If you are looking for a great way to test your angling skills, as well as your tackle, the Charleston Harbor has something for you. Each summer the very large and hard-fighting Jack Cravelle invade our harbor. These monsters usually swim in schools and can reek havoc on the tackle of an unsuspecting angler. More than one fisherman has told the story of casting for Trout around Castle Pinckney just before dark only to have a very large Jack run every bit of line off of their reel and snap it like spaghetti. I have spoken with other fishermen who were able to realize what was going on before one of the above scenarios, only to fight the fish for hours on end.
Jack Cravelle come into our harbor each year looking for food. They generally run in schools, circling up and devouring baitfish. Watching these fish attack a school of baitfish is very impressive to say the least. I have seen very large schools of 30 to 40 pound fish jumping over each other and crashing baits everywhere. Many fishermen enjoy sight casting to the Jacks. They are easy to spot on a calm day in the harbor and usually fin on the surface in the morning, late afternoon, and early evening hours. We have spotted them finning and caught them in the middle of the day, but the best bet is the early and late hours of daylight. Most anglers agree the best tide seems to be outgoing when the current starts to flow. Some of the more popular areas are the channel between Castle Pinckney and the Yorktown and between Daniel and Drum Island. We have caught them all over the harbor and stay on constant lookout for them when we are fishing during the summer.
Spotting Jacks is not hard when the harbor is calm and boat traffic is not crazy. Most days this translates into early morning and early evening hours anyway. Look for areas where water current patterns and ripples do not appear normal. From distance schooling Jacks will look like a heavy current in an otherwise calm area. As you get closer you can make out dorsal and tail fins coming up out of the wate