agn54 0 Report post Posted December 25, 2015 Im headed to Fripp Island SC fo New Year's and hope to be able to get out a bit. I'll be near the beach. Anyone know anything about the fishing there this time of year? Is anything running at this time of year? I don't have a boat so will be fishing from shore. Any info will be appreciated Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adam Saarinen 0 Report post Posted December 25, 2015 Where's Fripp Island? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2015 Along the coast of South Carolina Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2015 About 20 miles from Parris Island, South Carolina. Since the currents keep the water temps along the Carolinas fairly constant, lots of fish can be caught there all year long. Flounder and Cobia are two that I know of. Two completely different species requiring two different fishing approaches. Flounder sit on the bottom and ambush prey that comes by, so a slow bottom bouncing presentation can work. Cobia cruise around looking for prey. Bait fish patterns pulled through the water column, well off the bottom work better for these. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidR 0 Report post Posted December 26, 2015 Can't speak specifically for Fripp, but I'm about 35 miles south of there ... If you have a boat or access to, then low tide redfish schooled up is best bet for fly fishing. Flounder and Sea Trout are available, especially if you have access to a dock in a creek with a deep hole under it and lights on the deck that shine onto the water. Beach fishing you'll likely find small sharks and rays. No Cobia - they show up around April to spawn in Port Royal Sound. Nearest fly shop is Bay Street Outfitters in Beaufort, Sc - good shop. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djtrout 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 I was there when my son went through USMC basic last summer. Being a trout/bass guy, I was a little intimidated to find out that shark is a primary species for fishing. A local park ranger even advised against my going out into a local inlet .... place sure looked fishy though.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John Mathews 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 ang54, I live and fish here in the area. You may find this tide chart handy: http://www.tides4fishing.com/us/south-carolina/fripps-inlet. Right now, trout, flounder and reds are in the waters. You will pass through Hunting Island St. Park(HI) to get to Fripp. While I have not fished HI for a while maybe what I've learned will be of help. I have never been on nor fished Fripp so you're on your own there. When you come off of Fripp onto HI you can take a left or right hand turn. The left will take you up to a boat launch. All along that dirt road, on your left is the inlet. That all holds fish and is fishable from the shoreline and wading. If you take a right, you are at the park's fishing pier. If you walk out on the pier and look to your left you will see the point of the island and the inlet/ocean. You can walk to that inlet by following the path from that lot to the lagoon. At the end of the foot bridge over the lagoon make a right and follow the trail to the point. There is a long lagoon on HI that dumps out at that point. I've had fair success at this point and where the lagoon dumps out on falling tides. That same lagoon runs half the length of the park. Go in the first entrance to the park, after leaving Fripp, and follow signs to the lagoon. There you can wade and fish. The ocean side is probably not real productive at this time of year. When you leave HI, heading towards Beaufort, you will cross two bridges. At the end of the second bridge, on your right, is a good area to wade and look for tailing reds. While this time of year is not good for tailing reds, the warm weather may have them back in the marsh and it is worth a look-see on a high tide. Lately, shrimp patterns, copper heads and clousers of <>3" length are working best. Trout seem partial to a copper/gold/new penny body with chart eyes/heads. I've been fishing more floating lines with sink tips and they have been working well. You may want to bring a casting basket as the oyster rocks here can play hell with you fly line. Two big CAUTIONS. First, while our tides will only be in the the 6' range at that time, they can be very large and can quickly leave you stranded. The bottoms here can be very soft. We call it pluff mud. EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION when wading. A bottom that is firm on one step can be knee deep in pluff mud in the next step. Rule of thumb: If the grass is tall and think the bottom is usually soft- Wade Cautiously. I will be checking the marshes this week to see if the reds are back feeding on fiddler crabs. I'll try to post what I find here or on the local fly fishing club FB page https://www.facebook.com/Seaislanflyfishers/ Best of luck to you while you're here, John Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agn54 0 Report post Posted December 28, 2015 Thanks a lot everyone. John, that is some great info, thanks for sharing. I'll post up anything I get after the trip Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
