be.bring a big rod and a trout rod.also,when you go down to north folly,walk out the end of the last parking lot and turn left.it is much easier walking down the beach.its really not that far of a walk actually from the last parking lot.its a good walk carrying alot of stuff i must admit.but the fishing is good for the most part and the scenery is awesome.good luck


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## johnnyleo11 (Dec 17, 2003)

Oh yeah, be wary of your surroundings if you are going to wade in the water in North Folly. If I recall, someone fell in a whole there and drowned this past summer. I can't recall if toothy critters were involved or not.


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## bottomfeeder (Jan 31, 2006)

those "holes" are where the fish are.no reason to wade in then johnny.this aint front beach im talkin about,this is in the corner in between the jetties.you really dont have to wade much there.a 15 or 20 yard cast is about all you need when the fish are there.this spring we were loading up the castnet with menhaden,etc. 5 ft in front of us.on front beach you would definately have to wade.next spring johnny lets hook up out there.i know thw area real well.maybe then you could show me one of your spots.fish on.by the way,i just looked at my log book for august,and while it wasnt great...i did catch some nice spottails,a few flounder and alot of trout.good luck.this is a great site,as you can see i havent posted in some time.i was on another site that went totally ridiculous and had to get away from all the negativity.see ya out there somewhere.


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## giacommin (Jan 25, 2007)

hokie,

take a look at www.charlestonfishing.com

are you gonna be boat or bank/surf fishing?


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

more than likely pier fishing. Maybe some bank fishing. Dont have a boat so thats kinda out of the ?


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## bottomfeeder (Jan 31, 2006)

there are fish to be caught from the surf in march-but its kinda slow.
in august its wide open.you should be able to catch many different types of fish.

email me when youre about to come down and we will see whats bitin and where.


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## hokieboy (Jan 19, 2006)

sounds good. Thnks.


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## Tripp Joseph (Feb 15, 2007)

I also have the opportunity to be in the Charleston area, but I will be there the last weekend in February. I am preferential to fishing from the beach as opposed to the pier...any chance of something biting on the North end of Folly in Feb?

New to this board, by the way. I look forward to chatting with you all.

Thanks. Tripp


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## gonnawin (Feb 15, 2007)

Tripp Joseph said:


> I also have the opportunity to be in the Charleston area, but I will be there the last weekend in February. I am preferential to fishing from the beach as opposed to the pier...any chance of something biting on the North end of Folly in Feb?
> 
> New to this board, by the way. I look forward to chatting with you all.
> 
> Thanks. Tripp


we never fished north folly but we did fish the pier a couple times last year, let us know how you do, im heading down to tybee island myself and gonna try fishin the surf, ive never really fished the surf before, any pointers


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## kelsch (Aug 7, 2003)

*Thxs*

Appreciate all the advise on surf fishing in August it sounds like I might get dinner once or twice. I'll post again before I go to see if any body wants to meet.


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