I’m planning on moving to Charleston for June and July this summer and am hoping to do some inshore fishing. I recently graduated from Clemson, born and raised in SC, but grew up pond fishing rather than salt water. I’ve gone offshore fishing before on guided trips, and done the typical tourist surf fishing, but I’d really like to learn to go after Reds, Trout, and really anything else inshore.
I had a couple questions I was hoping ya’ll could help me out with, if you don’t mind.
Firstly, I’m planning to bring down just a typical aluminum sided bass boat to use. I’m wondering if anyone knows where is a good place to keep it/put it in, that isn’t terribly far away from decent fishing areas. I’d looked at Carolina Boatyard in Mt. Pleasant, but just wanted to make sure it would be somewhat convenient for fishing. I really don’t know anything about where to start looking for the fish, so any tips help haha.
Second thing, I’m gonna assume that I’ll need to buy a new rod and reel for saltwater inshore. Currently I just use a generic shakespeare ugly stik spinner combo, so I was wondering if anyone could reccomend a good setup for a beginner. (Preferrably nothing terribly expensive, not over $200)
I suppose lastly, any random bits of advice? Any certain peices of equipment that will be a necessity to get before I start aside from the rod, reel, and boat?
I know its a big long winded, but any tips would be appreciated. Just excited to try and get out there and get my hands wet with some fish this summer.
I’m sure many will reply with suggestions. Mine would be to use the Search function on this board (Use the one under Services at the top of the page, not the other one). Also, depending on where you are going to live, join a fishing club. I can’t emphasize that enough. Good luck and welcome to the site!
You’ll find salt eats the heck out of things. Is your trailer galvanized and/or aluminum? The inside of your boat may get unhappy quick also depending on how it is rigged out and how well you can clean it after use.
Equipment, piece of cake. Use what you have to start out and then visit a local tackle shop. They can more than hook you up with a great saltwater combo for under $200. Keep them clean and lubed and you’ll be fine.
Fish galore. If you are anywhere in the Charleston area you are no more than 20 minutes from putting in and catching fish.
Carolina boat yard is owed by a friend and a very good choice. Nice fishing up that way and I live by the Wando just a half mile away. Start with your current rods and then stop by a local tackle shop which I am sure will help you out. My son works at Haddrells point and is a local guide on his off days. He will be happy to advise.
Honestly you can’t go wrong with an ugly stick and a Penn battle, that would be about a $150 set up. You really don’t need a crazy expensive Rod. I have a G. Loomis that was given to me as a gift, a couple of ugly sticks, a creekside, and a gander mountain guide series, the ugly sticks work just fine compared to everything else, i really can’t tell the difference in sensitivity because when a red hits my lure it feels the same on every pole.
Hey - congrats on graduation! I was in your very position in 2009. If you are in Mt. P go to the east cooper fishing club meeting May 7th, it is a great group of folks and they will help teach you what you need to know. I have been a member for quite a while and made lots of friends there - unfortunately scheduling has prevented me from attending the last couple of meetings.
As far as boats, take a couple of trips in other people’s boats if you can swing it before purchasing your own. When you DO decide to get one, get it checked out by a professional, usually costs <100 bucks. Dont be in a hurry (like I did… twice) and dont drive a long distance for a deal (like i did… twice) because you wont have anyone to check the boat out and you are pressured to purchase since you already made the trip. There are lots of boats in town, check them out and be patient!
You can’t go wrong keeping your boat at Carolina Boatyard. I keep mine there for about 6 months out of the year. Thay are good people and Tracy Kerr will take good care of you!
I moved onto the water here two years ago and have tried to learn salt. But I didn’t even fully understand the term “inshore”, its scope, or that the fishing/boats available to me might include “nearshore”, etc. All I knew was that, living on a creek, someone told me to get a “good inshore setup”. After alot of fishing, with an open mind and without preconceptions, I empirically arrived at a few things that may cut your equipment learning curve (Stonoman and others can greatly cut your fishing learning curve). 1) There is no one size of rod/reel/line for inshore unless you fish for a single species, or even a class of species such as reds. 2) I’d rather have 2-3 decent combos on the water than one great one -nice to have already rigged rods to change or keep one or two in holders with bait and one dedicated to casting arties. 3) With care, I can make a mid or lower range reel last at least as long as it takes me to lose or destroy an expensive one. These are simply my observations based on my experience. With these 3 things taken together, I recnetly re-equipped for the next couple years of fishing -I think I now have the size range of combos for the types fishing I do, the number of rods for each type to allow me to fish and not tie knots the whole time. I got 2 6-12# rods with 3000 size reels (225 of 15# braid), 2 8-17 with 4000 reels (250 of 20#), and 2 15-30# with 5000 reels (300 of 30#). I recently got a few trout on the little rods that would have been boring on the bigger rods and got a guest on a bonnet that wouold have broke off or burned out a smaller rod. There is a certain amount of cross-over between the consecutive sizes -you could cast with one rod and bottom mrig the next size up for the same species. Reels don’t have to be $200 -particularily if you take care of them. I got a brand and model for $50 on ebay that isn’t specifically saltwater -but one that a guide on this site has used guiding for 2 years. A reasonable number or bearings and drag appropriate to its class and it’s fine. I found some
The penn fierce is cheaper than the battle and there are not really any bad reviews on it. Thin bail wire but no com plants on that performance wise but what ever you do do not buy the fierce combo from penn the rod is GARBAGE!!! Buy an ugly stick separately.
I’m sure more people would reply if you didn’t mention CLEMSON!!!
x2…
Just kidding (sort of ). Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it already, but I’d highly recommend chartering a few trips with some of the local guides. They’ll teach you more in a few hours than you could learn alone in a year. Money well spent…
Go to your local tackle shop when you get here and talk to them. Charleston Angler is tops with fly fishing gear but are still knowledgeable about everything salt water. Haddrells Point is tops for offshore and near shore/inshore spinning gear but again have tons of knowledge about all salt water fishing. Use them. They love to help you find what is best for you because a happy customer is a repeat customer. They also both host great seminars frequently.
I’ve got 3 Shimano Sahara 2500’s and love them. I had a saltwater guide recommend them for durability and fishability and they haven’t disappointed. Around $69. They are the company-is-coming-and-wants-to-fish reels!
Ugly sticks are darn tough rods. Not very sensitive. True that when a red hits it really does not matter but with my high end rods i can tell what the bottom is like by feeling as i bump the jig head across it. I find this harder to do w an ugly stick. Higher end rods seem to break more because they are mad of such light and brittle material to get that sensitivity and lower the weight of the rig. So, for a beginner its a great rod and i would for sure recommend one. For more advanced fisherman and fishing techniques I would not recommend one. I will say if you want a rod that will last a long long time and not break the bank they are the one to get. If you want to feel a fish if he farts on your lure and be able to feel if you are fishing over sand,mud,shells,grass or rocks not so much. However, it sounds like a great rod for you to start with.
I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.
Tip #1 - sell the boat and buy a yak, pfd and paddle. Use extra money to but a couple of Okuma Trio or Penn Battle reels and some mid priced St Croix rods.
). Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it already, but I’d highly recommend chartering a few trips with some of the local guides. They’ll teach you more in a few hours than you could learn alone in a year. Money well spent…
