The Fishing Scene on Hilton Head
While a considerable amount of visitors come to Hilton Head each year to bathe in the sun or to take advantage of the island’s tennis and golf courses, many others may be attracted to the sizeable Hilton Head Island fishing scene which provides more options than the average fishing trip. The island enjoys the highest quality of all universes, with fishing opportunities ranging from the deep ocean to estuaries, lagoons, and even freshwater lakes. The vast majority of the available fishing is saltwater, with options of fishing from the land or going out to sea for more exciting deep sea fishing. You can also collect oysters, go crabbing, or try to fetch shrimp—provided you follow regulations and go to the right areas. The Hilton Head Island fishing scene offers a big enough variety of fishing activities and opportunities to satisfy any fishing devotee.
Just before going fishing on Hilton Head Island, the first thing you need if you’re over 16 is a South Carolina state fishing license. Without this, almost all fishing is illegal at any area. There are a number of places on the island where you can obtain them, including True Value and Wal-Mart.
The principle fishing places include the Calibogue Sound, estuaries, tidal lagoons, freshwater lagoons, brackish lagoons, and the Atlantic Ocean. There are also some manmade freshwater lakes, most of them primarily holding rainwater as part of the island’s drainage system. Any lagoons or lakes located in the private gated neighborhood may be fished without a license if community policy allows it—check ahead of time to be certain. If the freshwater lagoon or lake is located outside of a private plantation, you must have a state license in order to fish it.
The bulk of the Hilton Head Island fishing scene, however, consists of the saltwater fishing. Those who choose to fish onshore from a dock, pier, the beach, or the bank of an estuary may do so as long as they do not catch sharks (they must be released if caught) and do not decide to fish in an area set aside for swimming. There are also many charter fishing boats provided from various Hilton Head fishing companies, some of which only go a short ways out and some of which feature shark fishing opportunities. Deep sea fishing enthusiasts will head out to the Gulf Stream, about 70 miles from the island shore, for fantastic fishing and a terrific round trip on the boat of their choice.
Hilton Head Island fishing offers a wide range of of fishing locales for casual fishers and angling aficionados alike.
|