Alrighty. First off hi everyone im from upstate Sc (Greenville). I’m 23 years old addictive fisherman. Ive freshwater fished all my life,usually more then once a week. ANYWAYS me and friend has been taking weekend trips down to charleston and myrtle beach the last couple of weeks. about 4 weeks ago we went to folly beach. Caught a few whiting,blues,and a bunch of other unknown fish. This past weekend we went to 2nd Ave pier. We arrived around 10pm (totally somehow got lost) and fished until 1pm the next day. We caught a 19 inch trout,a nice drum,probably 100 of them “ribbon fish” and even caught some small sharks. Everything but the drum and trout was released.
Now that we are hooked on this new saltwater stuff we wanted to get into some serious shark fishing. From some research i found shark fishing is prohibited in the myrtle beach area. We are looking for a area thats legal to fish off the beach for shark if possible. Ive spent the last 6 hours reading into shark fishing,rigs,and checked out the shark handbook on that tx shark fishing site.
We are planning on going back down this weekend if we can get together some extra funds. If anyone wants to meet up for some fishing that’d also be cool. Tomorrow im going to the fleamarket to see my fishing guy and maybe get a few heavy rods. We have few conventional,and a abu 6000,but id like to get something that’ll hold some line.
Hi Chris. I too am an outsider (from Greenville) to the majority of the board so thought I would put my $0.02 in. Friends and I have caught quite a few shark from the surf at Edisto from a 6’ hammerhead to nurse sharks to tons of black tips. I have also used different bait. Sharks are definitely not picky eaters. For live bait, I have used menhaden, mullet, and crabs; both free line and weighted. You can also use cut bait of the above along with squid and shrimp. I have also seen some people cut a couple of slashes in the live fish’s side to get some blood going.
I have caught most on a heavy duty spinning rod, but have also used light weight bass rods and Penn Senator 6/0’s.
A few must haves for bigger sharks:
- wire leader
- sharp hooks
- Usually caught bigger fish after dark and (at Edisto) at low tide. At high tide, I try to get past the groins.
- Use bigger bait and bigger hooks as well to reduce the small bite.
I will actually be at Edisto this weekend, but the weather doesn’t look too hot. Good luck where ever you get to.
Hi Chris015. Horry County and most all piers in SC are off limits for shark fishing/targeting. a local tackle shop in Pawley’s told me that Pawley’s has recently banned targeting sharks from their beaches, also. However, that leaves a whole lot of coastline, intracoastal waterways, creeks, and coastal rivers still available. This is probably the year to catch the big sharks, since so many are in the news all around the country (even SC).
Hope you catch the big one and clear some beach for yourself and other fishermen. Good luck.
Chris, on your next trip try sullivans island or isle of palms. Both are very good areas. Theres alot of sharks around Charleston but bait is key. A big live bait will usually always catch you a nice sized shark. If live bait isnt available for you then youre going to catch alot of the small babies. Those bluefish youre catching are the best bait you can have for a shark. Use wire at least as long as the sharks length youre hoping to catch and circle hooks. Fish on the backside of a sandbar or find a deep trough between them. Load that Abu Garcia with power pro braid and it will work just fine. Good luck
Thanks everyone. If i can find a beach that lacks 5 billion tourists for shark fishing that’d be great. Pier fishing was fun,but that next day we had 10 people throwing over each others lines. ugh it was irritating.
Im going to pick up my renewal on my fishing license tomorrow. I was reading the dnr thing on the saltwater and noticed something about a Federal Highly Migratory Species Permit. Do i need that permit? if so how much is it?
KillinR, igoing to get some braid for the reel. I might order one of them power crank handles too. That 6000 has always been the all around reel for anything.
Anyone know of any decent reel repair shops down there? The 6000 needs cleaning,ive attempted getting into the main gears once…not again.
Haddrells point west ashley or mt p. Thry will also putbraid on for about 12 cents a yard. Cheaper and easier than buying it.
SEAFOX 185DC MERC 125
[MRS KAREN]
14’TARPON 100 paddlepower
[SALTY FLY]
I will look into haddrells.
Not sure if 12 cents a yard is cheaper. Power pro is 24 bucks for 300 yards online. .12 x 300 = 36.00 that’s 3 Gatorades,a pack of crackers and a slim jim lol
Haddrells is your best place to get your pole relined. It’s way simpler and easier, they have a machine that spools it for them so it’s always perfect.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretsky
I use a senator 4/0 on a stout 6"ft rod. The main reason that shark fishing is not allowed on piers is because the world record tiger shark was caught off of Cherry Grove pier in 1964 weighing 1780+ lbs… I don’t understand why this caused the ban, but it did. It’s not going to help you catch sharks, BUT it is an extremely interesting read!!! Here it is http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20080821/PC1602/308219888 just look at the size of the 20/0 J hook compared to the sharks mouth, this thing was truly one heck of a beast!!!
Light travel’s faster than sound. This is why some people appear smart until you hear them speak.
ive been trying sullivans island the past few weeks and got about a 4 foot dusky a couple weeks ago, but have been struggling lately. granted i dont have the most time to fish, but the past few times have been without a hit. got the dusky on stingray, been saving my stingrays and using them, but only hit has been what looked like a sharpnose bite from 1 of the pieces. i usually walk out chest deep then launch it just past the dropoff. good luck!
NavyNuke… Are you cutting those rays into pieces? Like palm size?
usually a whole wing from a medium sized ray (15"ish across) and the shark i actually caught was on a whole small ray hardly bigger than my hand. im guessing the whole wing might be a bit big then?
I thought you only used the body off the rays,and not the wings. i figured the wings were like the useless tails on small cut baits etc. whats the regulations on the rays etc? is there a size/and quantity limit?
never seen any restriction for stingrays in the sc regulations
I also am from the upstate ( Laurens) …My fav spot to go shark fishing is at hunting island…They have a peir thats open 24 hrs a day that you can fish for sharks from and its usually not that crowded…The best bait to use is a nice size ray…I will usually use the whole ray …I will make some cuts in its fins and make a nice cut through hit belly area… it wont be in the water long without getting ate on…Only downside to fishing from the peir is u have to figure out how to get it on the peir…I have a nice size drop net i use but have seen others use a grappling hook to put it up… Ive also done good from the beach at both hunting island and at edisto…Most of the time i will paddle my bait out in my kayak to get my bait out since its harder to throw heavier baits…
I think Walt’s shark had a lot to do with the ban seeing is was landed in broad daylight, but not everything to do with it. I did A LOT of research in the late 70’s-early 80’s on the regulations/etc. on sharking the beaches of SC. I enlisted the help of Donald Mullis from DNR. The more I talked to people from motel owners to pier operators, the more it became clear that not many people actually knew much about shark fishing, let alone the sharks they were upset over.
The prevailing theme was that if you fished for them you were “bringing them in”. Bogus at best. I tried to explain to people that for decades we, along with many others, fished the Outer Banks of NC piers for big sharks and the shark attack rate was considerably less than the strand where there was a ban. Fishing does not necessarily corrolate to endangering the shallows. These sharks are already inhabiting these shallow coastal zones, feeding, cruising and hunting on a regular daily basis. These bozos want the tourist from Michigan to believe that the only time a shark comes into a surf zone is when you see a dorsal fin. Having roped and gaffed many large sharks in the surf over the years I know that a 700 lb. Tiger can be invisible in less than 3 feet of water.
I think a lot of the momentum for banning sharking on piers had to do with king fishing. Easy solution… shark only between dusk and dawn. That keeps everybody happy on both sides.
Another major problem has been people sharking right in the middle of dozens of swimmers in the day time. You will be treated like a turd in a punchbowl and rightly so. I’m not talking about casting out a chunk of mullet or a small bait for little 3-4 footers, I’m taling setting up serious stuff. It has a negative impact on the perception of sharkers. We have always restricted our fishing to nightime just for that reason alone. Very few hassles. Even on turtle nesting beaches if you have common sense there is absolutely no negative impact on anything.
That is my .02 and I hope you will have fun
