September in the Lowcountry is flood-tide season, and the big new-moon tides this week have redfish tailing in the spartina from Bulls Bay down to Edisto. Speckled trout are picking up in the creeks as the water starts to ease off the summer highs, and tarpon are on the inlets and the beachfront on the mullet. The heat is still here, but the fall bite is under way.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week: redfish on the flooded spartina flats on the top of the big tides, tailing in inches of water on the fiddler crabs. The same fish are on the oyster points and the creek mouths on the lower stages. Speckled trout are on the creek mouths and the deeper bends in the Wando, the Stono, and the Ashepoo on the moving water at first light. Tarpon are on the Charleston Harbor jetties, the beachfront off Folly and Sullivan’s, and the inlets at Bulls Bay and Edisto. Flounder are around the inlet edges and the docks, and sheepshead are on the pilings. Nearshore, Spanish and a few kings are on the reefs.
Where to Find Them
Flood-tide reds on the spartina flats in the Copahee Sound and Bulls Bay area, the Kiawah and Seabrook marshes, and the Edisto flats. Trout at the creek mouths of the Wando and the Stono, and on the Charleston Harbor grass edges. Tarpon at the jetties and along Folly Beach and the Bulls Bay inlets. Flounder around the Breach Inlet and Stono Inlet edges.
Tides & Conditions
Water temps are in the mid-80s and the first cooler nights of September are starting to show. The big new-moon tides early this week put the reds up on the flats; the two hours around the top of the tide are the window. Trout are best on the moving water at first light. Watch the tropical outlook — the whole South Carolina coast is in the cone conversation in early September.
Tackle & Tactics
Flood-tide reds take a weedless crab or shrimp fly, a weedless soft plastic, or a small gold spoon cast ahead of a tailing fish. On the lower tides, a cut mullet or a live shrimp on the oyster points. Trout take a soft plastic on a jig head or a popping cork with a live shrimp. Tarpon want a live mullet or menhaden on a 7/0 circle hook and 80-pound leader at the jetties. Flounder take a mud minnow on a jig head.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Wappoo Cut ramp, the Remley’s Point ramp in Mount Pleasant, the Garris Landing ramp for Bulls Bay, and the Buck Hall Recreation Area ramp. Fish are concentrating on the spartina flats on the flood and at the jetties for tarpon. South Carolina has a slot and a bag limit on red drum and a slot on spotted seatrout — check current SCDNR regulations before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On a flood-tide flat, walk or pole slowly and watch for the tails and the moving grass, then make one accurate cast three feet ahead of the fish. Tailing reds are focused on the bottom and will not see a bait behind them — lead them, and let the fly or lure sit until the fish is on it.
More Charleston / Lowcountry SC Resources
All Charleston / Lowcountry SC fishing reports · Seasonal fishing calendars · Submit your own report
Planning a trip to Charleston / Lowcountry SC?
This report tells you what happened. ReelAI tells you what to do about it — a briefing for your date, your target species and how you're fishing, built from our reports plus live NOAA and USGS data.
Powered by ReelAI — fishing.digital's intelligence layer. Answers are generated from fishing.digital reports and public NOAA, NWS and USGS data, and may be incomplete or out of date. Regulations and marine safety information are summaries only; always confirm with the responsible authority before you fish.