Time for lowcountry tarpon

Tarpon fishing is at its peak during summer

One of Capt. Addison Rupert’s favorite things about fishing in August is the lowcountry’s tarpon fishery.

“Many folks still don’t know this, but believe it or not, we do have a tarpon fishery here in South Carolina,” said Rupert, who runs Lowcountry Outdoor Adventures (843-557-3476) in the Charleston area.

Rupert said these fish typically arrive in South Carolina’s waters in June, and stick around until October. The hottest bite for these fish is usually in August and September. So while many anglers dread the dog days of summer, Rupert looks forward to it during these months.

“In my opinion, there is nothing more exciting than being hooked up to a beautiful South Carolina silver king. These fish almost always come completely airborne multiple times during the fight,” he said. “It can be quite exciting.”

Rupert spends a lot of time this month specifically targeting tarpon. But he admits that some days, things just don’t work out. But that doesn’t mean his clients don’t catch fish.

“I will say that catching a tarpon is no guarantee. We do experience bycatch all the time,” he said.

And the bycatch is usually made up of numerous speices of sharks, big redfish, and big stingrays. These are all plenty of fun to catch, and will test the skills of any angler.

But some August days are magical, with his anglers hooking into more than one tarpon.

“Some days, we hook multiple tarpon. Some days, we only see them. And some days, we don’t see any at all. But, that’s fishing,” he said.

Rupert has caught a number of tarpon that range between 30 and 180 pounds, with the majority in the 100-pound range. And he took first place in the Holy City Tarpon Tournament in 2022, pocketing $5000 for his efforts.

Find them

Catching tarpon involves finding them first, and that usually involves a good deal of scouting each day. They follow baitfish, so wherever you find baitfish, you’re likely to find tarpon. This can be anywhere in the surf, inlets, and around the jetties.

When it comes to bait, Rupert prefers mullet or menhaden, and he isn’t stingy with the bait. Tarpon will eat in any section of the water column, so he makes sure to offer bait in all of them.

“I like to put out mullet or menhaden on or near the surface, as well as in the middle and bottom of the water column,” he said.

Tarpon are big, strong fish, so anglers need to gear up when fishing for them. Medium-heavy to heavy rods paired with 5000-series spinning reels, heavy duty line, and circle hooks in 6/0 are all good choices.

When catching a tarpon, anglers should keep them in the water as much as possible. Holding them in a way that gets water gushing through their mouth and gills is also recommended when releasing these fish.

“They are a challenging, yet rewarding, fish to land. Depending on the tides and wind direction, I can get us in an area with the best chance for success,” Rupert said.