Edisto Island, SC….South Carolina’s Best Kept Fishing Secret
Edisto Island is located between Charleston and Beaufort, South Carolina. It’s a little over an hour’s drive from Beaufort, and little less from Charleston. Edisto is truly a great representation of the South Carolina Low Country with its low hanging moss covered trees that appear to have come out of a civil war movie. It’s nearly free of the hustle and bustle that’s found its way to many Southern coastal areas and is a uniquely, sparsely developed community located well away from any major town in South Carolina’s low country communities. In short, Edisto, South Carolina is a place that time has forgotten and that’s said as a compliment. The uncrowded, quiet backroads and marshes remain untouched by time and development that makes for some of the best fishing that the South has to offer. If you’re looking for a place to take the kids to enjoy an exciting beach experience with lots of attractions like miniature golf and all you can eat seafood restaurants, Edisto Island is not the place for you. However, if you’re looking for great saltwater fishing, you’ve come to the right place. Edisto is the east coast’s most well-kept fishing secret.
To the northeast of Edisto Island, the North Edisto River rings the island and meets up with the ocean, separating Edisto from the beach community of Seabrook Island. To the southwest, the South Edisto River borders the Island and flows into the ocean beside the Saint Helena Sound; Hunting Island is the nearest populated island south of Edisto. The area includes many fishing options such as either the North Edisto or the South Edisto Rivers, and they fish very differently. The North Edisto is really just the Intracoastal Waterway, while the South Edisto has a freshwater inflow from the blackwater of the Ashepoo and Combahee Rivers. This generally means that the North Edisto has cleaner water, while particularly farther up the South Edisto darker, tannic stained water is what you’ll find. These factors will change what you fish for and how you will fish. Its combination of salt and fresh water makes for a wide range of fishing options.
For the freshwater angler, Edisto offers largemouth bass, striped bass, redbreast sunfish, and black crappie. Other fish often caught are bluegill, redear, warmouth, and several catfish species, including channel, flathead, and flat and yellow bullheads. Saltwater species include flounder, black drum, sheepshead, and tarpon.
Fishing one of the many flats and marshes offers great opportunities as well as a fishing environment that’s free of constant boat traffic and crowding. Many anglers that have fished the Edisto have said that “you never fish Edisto once, after the first time, you’ll fish it for life.”
If you’re worried about finding your way around this fishing paradise, don’t. While the Edisto area is a land that crowds and excessive development have never found, there are cool places that make sure that your visit lives up to your expectations. Places like Edisto Watersports & Tackle are there to offer you fishing information, bait, and tackle as well as hooking first timers up with both offshore and inshore fishing guides. They also offer kayak and paddle board rentals for those days you take off from fishing. Most importantly, the locals are friendly and always willing to help.
Edisto has all the other features that you may have forgotten like beautiful sunrises and sunsets and beaches. Don’t forget those.
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