Fishing Pawleys Island, SC
Live tides, water temperature, what is running now, and the charters, guides and bait shops that put you on fish.
38 listings on Pawleys Island
Fishing here is a tidal problem before it is a tackle problem. Get the water right and average gear catches fish. Get it wrong and the best rod in the truck will not save the morning.
There are four distinct fisheries within a few minutes of each other. The creek behind the island holds redfish, trout and flounder and fishes best on moving water, particularly the last two hours of the fall where a feeder creek dumps onto a bar. The surf gives up whiting, pompano and drum in the trough behind the first bar, and walking the beach at low tide to find that trough is worth more than any lure.
Nearshore and offshore run out of the inlet: Spanish and king mackerel, bottom fishing over the ledges, cobia in late spring and a genuine if long shot chance at tarpon in high summer. That is charter water for most visitors, and the boats that fish it every day know where the bait is.
The fourth is the one people forget. Crabbing off a creek dock on slack high water with chicken necks and a dip net is free, requires nothing, and entertains children longer than anything you will pay for.
Our tide panel pulls the ocean and the creek gauges separately, because they do not run together. Read the one that matches the water you will actually be standing in. A South Carolina saltwater licence is required from shore or boat, and current size and creel limits live with SCDNR rather than on this page, because a stale number printed here could cost you a citation.
Fish moving water
Slack tide is when you eat lunch, not when you fish.
Walk the beach at low tide
Find the trough behind the first bar, then come back and fish it on the incoming.
Buy bait the morning you fish
And ask the counter what came in over the last two days. Better intelligence than any forecast.
Creek runs behind the ocean
Plan a paddle or a creek session off the creek gauge, not the ocean one.
Highest rated
Best reviewed fishing on the island
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Live from the water
Conditions and what is running
Right now on the water
Biting around Pawleys in August
Water84.2°F
Ocean tideRising high 7:16 PM
Creek tideRising high 8:20 PM
- Blue Crab Peak Creek docks, the causeway, any muddy bank
- Flounder Peak Creek mouths, dock pilings, the inlet channel edges
- King Mackerel Peak Nearshore reefs and ledges, offshore of the inlet
- Tarpon Peak The inlet, the sound and the deeper sloughs
Water temperature and tide are live from NOAA. The species list is seasonal guidance from local practice, not a live catch report. See the full run calendar
Questions we get
About fishing in Pawleys Island
Straight answers, and we say when something is our opinion.
Do I need a fishing licence at Pawleys Island?
Yes. A South Carolina saltwater recreational fishing licence is required to fish in salt water from shore or from a boat, including the creek and the surf. Licences are sold online through SCDNR and at bait shops on the Waccamaw Neck.
What fish can you catch at Pawleys Island?
Red drum year round with a fall peak, spotted seatrout in spring and again in late autumn, flounder through the warm months, sheepshead around structure in cooler water, and whiting, pompano and bluefish in the surf. Offshore adds Spanish and king mackerel, cobia and a summer shot at tarpon.
Can you fish from the beach at Pawleys Island?
Yes. Surf fishing is one of the most reliable ways to catch here. Fish the trough behind the first bar rather than casting as far as you can, and use a two hook bottom rig with shrimp for whiting.
When is the best time to fish Pawleys Island?
Autumn is the strongest all round stretch: red drum peak, trout return, and the offshore run is at its best. Spring is close behind. Summer fishes well early and late in the day. Winter narrows to black drum and sheepshead but is far from dead.