Good morning, forum members. We will be on Fripp Island 5/30- 6/6 and I need some fishing advice. First, where can I buy non-ethanol gas for the boat? I know I can get gas at the Fripp Marina, but I would like my first fill-up to be on the way to Fripp.
Second, a little advice on fishing. We will have our 21 ft. Carolina Skiff and are looking for spots to catch fish with the grandkids. Everything will be catch, photo, and release. I know the rocks along the seawall can hold fish, but what about places not in the Inlet. We have tried for years to find spots near the Marina with very little success. We explored the flats behind the Island and all the connected waterways out to the backside of Pritchard’s Island. The guides at Fripp aren’t very helpful unless you want to charter with them. Just need a general area, nobody’s honey hole. We fish nearly every weekend in the South Edisto and Ashepoo area and have all of the requisite skills needed, but no local knowledge of the area.
Thanks in advance, Mike. Enjoy your Memorial Day holiday and remember those who made in possible!
I also would like any of the same input. I will be there the week after you redfish4sure and will be pulling my flats boat down for the first time. Have been there many years and have had trouble finding fish except at the bridge. Any pointers would be great. Style of fishing etc. artificial vs mud minnows from marina.
You can buy “clean non alcohol” gas at the Exxon in Frogmore, the Shell on Lady’s Island across from distant island road, Parkers on Rebault, Sunoco also on Rebault ( has 92 octane).
If you fish Edisto, you know the drill. Look for oyster bars at the mouth of marsh creeks near the Harbor island bridge and blind cast along the marsh at high tide. Everything loves live shrimp. Don’t waste your time in St. Helena sound. There are no fish in the whole place! Stay away from there.
The rocks are good for flounder. You can also try the Hunting Island lagoon. For the rocks we use 1/2 oz. jigheads with gulp. Mud minnows also work great. If you want to catch sharks they are everywhere right now, just throw cut mullet on bottom.
Thanks for the information, tanksgt. I believe I can find my way from the Marina to the bridge and will give it a try. It does look fishy along there. St. Helena Sound is a big place and somewhat hard to navigate. I don’t go in it now and will not try to from Fripp Inlet.
quote:Originally posted by tanksgt
You can buy “clean non alcohol” gas at the Exxon in Frogmore, the Shell on Lady’s Island across from distant island road, Parkers on Rebault, Sunoco also on Rebault ( has 92 octane).
If you fish Edisto, you know the drill. Look for oyster bars at the mouth of marsh creeks near the Harbor island bridge and blind cast along the marsh at high tide. Everything loves live shrimp. Don’t waste your time in St. Helena sound. There are no fish in the whole place! Stay away from there.
Thanks for the info, Juke. We actually have a blast fishing at night off of the rocks as we stay at Newhaven, which is located at the end of the island all along the rocks.
quote:Originally posted by Juke
The rocks are good for flounder. You can also try the Hunting Island lagoon. For the rocks we use 1/2 oz. jigheads with gulp. Mud minnows also work great. If you want to catch sharks they are everywhere right now, just throw cut mullet on bottom.
I don’t fish that area, but check out the Star shaped marsh island surrounded by a defunct clam farm at 23.000 Lat. x 30.000 Long on Google Earth. Very interesting looking area with lots of low tide oyster structure. Might be a redfish or 2 in there. I hear Harbor River is good.
Thanks, Spec. My settings on Google Earth aren’t allowing me to see this location. Is there a landmark nearby I can reference?
quote:Originally posted by spec
I don’t fish that area, but check out the Star shaped marsh island surrounded by a defunct clam farm at 23.000 Lat. x 30.000 Long on Google Earth. Very interesting looking area with lots of low tide oyster structure. Might be a redfish or 2 in there. I hear Harbor River is good.
Type “View Point Circle, SC” into Google Maps. Switch from map view to satellite view. Zoom in and move the map to the South until you see the star shaped marsh island with what looks like thousands of truck tires surrounding it. It is at the extreme upper end of Harbor River where Harbor River splits into 2 forks. It is in the middle of the 2 forks. I’ve wanted to get up there and fish upper Harbor River for a long time, but my time on the water is very limited these days. That area might be better in the fall, but looks like it is worth a try. Good luck!
I found the area, Spec. Man, that is a lot of tires!! Any idea what kind of water depth might be there?
quote:Originally posted by spec
Type “View Point Circle, SC” into Google Maps. Switch from map view to satellite view. Zoom in and move the map to the South until you see the star shaped marsh island with what looks like thousands of truck tires surrounding it. It is at the extreme upper end of Harbor River where Harbor River splits into 2 forks. It is in the middle of the 2 forks. I’ve wanted to get up there and fish upper Harbor River for a long time, but my time on the water is very limited these days. That area might be better in the fall, but looks like it is worth a try. Good luck!
Thanks, Juke and I enjoyed your kayak video on YouTube.
quote:Originally posted by Juke
The rocks are good for flounder. You can also try the Hunting Island lagoon. For the rocks we use 1/2 oz. jigheads with gulp. Mud minnows also work great. If you want to catch sharks they are everywhere right now, just throw cut mullet on bottom.
I haven’t been up that way, so I can’t give you first hand info on the depths. Judging from my Top Spot map, it looks like it is really skinny in places, but deep enough in most areas. Your boat should not draw much water. Problem is, you might not be able to get out of there on dead low tide. It is no fun to be waiting on the tide to float you over a mudbar that is between you and home with a afternoon T-storm coming. So, you might want to explore that area on Low Incoming tide in the morning, which means closer to the end of your vacation. I always avoid exploring shallow areas that I am unfamiliar with on outgoing tide, especially on hot afternoons. That whole area is listed as “Harbor River Flats” on my topspot map, which indicates it is best in the fall. So, you may have better choices than this area. A good GPS would help you, as the navigation might be tricky in there. Sorry for what might be a bad recommendation. But, my information is worth every penny you paid for it!
I fired up Google Earth, and switched to the 1/28/11 imagery date. That date gives an awesome view of the area on low tide. It shows what looks like a pretty good channel on low tide from Fripp Marina to that area. But, there are plenty of bars if you don’t have a GPS to stay in the channel. It looks like the lower branch of Harbor River might get shallow up near the clam farm, but apprears to be passable on a normal low tide. It is about 5 1/2 miles from the marina to the clam farm. BTW, in another thread, someone said those are not truck tires, but some kind of wire cages they tried to raise clams in. Evidently, it was not profitable.
Thanks, Spec. I appreciate everything you have shared on this thread. My SIL reminded that me that he and I actually made this run in 2011 all the way to the bridge. The only real shallow area was the last curve before the bridge near where the clam farm is located and it was pretty close to low tide. I noticed there is a creek off the Harbor River which leads to the creek that parallels Route 21 to Fripp and behind the boardwalk parking area. I have seen boats in that creek before and always wondered how they got in there. We have a lot of places to explore and I will try to file a report after the vacation.
quote:Originally posted by spec
I fired up Google Earth, and switched to the 1/28/11 imagery date. That date gives an awesome view of the area on low tide. It shows what looks like a pretty good channel on low tide from Fripp Marina to that area. But, there are plenty of bars if you don’t have a GPS to stay in the channel. It looks like the lower branch of Harbor River might get shallow up near the clam farm, but apprears to be passable on a normal low tide. It is about 5 1/2 miles from the marina to the clam farm. BTW, in another thread, someone said those are not truck tires, but some kind of wire cages they tried to raise clams in. Evidently, it was not profitable.
That creek off Harbor River leads to Johnson Creek. I have heard of people running through there. Any place that is hard to get to is probably good fishing. Try Johnson Creek bridge area. Just keep an eye on the weather, especially with those grandkids aboard. Good luck!
Thank you, Spec. We are packing up now and loading the boat. We have to make a stop at Publix and then head into Fripp.
quote:Originally posted by spec
That creek off Harbor River leads to Johnson Creek. I have heard of people running through there. Any place that is hard to get to is probably good fishing. Try Johnson Creek bridge area. Just keep an eye on the weather, especially with those grandkids aboard. Good luck!
We fished every day but one and the haul was sting rays and sharks. Biggest was a four foot bonnet caught near the rocks by the golf course. Two very nice whiting and two small trout rounded out the week. The only reds I saw caught was by a gentlemen fishing at the marina under the Boathouse Restaurant. He is a resident of the island and has permission to fish there. His name is John Dunphy (?)and he is supposedly SC’ s most prolific tagger. He has tags issued to him with his own unique serial numbers.
The grand kids had a good time and the weather was great except for one morning, but it passed and the rest of day was fine. There is so much water to cover in a week that it is impossible to decide where to go. Some boys staying in a condo near us caught a huge red off the rocks using cut mullet late a night. I saw pictures, not the actual catch. The hole off of the beach was gone, so we weren’t able to catch any whiting there. Never made it to Harbor River or Johnson Creek. Next time, hopefully.
quote:Originally posted by spec
That creek off Harbor River leads to Johnson Creek. I have heard of people running through there. Any place that is hard to get to is probably good fishing. Try Johnson Creek bridge area. Just keep an eye on the weather, especially with those grandkids aboard. Good luck!
Sorry you did not do better with the fish. This time of the year the fish go into “Siesta Mode” not long after the sun gets up. Gotta be out there at first light. That would be impossible with younguns! I am guessing that whole area will be awesome in late September, October, and early November. The cooler “football weather” that time of year makes the fish put on the feed bag, sometimes all day long. But, then the kids are in school.
The important thing is you got some time on the water with the grandkids. Those memories will be priceless.