Offshore fishing out of Charleston heating up

Blackfin tuna is hottest bite, but dolphin are showing up around grass lines

Capt. Ben Polk of Jabez Charters said the offshore fishing out of Charleston is heating up, and his three most-recent trips have been great ones. Fishing from the Southwest Banks to the Georgetown Hole, Polk has been keeping his clients and crew busy with a variety of offshore species, but the hottest bite right now is the blackfin tuna.

With water temperatures in the low 70s, Polk said there is plenty of activity, and baitfish have been easy to find. Aside from the blackfin tuna, Polk’s charters have been catching plenty of barracuda, amberjack, bonito, bluefish, dolphin and sharks.

“There was hardly a lull in the action any of the days,” Polk said. “The blackfin have all been good-sized fish,” he said, “with several in the mid to upper 30s.”

But it’s not just the size making the blackfin bite so productive. Polk said the numbers are there too, with the last day’s catch including 34 of them.

Trolling cedar plugs at varying distances has been the best way for Polk (www.jabezcharters.com) and other boat captains to locate the blackfin in this area, and while some are catching them on natural cedar plugs, others are having luck with painted ones.

And the blackfin aren’t the only fish biting in numbers. One of Polk’s recent trips also included a great day for dolphin, with 22 finding their way into the Jabez fish box. Finding grass lines offshore has been the key to really getting into these fish, and once they are located, the action has been non-stop.

Polk said the weather and water have been great for this time of year, with mostly flat seas and mild temperatures. He also said their best fishing has been coming in the afternoons.