The sailfishing off the South Carolina coast has been productive this year, but it was downright “off the hook” for one Palmetto State crew on Sept. 28. Mark Daniels of Greenville and two other fishermen aboard Daniels’ 51-foot Viking, the “Daymaker,” caught and released 18 sailfish, which would be a remarkable single-day catch anywhere in the world.
“We were worn out,” said Daniels, who was fishing with Roy Phillips and Rob Shore, who also are from Greenville and, like Daniels, members of the Greenville Saltwater Sportfishing Club (864-505-6813). “It would’ve been great to have two more hands on the boat.
“When you’re hooking quads and triples and everyone’s running around the cockpit yelling, it’s exciting. You don’t need to go to Costa Rica.”
South Carolina doesn’t keep official records on the biggest single-day catches of billfish species, but an informal poll of guides and saltwater experts indicated that 17 may have been the previous best single-day catch off the state’s coast.
Fishing about 60 miles off the coast of Georgetown, Daniels and his crew – which included capt. Ted Porter of Georgetown – began trolling ballyhoo about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. By 7:45 they had their first hook-up, and the action was fast and furious from there.
By 2:30, they had released 15 sailfish and missed seven others.
“We must’ve seen 30 fish,” Daniels said. “We just hit on the right spot and they hit all day.”
The trio of anglers quickly went throught their bait supply.
“I rigged 24 baits and had prepped another dozen, and the sails ate through those, so we were defrosting baits and just couldn’t keep up,” Daniels said.
Daniels said the sailfish were both attractive and hefty.
“These were healthy, big and thick fish,” Daniels said. “It was just an incredible day. Every sailfish is exciting; we’re happy if we catch one or two in a day. It sure is nice to have a day like this every once in a while. I don’t know if anyone can figure out why they’re here, but the fishing is remarkable.”
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