Planning a trip to Charleston over Thanksgiving for in-shore or near shore fishing. Prefer bottom fishing either drift or could try to find a wreck, but am open to other techniques (sorry we don’t do fly and cannot get into small creeks). Any thoughts on what’s usually available or the best bet that time of year? Thanks
Michael
Columbia, SC
Bump
You can bottomfish year round in charleston. If you get offshore a little, we have several artificial reefs nearby. Charleston Nearshore, Charleston 60, Capers, 4Ki. Charleston nearshore is just outside the jetties and will hold seabass (you cannot harvest these right now) and sheepshead, which are a ton of fun to catch and great eating. Fiddler crabs and light leaders as close to structure as you can get. Sometimes you can find the weakfish schools near there too. Dead shrimp for those.
If you want big fish, heavy leaders and live bait or big cut mullet. Lots of big redfish hang out at the jetties this time of year, plenty around over 30lbs. Other reef fish that you might see would be numerous species of sharks (seen plenty of 10’+) amberjack, flounder on the bottom, grouper possibly depending on where you go.
I will tell you this though, the day before you go, reread the regulations for what you can and cannot harvest and and what methods you use to catch those fish. There are lots of rules being looked at and modified right now. For instance, bottom fishing, you need to use circle hooks, j hooks are not permitted.
Inshore the trout bite is heating up and the red fish will bite good through the winter time. Trout can be found trolling grubs or using trolling motor throwing grubs in clear water. Creeks mouths/shell banks with moving water. If you find one, work that area a little, there’s usually more.
Its a lot of fun to find the reds schooled up on the low tide mudflats when the water temperature drops. Reds will hit same grubs or sit live bait/cut bait on the bottom and wait. Flounder are still around too, just fewer numbers in my experience.
Hope this helps. Also use the search function for this time last year and you can pick up trends easy like that too. Good luck.
That was great. Just what I was looking for. We’ll just keep an eye on the weather.
Do we need to catch our own bait or can we buy it locally? I was looking at the CHS near shor reef and wondering where it was best to put in? Can use a public ramp but may do better at a full service marina.
Thanks
Any of the ramps in mt pleasant are pretty good. For the Charleston Nearshore, Remleys is probably the closest. Its a public ramp/no amenities, but its a easy straight shot though the jetties and to the reef.
The nearest full service type place is probably IOP marina/landing. $10 to park daily, but its a very nice place, food/gas/restrooms/anything you might need.
From there you can hang a left in the ICW and go the six miles or so to the charleston harbor and out the jetties to the reef. There’s a no wake zone in there, so pay attention. You can get to the ocean quicker through breech inlet, but if you aren’t familiar with the waters, I would advise against it. Shallow and can be rough and tricky at times.
As for bait, not sure what IOP might have (I’m sure they have frozen stuff), but you could stop by haddrell’s on the way there and get whatever you need for bait/tackle. They have live shrimp, minnows, fiddlers.
Maybe reelhunter or haddrellsfan can chime in and talk about what they have.