I will be vacationing at Folly Beach the first week of April. This will be my third trip to the area but my first chance to fish. I prefer surf fishing and have taken spring and fall trips to the Outer Banks for the past 40 years. Any information regarding fishing areas, bait, tackle, and species caught during this time of year would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to a new fishing experience.
Nope. Go to Myrtle.
Nasty!!!
Catfish
d burgess, welcome to cf.com. April is a great time for catching fish in the surf, but Folly beach can be full of folks near the popular spots. As far as where, move up the beach away from the pier, or down closer to the park. If venturing east, the " Washout" is a very popular surf spot, usually too many surfers to fish, from…Weathers lane to Fort? best guess on cross streets, you will know it by the parking spots on right. Further past towards the old Coast gaurd station and Morris Island lighthouse area, is usually “less” crowded, using the term loosly. To the west, again moving away from the pier, towards the county park, more excellent fishing spots. Out at the park can produce as well. Of course fish off the pier! Not sure of the cost these days, I haven’t fish off a pier since I was a kid. Okay…now the when and how, imo. Go early…leave early…most vacationers like to sleep in. On the beach at dawn, off before noon, again late afternoon till after dark. Don’t worry so much about the tide as the time you have lines in, since your time is probably limited too. Fresh shrimp, or fresh cut mullet, if you prefer, on the bottom, small hooks, should produce any member of the drum family, Whiting, Red and Black drum, Speckled sea trout maybe a Spot or Croaker. Probably a little early for Pompano. Flounder around structure, wood/rocks, bait of choice for Flounder would be live Mud minnows. And be prepaired for the toothy critters, Sharks, Blue fish (a stretch on the teeth but can be pesky), Sting rays and Skates. Gear…bring what ever. Any 6’-8’ rig will do. 15-20lb. mono works perfect, or what ever braid you like. I like double drop beaded rigs with 2-5oz. Pyramids. There are usually no MONSTER fish in the surf that time of year, biggest thing you could hook would either be a shark or ray.
Hope this helps, and I’m with TheSkipper…OUCH! Enjoy your vacation!
“If it were catching, Everyone would be good at it.”
Thanks for the info. This will help me get oriented to the area. I am an early to rise guy so fishing early is not a problem. I have no grand illusions of catching monster fish but just looking forward to wetting a line and spending a few days gazing at the water. I live in West Virginia and the weather has been horrendous. Several days of below zero weather this week and 8 inches of snow on the ground with 8-10 additional predicted for today. I need some fun in the sun.
Would fishing from kayak be a good option? I will be staying at Mariners Cay Marina and have my own kayak. What opportunities would that provide? Where are good put in points?
quote:Fishing with a kayak would be nice in April. You'll be able to take it into the flats, and fish oyster beds for fish like red drum and possibly trout. Just rig up with a bottom rig if you wanna anchor down and fish, if not then throw artificials such as shrimp, shad or fluke. I have best luck with the brightest baits, just make sure to fish them slowly. If your'e an experienced kayaker and are able to take it further out, I suggest fishing around the jetties or possibly under bridges for sheepshead, because as long as its deep enough, they'll be there. As for me, the only thing I use my kayak for at this time of the year is for kayaking a bait out from land about 300 yards to catch the big sharks. If your'e interested in that, get yourself a big reel, preferably a conventional that can hold quite a bit of line. Tie your mono (I use 40#) to a swivel with a 6 foot mono leader (120#) then crimp that off to another swivel that goes to wire with your two hooks, a leading hook and a trailer.I typically use big hoglegs if I can get them, or even whiting as bait. Make sure the bait is at least 18 inches long. Place your bait on your kayak, paddle out a few hundred yards and drop it. But in order to make sure it drops down, I usually tie a cinder block with 14# mono to the second swivel and just drop the cidner block in the water.. Doing this will force the bait straight to the bottom, and whenever the shark picks it up, the line will brake from the block, which will eventually erode over time and will not hurt the enviornment. Good luck !
Originally posted by d thomas burgessWould fishing from kayak be a good option? I will be staying at Mariners Cay Marina and have my own kayak. What opportunities would that provide? Where are good put in points?
B Mitchell
Take Over Fishing Team
takeoverfishing@yahoo.
Your info will be great help in getting acclimated to he area. Really interested in targeting redfish and trout. Thanks for your help.
I have to second TakeOver on that one, but you can also catch smaller sharks (3-5 footers) from the breakers, casting right from the beach. Get some frozen or fresh shrimp, put it on a drop rig. You should have your first whiting within a few minutes. Cut into strips, but on a hook with a leader, huck it out there with a 3-4 oz pyramid. Give it an hour, if the water’s warm enough you’ll catch some fun critters.
2000 Aquasport Osprey 175 CC
quote:
Originally posted by TheSkipperNasty!!!
Catfish
Really? When is the last time you caught either a hardhead or gafftop catfish off of folly?
I honestly ask because both of those species populations absolutely collapsed on the easy coast over 5 years ago and it’s now unheard of to see a single one.
Personally I don’t know of anyone that misses them but was just interested if you are actually catching them?
Really sorry to have to tell you this “d thomas burgess” but Folly is no Outer Banks (in any season).
In early April your best bet is to actually fish a bit inland. Charleston dos have some exceptional fishing for Spotted Seatrout, and Red Drum nearly year round in inshore estuarine areas like Charleston Harbor and up it’s rivers.
In the surf, the first few weeks of April is still a bit early. You may get some decent whiting (“sea mullet” to someone used to fishing in NC), some dogfish, but don’t expect much more. If you are lucky, you could happen into a few large red drum depending on the year.
Your best bet will be to fish from either the North or South ends of Folly (coast guard station, or county park).
I wish you luck. If you have a choice, always return to the Outer Banks in the future. As someone that vacationed in the Outer Banks for over 20 years. I would rather fish there for one week a year than fish on Folly for the rest of the year.
Thanks Fishingaddict. I have a trip to Outer Banks first week of May and you are right about no comparison to Folly area for fishing. It’s sounding more like I may just enjoy fishing from a kayak and getting some exercise.
I was referring to the post above mine. Guy was short and nasty not willing to help another. I have not caught a salty cat in long time although about 10 years ago I caught what I Think was a blue cat at the Dawhoo bridge.
I would definitely be careful with the idea of kayaking out to the jetties. That is not a small undertaking and I would recommend you be very experienced and not alone. I think you might want to stick to inshore. Whatever you do post some pictures!
Should be some of the biggest blues of the year in the surf from now till early April. Good size ones up to 10# or so. Cut and live bait of course are the top baits, water my yet be a bit cold but should be there soon.
And to localsonly the vacationers are not the problem…
It’s the transplants from beyond the southeast region that want to learn how (right now) to do the things we have spent years or lifetimes learning by trial and error or experience. That and buying up all the property 
d thomas burgess sent you a pm.Call me when you get in town,will show you how to fish at Folly Pier. Outer Banks,done that for last 15 years.If fishing were easy it would be called catching