I’m moving to Charleston this week from arizona. most of my fishing equipment is set up for freshwater fishing and i’m wanting to know what can work for both saltwater and freshwater. what type of fish can i expect to catch with freshwater lures and where are the best spots to fish for fresh or saltwater fish. please help! thanks
Welcome to Charleston. What you will find is that we have 2 worlds here. SALTWATER FISHING & other fishing.(LOL) You have come to the right site for information and amusement. Tight lines
GW 232GT Gulfstream
150Yam x 2
“3rd Day”
Gen. Chap.1 Vs.9-13 BRETT “Skibo” JOHNSON FOR MAYOR OF JAMES ISLAND
thanks man! i do want to transition to saltwater but dont wanna have to spend a whole buncha money to do so. i have a medium action ugly stick spinning combo and a heavy action baitcasting combo. any tips on where to go and what to use will help.
It really depends on how heavy duty your tackle is. I mean are you bringing a Penn 700ss or a Zebco from Wal Mart.Both will catch fish…one just better than the other. For the most part I believe that quite a few fresh water top lures will work way up the rivers (so I have been told). But if you are planning on bottom fishing, surf fishing, or going offshore an upgrade or tackle change may be in order.There are many reputable local tackle stores here in Charleston (I stress LOCAL…not chain stores ).There are too many great fishing places to mention here both salt and fresh. My freshwater experience is limited as I spent/spend most of my time offshore.I wouldn’t sweat it too much . There are lots of great fishermen/women here that are more than willing to show you around when you get here. Welcome to Charleston…The Friendliest City in the USA !
Attend all the seminars the local bait and tackle shops offer. There are clubs around like http://www.eastcooperfishingclub.net/ that you can visit (or join) and get a wealth of information and even get to meet a few folks and get a ton of help.
Read a lot of the posts on CF.com Chose your questions carefully unless you have thick skin and don’t mind salt in your wounds.
Good luck, have fun and welcome to The Lowcountry.
/The next ECFC meeting is Monday, July 5 @ 7:00pm
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 15 year old
1 - 11 year old
1 - wife (The Warden)
ECFC
They got fish in Lake Havasu?
GW 232GT Gulfstream
150Yam x 2
“3rd Day”
Gen. Chap.1 Vs.9-13 BRETT “Skibo” JOHNSON FOR MAYOR OF JAMES ISLAND
Good idea to go with a local guide for a couple of trips and they will show you the ropes just respect their spots when you go out on your own.
You may also want to buddy up with someone, most of us learned to fish by others taking us.
Sea Pro 210cc
Yamaha 200 4 Stroke
Dodge 1500 4x4 HEMI
a freshwater setup won’t stand up to the salt and time so you will have to upgrade some stuff eventually.
Are you going to be fishing by boat or land? Inshore or offshore? Inshore would be defined as the intercoastal, rivers, beaches or harbor. Offshore is anything else saltwater.
You can catch Reds, trouts, flounder, sharks, whiting, cobia, tarpon, spanish mackeral etc… inshore. Offshore you get grouper, snapper, tuna, dolphin, billfish, sharks, cobia, tarpon, kingfish etc…
I can’t help you on the freshwater stuff, there’s too much salty water and big fish swimming in it to waste my time in freshwater.
Your freshwater gear (assuming you bass or walleye fish) will catch you flounder and trout with no problem and most reds but you will lose a few big fish (10lbs +) like bigger reds with light tackle. Also you will harm the big red breeder fish if you fish for them in light tackle this time of year due to the very warm water and an extended fight on light tackle.
grubs or twitch baits will catch reds, trout and fluonder in the rivers. I suggest gulp baits or other “stink” baits (not that they work for me but they do for a lot of folks here). I prefer to drown bait instead of working artificials. topwater plugs and swim baits will also work.
Like Claim said, join a club, visit haddrells pointe tackle shop, charleston angler or any of the other local fishing shops and pick there brains. The shops also offer seminars which can help you.
A guide is never a bad idea. They can catch fish and you can seagull their top secret spots like the Grillage or Dynamite hole or the wando river!!! 
I like to fish the wando, you need a boat for that. When i’m on the hill I like to target the beach, near the rocks. I catch reds, trouts and flounder at these locations. You can also try local piers like folly beach or the new mt. pleasant pier.
Good luck, safe travels!
Matt
I Live in Charlotte, NC (originally from SC) and get down to Charleston 10-15 times a year to fish…this site is a good place for information, but the best in my opinion is go to Haddrells (in MT. Pleasant) and ask the guys there for some help. They can point you in the right direction as far as tackle goes and even give you some general places to wet a hook. I also suggest going out with a guide a couple of times, not to grab all their spots, but to get know-how as far as setup, tides, bait, etc… good luck and tight lines!!
Scout 22ft Winyah Bay