July 23
Morning surface water temperatures are around 86-87 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
The inshore bite has turned up a notch this week, and Captain Rob Bennett of Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that’s all because 3-4 inch shrimp have arrived in the creeks. With them have come the small, “young-of-the-year” redfish, and these 12-14 inch fish are absolutely thick. On one trip they caught 20 in forty-five minutes before getting blown to another area by a storm. There are also plenty of larger reds still around, and they are also picking up a few trout. Flounder are common, but seemingly more than 90% are undersized. The key to catching everything has been fishing shrimp under a cork over oyster shells when the tide is moving in either direction and there is enough water to cover them. They even caught a really nice tripletail this way!
The last few days wind has kept Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) inshore, and they have been having success fishing live and cut mullet on the flats to the sides of the Intracoastal Waterway. Redfish, trout and flounder are all biting pretty well in these areas.
But when conditions allow they are fishing the jetties and harbor, and even in the hot water it’s been a pretty steady bite for big redfish with four or five each trip. But even though they have seen a few tarpon rolling, they are not around in great numbers and they have yet to catch one. Part of the issue has been the wind, which has limited Captain Addison’s ability to fish his best spots, but it also seems they just aren’t here the way they should be soon.
Captain Rob reminds everyone that this week is the Fishing for Miracles king mackerel tournament – which he will be fishing.
July 14
Morning surface water temperatures are around 88-90 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Theinshore fishing continues to be outstanding, and Captain Rob Bennett ofLowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that he and his guides are catching gigantic redfish, as well as scads of smaller fish right now. For redfish action inshore, with fish in the 1-14-pound class, he and his guides working charter business, are using live shrimp on popping-cork rigs.
Captain Rob said giant reds, fish in the 20-40-pound class, are being caught around thejetties using cut bait on the bottom. The normal hotspots are producing, including the ends of the jetties with lots of current, and Dynamite Hole and the Grillage, both near deep water. He said anglers can simply fall in amid the mass of boats working those areas, and you’re in the right spot. But lots of big reds are being caught.
Flyfishing for reds is excellent in the grass, and his guides are doing extremely well with this tactic recently. Redfish are abundant right now.
Captain Rob said redfishing is great, and using flyrods in the grass is excellent right now.
The flounder action remains very good, with plenty of keeper fish being taken. With the current high-water temperatures, trout fishing is pretty slow, with an angler’s only real chance of success coming at first light in the morning. Trout are being caught on live shrimp fished on popping corks around the marsh grass, or by using topwater lures.
Sharks fishing is excellent just about everywhere right now, and multiple species are being successfully targeted.
Spanish Mackerel are being caughtnearshore in good numbers, and slow trolling for King Mackerel is excellent in 40-90 feet.
One final note: the Tarpon are active, and the bite is good now, but in a week or so it’ll likely improve. Captain Rob said we’re coming up on the best time in the moon cycle to catch them. The peak bite is usually around the full moon, but the week prior and the week after the full moon have traditionally been the best for Tarpon action based on his long-term experiences.
Terry Madewell
July 1
Morning surface water temperatures are around 85 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
The inshore fishing continues to be good, and Captain Rob Bennett of Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that they are catching some big redfish around docks. However, with the warm water they pretty much need to be deep docks – or at least have deep water very close. Cut menhaden and mud minnows on a Carolina rig are both working.
They are also catching a decent number of keeper-sized flounder, and actually managed a 7-pounder this week! (pictured below)
Trout can also be caught, but you basically have to get on the water while it’s still dark to catch them as they are only feeding in extremely low light early. They will take live shrimp fished on popping corks around the marsh grass, or topwater lures if that is your preference.
Meanwhile Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) has mostly been fishing the harbor and around the jetties, and the main catch has been bull red drum. Menhaden are easy to catch for bait right now, and either cut or live they are working in at least 15 feet of water around rock structure, channel ledges, bridges, and more.
Captain Addison has been seeing some tarpon and plans to start targeting them soon.
June 24
Morning surface water temperatures are around 81 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Anglers continue to have fishing success both inshore and offshore. However, Captain Rob Bennett ofLowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that offshore fishing has slowed a bit but is still productive for dolphin and Kings. Offshore fishing has remained very good, but is beginning to tail off a bit.
Captain Rob said the Cobia bite at the reefs is good, and the 40-70-foot depths seem to be holding the most Cobia, with live bottom areas also very productive. He reports a good bit of fishing activity is occurring at the reefs, with Spanish mackerel and spadefish abundant. Shark fishing is now wide open, offering plenty of action across multiple species and areas, the specific location depending on the species being targeted.
Good Inshore fishing exists, and redfish action has been what he terms ‘average’ recently. It’s not bad, but it's not on fire. The best catches are still coming from live shrimp and mud minnows, although the shrimp are not available in big numbers here yet.
Trout action overall is decent, but he added that the first hour of light is producing some good action with mud minnows, and once the sun comes up, it’s over.
Flounder fishing is good, and the bite is strong, although some undersized fish are being caught and released; keepers are available, too. Recently, a redheaded jig with a twister-tail grub has been highly productive for flounder.
Some excellent news: while he hasn’t personally hooked up with a Tarpon yet this season, they are definitely in the area, and he knows of some that have been caught.
One angler caught three; right place, right time.
Captain Rob boated a 42-inch red, and a doormat 27-inch flounder this Tuesday.
He suggests that, when the wind allows, anglers get to the reefs to fish. A diversity of fish species currently offering excellent fishing. His plan for Tuesday of this week is to fish for big redfish using menhaden, and that’s been a solid, productive pattern recently.
(Capt. Rob’s Trip update for June 23; Captain Rob had an outstanding trip he reports, with good fish action topped by a huge 42-inch redfish and a doormat 27-inch flounder!)
Terry Madewell
June 9
Morning surface water temperatures are around 78-79 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Anglers are having success both inshore and offshore, and Captain Rob Bennett ofLowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that the time for excellent ocean fishing is here, and offshore fishing has been outstanding this week, with dolphin and Kings caught in good numbers and sizes.
Captain Rob made a big catch of quality dolphin at 200 feet, but he also ran into big schools of smaller dolphin in 90 feet that were super abundant. He and his party wanted bigger fish, which they found at 200 feet. He said reports indicate that dolphin fishing is still good, and he thinks it will last a while longer.
Captain Rob said the offshore action is still strong, and should remain good this week.
The Kings are doing very well, and anglers are catching plenty of them, with fish caught in depths from 40 to 90 feet.
Captain Rob said a lot of activity is occurring at the reefs, with Spanish mackerel and spadefish abundant. He added that the live bottom area offers excellent Cobia action.
Also, he reports that shark fishing is now wide open, offering plenty of action across multiple species and areas, depending on what species you want to target.
Some decent Inshore fishing exists, and redfish action has been good the past few days, with the best catches made on live shrimp and mudminnows. Captain Rob advised that as air and water temperatures rise, red fishing gets tougher by midday. He suggests going early in the morning for the best redfish action.
He suggests that, when the wind allows, anglers get to the reefs to fish. A diversity of fish species is active on the reefs, and several species are currently offering excellent fishing.
Captain Rob added that huge schools of menhaden are running along the coast, only a few hundred yards off the beaches, and everything loves to eat live menhaden. Find forage, find the fish.
Folly Beach Pier (843-762-9516) pier manager Jacob Cynar reports that the fishing remains excellent, with sheepshead, croaker, trout, and black drum being caught.
A lot of opportunities are available for anglers for saltwater fishing around Charleson right now.
Terry Madewell
June 4
Morning surface water temperatures are around 76 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
It has been a good period for inshore fishing in Charleston recently, and Captain Rob Bennett of Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that they are catching a few big trout (especially early in the day) but the best action has been for redfish. They are in a variety of different spots, but grass lines and docks have been about the most productive. Right now they can catch brown shrimp for bait, but soon there will be a period with no shrimp until white shrimp show up around the second week of July. While shrimp are hard to beat if you can get them, all month fishing mud minnows around docks is close to a sure thing for reds.
The main catch inshore for Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) has also been redfish, although he has been having success with cut menhaden. The fish are biting around the tide cycle, but anchoring baits on the outgoing tide when bait and fish are coming out of the grass has been very productive. This should continue all month.
At the jetties the fishing has been good for bull red drum, but the drawback has been that so many sharpnose sharks have showed up now that you really have to weed through them to catch drum. And the sharks aren’t going anywhere.
It’s been a week or two but there was also a nice run of trout at the jetty recently, and they should show up periodically throughout June.
Off the beach at Folly Beach Pier (843-762-9516) pier manager Jacob Cynar reports that the fishing has been great, and they expect it to only get better this month until the extreme heat of later summer. They are getting nice sheepshead, plenty of good black drum, some sea trout, and lots of whiting and croaker.
Finally, when you can get out to the reefs this month cobia, spadefish, amberjack, and more are all biting. Jelly balls are here.
May 21
Morning surface water temperatures are around 72 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Inshore fishing in Charleston remains excellent, and Captain Rob Bennett withLowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) is correct that May is Cobia Month, as action on Cobia has improved tremendously at the reefs. Fishing continues to be wide open for several species, with redfish, flounder, and trout all producing action.
Captain Rob reported the inshore redfish bite remains excellent, with his guides still averaging 10-20 fish per trip. The reds are being caught in the shallow flats and around piers, with live shrimp being an excellent bait. He said mudminnows and mullet are excellent choices if shrimp are not available.
Trout fishing seems to be on the upswing, and Captain Rob reports fishermen are catching decent-sized fish, but not enormous numbers. He’s still hopeful it’ll improve.
Captain Rob said the dolphin fishing is simply awesome; he and his guides have mauled the dolphins the past couple of weeks. This report is ‘hot off the press’ because he provided this report on late Wednesday, (May 20), while he was still heading in with a huge catch of dolphin and other species. The dolphin were caught in 120-220 feet of water. The dolphin fishing is as good as he can remember.
He suggests anglers go now while it’s on fire.
As Captain Rob predicted in the previous report, the Cobia have arrived.
The Cobia are being caught on the reefs and biting extremely well. Anglers can target them by sight, and then putting live menhaden in front of them is a great way to hook up quickly. Or anglers can fish deeper to target fish cruising deeper. Artificial lures work on Cobia, and Captain Rob said using a 1–3-ounce bucktail jig, the size is dependent on depth and water movement. Jigging the lure in the 40–60-foot depth range usually produces Cobia bites.
The Spadefish action has begun in earnest on the reefs, and using jelly balls is the top bait for these hard-fighting, fun-to-catch fish. Spadefish often congregate in big numbers and can wear an angler’s arms out when caught on lighter tackle.
Spanish Mackerel are still doing wellnearshore, and he reports that anglers are catching blacktip sharks.
At theFolly Pier, Jacob Cynar reports that the fishing remains good, with sheepshead and black drum being caught. Trout fishing on the pier remains fair.
Terry Madewell
May 7
Morning surface water temperatures are around 69 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Inshore fishing in Charleston remans excellent, and Captain Rob Bennett withLowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports fishing action on a couple of additional species has also perked up, while fishing continues to be wide open for several species, with Redfish, Dolphin, and Cobia all producing great action.
Captain Rob reported the inshore redfish bite is on fire, with most of his guides averaging 15-20 fish per trip, with fish caught in flats and around piers. The best bait is shrimp, which can be caught deep holing with cast nets or purchased. Also, mudminnows and mullet are excellent choices if shrimp are not available.
Capt. Rob said redfish action is great, go fishing now!
Trout fishing seems to be on the upswing, and Captain Rob reports fishermen are catching decent-sized fish in the area, but it’s not quite at the level they’re hoping for. But he thinks that’ll be improving weekly.
Captain Rob said the offshore news is great; his guides have crushed the Dolphin the past three days, producing awesome results. Plus, Wahoo and Marlin are also now being caught.
And to wrap up this trio of great fishing options, Captain Rob said all of May is ‘Cobia Month.’ Live menhaden is a prime bait, and any of the artificial reefs in the area are prime targets when fishing at 40-60 feet. He added that some fishermen use a 1–3-ounce bucktail jig, the size depending on depth and water movement, and that jigging in the 40–60-foot depth range produces plenty of action. Captain Rob said that learning this tactic can help anglers catch plenty of cobia without live bait.
Fishing at the Folly Pier, Jacob Cynar reports that the fishing is great, with sheepshead being caught consistently, with plenty of them being keepers. Anglers are catching good numbers of Black drum, and while the action is trending up, so far, no one has landed any legal-size specimens. Jacob reported that spotted trout fishing on the pier is much improved, with trout now producing a strong bite.
Terry Madewell
April 30
Morning surface water temperatures are around 68 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Inshore fishing in Charleston is strong, and Captain Rob Bennett with Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that his boats continue to do very well with the redfish. Docks continue to be some of their best spots, although low tide structure back in the creeks is also very good. They expect this pattern to hold through May, with the biggest change being that instead of relying so much on mud minnows a variety of oilier baitfish that can be netted will be around for cut and live bait.
The trout fishing should improve this month, and in particular an early bite should start to come on with topwaters. Additionally, fishing live shrimp or mud minnows under corks around main river points with clean, moving water will be effective.
Flounder will also show up and can be caught around structure as well as creek mouths on the dropping tide. Mud minnows are hard to beat.
In the rivers and at the jetties it continues to be a pretty phenomenal spring bull red drum bite for Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476), although crab is playing out as a bait source and they are starting to turn more to menhaden which are showing up off the beach. This should last all through May although there will be increasing numbers of sharks to contend with – which are fun to catch in their own right. The basic pattern is anchoring cut bait offerings around any deep structure be it a bridge, rocks, piling, etc.
Nearshore in May cobia will arrive at the reefs where you can catch them with live menhaden on the bottom or on top if you are sight-fishing, and Spanish and king mackerel will also be around in numbers. Slow-trolling for kings will get good this month, and of course May is known as the month for offshore trolling for dolphin.
April 23
Morning surface water temperatures are around 67-68 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
Summer fishing is coming to Charleston, and Captain Rob Bennett with Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that whiting and bluefish are showing up in droves in the inlets, with blues thick all the way out to the nearshorereefs. Yesterday one of his boats caught 30 nice, eating-sized whiting in one of the inlets in short order.
At the reefs you can also pick up weakfish, and Spanish mackerel are also arriving. Captain Rob reminds anglers that the SC Mahi Series starts next month, with late April and May typically the time for catching dolphin offshore trolling in South Carolina.
In the rivers and at the jetties it continues to be a pretty phenomenal spring bite for Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476), who reports that around deep structure they are catching really big red drum as well as occasional large black drum when they use crab for bait. The tide isn’t making a big difference in these areas, while on the inshore side low tide is still the best time to fish. Again, they are still finding bigger than normal redfish even inside the creeks. Mostly they are fishing around structure, but there have also been some good catches soaking bait on the ICW flats.
While they haven’t targeted them much they expect the trout to turn on this week with the May 1 full moon.
April 16
Morning surface water temperatures are around 67-68 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Menhaden are showing up on the beaches.
It continues to be a pretty phenomenal spring bite around Charleston, and Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) reports that around deep structure in the major rivers and at the jetties they are catching really big red drum as well as occasional large black drum when they use crab for bait. The tide isn’t making a big difference in these areas, while on the inshore side low tide is definitely the best time to fish. Again, they are still finding bigger than normal redfish even inside the creeks. Mostly they are fishing around structure, but there have also been some good catches soaking bait on the ICW flats. Around inshore structure they are also picking up some juvenile sheepshead and black drum on crabs.
Nearshore Captain Rob Bennett with Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that the sheepshead bite has slowed down, but it has picked up inshore where they are catching more big fish again around structure. They are also having success drifting live shrimp (caught deep-holing) for redfish, black drum, and trout, but Captain Rob notes he has not seen a flounder yet. It’s coming!
April 3
Morning surface water temperatures are around 64 degrees at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.
The inshore bite has been really good around Charleston, and Captain Rob Bennett with Lowcountry Inshore Charters (843-367-3777) reports that they are now catching a ton of redfish and lots of trout. It’s that time of year when some giant reds show up in the creeks, and they should be here for at least a couple more weeks. With the big full moon tides they have been concentrating their efforts on low water for both species, and if you can find a dock in 6-8 feet of water with some growth on it you can pretty much be assured of getting bites. Mud minnows are working well for both species.
In addition to a good inshore bite, Captain Addison Rupert with Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) reports that the fishing at the jetties has been so good that it’s almost like fall fishing! They are picking up bull reds and some random black drum (when they use crustaceans for bait), and the tide really hasn’t seemed to matter. They’ve caught fish on everything from the high incoming to low water.