Normally I fish inshore, but I have a cousin who wants to surf fish because he has never done it before. We will be at Folly, and most of Folly Beach looks to be flat as a pancake. I am guessing that the end of the island at the lighthouse or either the back of the island at the destroyed County park would be best. I just need for him to catch a few whiting or little sharks or something to not be skunked. My question to you veterans is: Would we have a better chance at the lighthouse or at what is left of the county park? Thanks very much for any help.
I always fish the county park end during the summer… Usually catch plenty of whiting and such… Been spooled a few times as well.
This time of the year I don’t know. I’ve shut er down for a bit besides boat trips if my buddies take me. Early April I’ll prob give it a shot again
“mr keys”
I should probably have said that we are not going until mid April. Boy, there is not a lot left at the county park. Most unfortunate.
I’ve been surf fishing out on the east end of Folly since late Nov with only a few small black drum to show for it. Been skunked about the last 5 times out but partly b/c I’ve gotten lazy and just put the rods in spikes waiting for the big bite instead of holding the rod, actively fishing the groins and having a finger on the line to feel the bite (sorry, massive run-on sentence).
From all I’ve read/heard, surf fishing will pick up significantly in late Mar/Apr when the water warms up, then any shrimp or mullet piece cast into the wash won’t survive too long. By that time though, I’ll have the fly rod in hand trying to find reds on the flats and maybe even casting clousers/shrimp/mullet patterns into the surf.
Thanks for the tips Mister Bonecrusher. I will check out east end of Folly Island in April.
the county park end is amazing to see on low tide now… its crazy how its changed. i got married there less than 2 years ago and its sad to see
there are LOTS of tide pools out there. nice sightseeing at least 
“mr keys”
I have heard that the county park wont be opened again because of cost. But can we go there to fish or can the wife go there to sunbathe ?
I DONT HAVE A BOAT
BUT LOVE TO FISH> HINT
Theres no parking down there but you can still walk downn there
“mr keys”
How long of a walk is it? Meaning, if I took a 4 year old, a net, and a bucket to do a little tide pool playing, and maybe bring back a few critters for a our aquarium (native marine), would the walk be reasonable, or a chore?
Smokerman, April has always been hit-or-miss for me on Folly, and that seems to be the case for a lot of folks because usually when I did well, so was everyone else out there, and when I got skunked, so did everyone else. This year may be pretty good in April because of the really mild winter.
My suggestion is to take shrimp and use it cut into “tooth” sized pieces— live mud minnows or finger mullet are also good. My preference is to walk out at dead low tide as far out on one of the groins as possible, and climb up (I’m not sure if it’s still legal to do this, some places get picky about letting you climb on the rocks). Pitch out to various areas, especially anywhere you see the waves behaving differently than the rest of the beach (meaning, the water gets shallower or deeper). Fish the rising tide, but you’re going to fight a war of attrition as the tide rises, expect a wave breaking on a rock in front of you to wash you if you aren’t careful. You can often catch some decent black drum out there but beware the slot limit on black drum now.
Thanks for all the good tips guys.
The gate stays locked at what is left of the County park. You can park on the shoulder near the gate, but be sure all four tires are off of asphalt. Also, the town has a dirt pay lot pretty close to the gate. We go out to the beach there pretty frequently. The walk to the park is not long. To my knowledge, the County owns the high ground but the beach below mean high tide belongs to everyone. Lots of folks walk down to the park by way of the beach. The old concession stand is out in the ocean. Lots of debris on the beach, so be careful with a small child.
There’s also a lot more contour to the beach down near the county park than there is on the east end. There’s a few deeper tidal pools that would be a good place to throw a bait on the rising tide.
I’m looking forward to hearing some surf reports of fish being caught because we wont be in Folly much past early April and I want to get my fish on while I can.
On a side note, my wife and daughter went out to the beach for a few minutes today and my daughter brought back a sand flea in a cup to ask me what it was. I was kind of surprised then found one (dead) but that’s a good sign b/c like shrimp, everything eats sand fleas.
Back when I was a kid (many moons ago) Folly Beach was literally infested with sand fleas. You could dig up 12 or 15 with a single shovel scoop. It is not like that any more. I wonder what happened.
quote:
Originally posted by SmokermanBack when I was a kid (many moons ago) Folly Beach was literally infested with sand fleas. You could dig up 12 or 15 with a single shovel scoop. It is not like that any more. I wonder what happened.
My uneducated guess would be that the changes due to beach erosion, etc probably have something to do with it.
I’ve never actually used sand fleas as bait but I know whiting love them.
Anyone else use them regularly or do you just go with shrimp if you’re bait fishing?
I think the renourishment killed all the sand fleas.
Federal ruling a go-ahead for Folly Beach county park groin
FOLLY BEACH Conservationists had pushed to forge a compromise over a groin for the severely eroded Charleston County park here, wanting to get an agreement in place before a pivotal ruling was issued by federal regulators on the environmental consequences of the project.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinion is now in. It largely backs up the conservation measures already included in the project by Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission to protect nearby shorebird habitat and other species. That leaves the Coastal Conservation League little remaining leverage in the negotiations besides the threat of a lawsuit that would stymie the project.
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
If the Coastal Conservation League sues, the County said a month or so ago that they would not pay lawyer fees to fight it and would give up on the park. Man, I would have waited a while to give out that information.
word on the street is that the League is not going to sue…they had to posture to keep up “the good fight”…that groin will happen…
The Morris Island Lighthouse www.savethelight.org
OBPA in Hatteras is a great source to see how citizens are working to preserve beach driving rights, and general access issues. Renourishment kills all the sand fleas. They don’t renourish on many NC beaches. We also fight the NPS to keep access open.
park might actually open up this summer from what i have heard.
“mr keys”
Saying “renourishment” kills mole crabs is like saying water kills fish. There is more than enough evidence that show areas in NC/SC/GA/Fla have the same cyclic problems on areas where no renourishment takes place and mole crabs “seem” to disappear. I’ve seen stretches of beach in Hatteras alive with mole crabs for a couple of days and then none (or very few for weeks on end.
And thanks to the “environmental” groups and their endless pockets, we now have to buy a permit to drive on the beach, and most of the beaches are closed to ORV and pedestrians. OBPA is not working, they are fighting to keep their beaches open and free to all.
Walk in to any tackle shop ( Red Drum, Frank and frans, Frisco Tackle) tell them your from Audubon or PEW, CCL and I guarantee you will be asked to leave or just ignored.
These groups have pretty much destroyed a fishing and recreational industry.
Mike Crouch
Sea Tow Charleston
843-881-8949