A less frequent, but decidedly unique angling opportunity around Hilton Head is tripletail. The fish are found along the coast in most, but not all, tropical and subtropical areas.
Tripletail are found on the Gulf Coast from April to October; they migrate to warmer waters during the winter. In the spring, tripletail concentrate just offshore of two particular spots: Port Canaveral, Fla., and Jekyll Island, Ga.
“Tripletail are not abundant here in South Carolina, and I think that’s due, in large part, to the shrimpers dragging their nets off the beach,” said guide Dan Utley. “Over the last couple of years, there has not been as much shrimping close to the beach and out in the sound, so there seem to be more tripletail in the area.”
Utley said anglers are most likely to encounter tripletail hanging around old crab floats or markers along the ICW. He suggests that anglers motoring from one location to another, idle slowly and check each piling or marker; if you see something floating nearby that looks like an old dish rag, it’s likely a tripletail. Fish typically float on their sides near structure or with the current, appearing to be flotsam, in order to ambush unsuspecting prey.
Once you locate one of these bizarre-looking, but great-tasting fish, Utley suggests sight-casting a live bait or small minnow-imitating bait like a MirrOlure to the fish. Once hooked up, the old rag will come to life, fighting like an oversized bream, which the fish somewhat resemble.
“Just float the bait close to the piling, and they’ll come off there and attack it,” he said. “You can also see them free-floating along with the current. Again, it looks like an old dish rag floating in the current, and you present artificial bait or a live bait and they’ll attack it. You’ll think you’ve got a tarpon or a demon from the deep hooked. They’ll jump four or five times for you. If you can imagine a 5-pound prehistoric-looking bream pulling, you hook a 5-pound tripletail and that’s what you got.”
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