Grand Strand shark fishing

Hook up with Jaws along the Grand Strand

Guide Greg Holmes of Fish Skinny Charters Guide Service takes clients to catch a wide number of species of fish. Many request to hook up with sharks.

“Sharks are very plentiful around the Grand Strand and a lot of people really love when we get hooked up with a 5- to 6-foot shark,” Holmes said (843-241-0594). “Sharks are patrolling the reefs, jetties, inshore waters, and along the beachfront in the pogie pods. You can catch them about anywhere. But the balls of menhaden that are migrating along the beachfront are my top places to catch sharks.”

Holmes motors along the beach front near North Inlet on both the frontage of Debordieu Beach and North Island. He will look for pods of menhaden and it is a bonus when something is already disturbing the bait.

“Sometimes you can see the activity of something feeding in them before you get there and that is even better,” he said.

The basics of shark fishing

Holmes catches a netful of menhaden and puts them in his livewell first. Then he nose-hooks the biggest menhaden he can find on a 3/0 to 7/0 offset, circle hook.

“I generally will either free line or place under a popping cork right in the middle of the school. But you can also peg a 1- to 2-ounce egg sinker to anchor the bait to the bottom,” he said.

Sharks will find the bait in distress quickly, if they are around.

“Cast the bait in there and hold on. If they are there it doesn’t take long,” he said.

Sharks are plentiful this time of year. And anywhere an abundance of bait is present, sharks will be close by. On days when the wind isn’t cooperating and the ocean is too rough to fish, Holmes will fish within inshore grounds for big sharks as well.

“The bars along creek channels will have sharks routinely working them. Sharks are really all over and you can catch them in places that bait is abundant, “ he said.