UTERThe best time to fish Charleston is October, when redfish, trout and flounder all feed hard inshore as the water cools. Spring is next, with cobia moving into the sounds in April and May, and winter brings the big, clear-water redfish schools that make the Lowcountry famous. Summer has flood-tide tailing reds, tarpon on the menhaden pods and bull reds at the jetties by late August.
This guide covers the South Carolina coast around Charleston, from Hilton Head and Beaufort through Charleston Harbor, Bulls Bay and Georgetown to Murrells Inlet. It's a coast of spartina marsh and oyster rakes behind barrier islands, with Port Royal and St. Helena sounds and the ACE Basin to the south, Charleston Harbor and its jetties in the middle, and live-bottom ledges, artificial reefs and the Gulf Stream offshore. The months come from the Lowcountry page of Fish Scouter's season calendar.
Charleston fishing calendar at a glance
| Month | Headline | Top targets |
|---|---|---|
| January | Big winter red schools; sea bass offshore | Redfish, black sea bass, sheepshead, trout |
| February | Sheepshead spawn at the jetties and reefs | Sheepshead, redfish, whiting |
| March | Black drum and gray trout in the harbors | Black drum, sheepshead, weakfish, whiting |
| April | Cobia move into the sounds; trout wake up | Cobia, trout, black drum, bluefish, wahoo |
| May | Cobia spawn; kings arrive nearshore | Cobia, trout, Spanish, mahi, flounder |
| June | Flood-tide tailers and nearshore kings | Redfish, kingfish, Spanish, mahi, sharks |
| July | Tarpon arrive; red snapper's few open days | Tarpon, redfish, spadefish, red snapper |
| August | Bull reds gather to spawn; peak tarpon | Redfish, tarpon, Spanish, ribbonfish |
| September | Spawning bulls at the jetties | Redfish, tarpon, trout, flounder, jacks |
| October | Everything inshore | Redfish, trout, flounder, kingfish, false albacore |
| November | Trout in the deep creeks; reds start to school | Trout, redfish, sheepshead, black drum, wahoo |
| December | Winter schools form on the flats | Redfish, black sea bass, sheepshead, trout |
Winter: December to February
December
As the water cools, redfish form schools on the low-tide flats. Black sea bass are on the nearshore reefs and wrecks, sheepshead fill the docks and bridges, and trout settle into the deep creek bends. Offshore, blackfin tuna are on the edge.
January
The big winter red schools. From Charleston to Hilton Head, reds bunch up on the low-tide flats in water so clear you can count them. Fish dead low on a sunny afternoon with a fly or a light jig, and make long, quiet casts, because the schools are spooky. Trout hold deep in the creek bends.
After a hard freeze: trout drop into the deep creek bends and can be killed by a long cold snap. SCDNR calls winter kills the biggest driver of the trout population, and after past kills it has asked anglers to release trout. Check SCDNR's notices after a hard freeze.
February
Sheepshead spawn on the nearshore reefs and the Charleston jetties. Fish fiddler crabs tight to the rocks. Reds are still schooled and spooky on the flats, and whiting start showing in the surf and the harbor channels.
Spring: March to May
March
Sheepshead peak on the reefs and jetty rocks. Big black drum gather at the inlets and the Charleston jetties, so fish crab or clam on the bottom. Gray trout (weakfish) show in the harbor channels, and speckled trout leave the deep creeks for the grass edges as the water warms.
April
Cobia move into Port Royal and St. Helena sounds as the water nears 68 to 70°F. Black drum spawn in the sounds. Trout wake up at the creek mouths and grass points, so fish live shrimp under a float. Bluefish blitz the inlets, pompano show in the surf, and flounder move into the creeks and the jetty rocks. Offshore, wahoo are on the Gulf Stream ledges and the Georgetown Hole.
May
The cobia spawn. SCDNR's research found cobia eggs in every May and June sample from the sounds, and the run around the Broad River and Port Royal Sound is one of the best-known on the coast. South Carolina sets its own cobia rules for this run, so check SCDNR, and release the big females. Kings arrive on the nearshore reefs. Trout spawn on the sound edges, and Spanish mackerel run the beaches. Offshore, gaffer mahi ride the Gulf Stream weed lines.
Summer: June to August
June
Flood-tide tailers. On the big moon tides, the flood covers the spartina and reds push into the grass to eat fiddlers, with their tails waving above the water. Throw a crab fly or a weedless shrimp. Trout bite topwater around the oyster points early. Slow-troll menhaden on the reefs and shoals for kings. It's shark season too: blacktips in the sounds, sharpnose nearshore and bonnetheads on the flats. Sandbar sharks and sand tigers are prohibited, so release them in the water. Tripletail sit on the buoys and crab traps in the sounds, and spadefish gather on the nearshore reefs.
July
Tarpon arrive in Port Royal Sound, St. Helena Sound and around the Charleston jetties. Fish live pogies at the sound mouths. Reds still tail on the moon-tide floods and feed at the creek mouths on the falling tide in between. Red snapper are on all the live bottom offshore, but the Atlantic season is only a few open days, usually in July, so descend and release outside it and check NOAA and SCDNR for the dates.
August
Peak tarpon on the menhaden pods at the sound mouths: a live pogy on a circle hook. Bull reds gather at the inlets and the Charleston jetties to spawn, and SCDNR puts the peak in late August into September. Fish cut bait on the bottom. Ribbonfish show in Charleston Harbor and around the jetties.
Fall: September to November
September
Spawning bulls at the jetties and sound mouths, and flood-tide tailers on the moon tides. Tarpon work the bait at the inlets before heading south. The fall trout bite starts in the creeks around Charleston and Beaufort, and jack crevalle blitz the mullet at the inlets.
October
The best month inshore. Reds are on the flats, in the creeks, on the docks and at the jetties. Trout eat shrimp under a popping cork in every creek. Flounder move out through the inlets and the Charleston jetties on the outgoing. The fall king run is on the nearshore live bottom, false albacore blitz off the jetties, and the spot run fills the piers and creeks.
November
Trout stack in the deep creek bends, so slow down with soft plastics. Reds start forming their winter schools on the flats. Sheepshead fill the docks and bridges, drum hold around the docks and creek mouths, fall blues hit the jetties, and the last flounder leave the inlets. Offshore, fall wahoo are back on the ledges, and gag move up onto the nearshore reefs.
Tides in Charleston
The Lowcountry has big semidiurnal tides: two highs and two lows a day, about five and a half feet in Charleston, seven at Hilton Head and less toward Myrtle Beach. That range drives everything. The fish follow the water into the marsh and out again twice a day.
- Flats in winter: dead low, when reds school on the mud in clear water.
- Spartina in summer and fall: the top of the moon-tide flood, for tailing reds.
- Creek mouths: the falling tide, as bait drains out of the marsh.
- Jetties and inlets: the outgoing for flounder, the tide change for bull reds and drum.
Baits that work around Charleston
- Live shrimp under a popping cork: trout and reds, spring and fall.
- Mud minnows: flounder in the creeks and at the inlets.
- Fiddler crabs: sheepshead on the jetties, reefs and docks.
- Live menhaden (pogies): tarpon, cobia, kings and bull reds.
- Cut bait, crab and clam: bull reds and black drum.
- Crab flies and light jigs: winter school reds and summer tailers.
- Clark spoons: Spanish on the nearshore reefs and inlets.
Rules
South Carolina sets its own rules for red drum, trout, flounder and cobia, and federal South Atlantic rules govern reef fish like red snapper, gag and sea bass. Several of them have changed in recent years. Read the current rules at SCDNR before you keep a fish, and check NOAA for federal water.
Know the day, not just the month
A Charleston tailing tide is about the moon and the hour, not just the month. You need the days when the flood tops the grass, and the hour it happens. We built Fish Scouter to answer that, and we think it's the best fishing app for big-tide marsh water. It combines this season calendar with the NOAA tide for the nearest station, the live water temperature from the nearest reporting sensor, the wind and the seven-day outlook, and ranks every species for the spot you're on, each hour, with the reasons spelled out. See our guide to the best tide for fishing and the redfish vs. black drum guide, and, down the coast, the Jacksonville and St. Augustine guide, or try Fish Scouter free.