The rock jetties lining the entrance to the Charleston harbor are one of the best fishing structures Charleston has to offer. Ive spent many days fishing right along those rocks and they are still one of my favorite places to fish. Aside from the good fishing, one thing that makes the jetties so much fun to fish is the many different types of fishing you can do there. If you like fishing the bottom, float fishing or throwing artificial lures, you will find a species you can target.
In the early 80s we did plenty of live bait fishing for king mackerel and caught some of our biggest kings along the rocks. Over the years Ive caught plenty of sheepshead there and caught my personal best 10 pound sheep there. Casting lures over the submerged rocks weve caught, Spanish mackerel, huge bluefish, redfish, trout, jack cravelle, and even caught a 25 pound king on a little baitcaster reel. Weve caught huge reds around dynamite hole and the grillage and have hooked tarpon there as well. There is also some fantastic flounder fishing as well.
We always like to have a plan B if our initial fishing plan is not productive. The beauty of the jetties is that you can have a plan A,B,C and D and not ever have to leave the rocks. Another great thing about fishing the jetties is that there is plenty of room to fish, even when there is a crowd. I hear people complain about people homing in on their spots inshore and have been a victim of that and unruly kids on jetskis on more than one occasion. The jetties provide an area where you do not need to crowd anyone out to fish and there is some type of good fishing all around them.
Obviously, you need to have the right type of boat to fish there and you need to know what you are doing so you do not lose your anchor or end up in the rocks. The area between Fort Sumter and the jetties can also be some of the nastiest water you will find on a rough day so you need to be aware of what you are doing and know the conditions and how the enormous amount of water flowing in and out of