Tell me about fishing on Hilton Head Island

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Our friends are going with us to Hilton Head over Thanksgiving.

Well, I was trying to entice them to really enjoy the resort, so I said something about fishing. Their eyes lit up and they said...that will be great, we will bring all of our fishing gear.

So...today, I called Disney Hilton Head and found out the following.

IF you fish off Disney's pier...you don't need a fishing license. IF you fish elsewhere, and are 16 or older, you need a $11 license good for 14 days.

Disney sales bait (frozen shrimp) for $2 per bag.

Disney will rent poles for 24 hours, for $5 per pole.

You can use the poles in places other than Disney.

There are a few public piers listed on Hilton Head Island websites that you can find if you search for Hilton Head fishing piers. There are no pictures of the piers, no directions (although physical addresses are listed) and no recommendations of where to fish.

I asked the CM at Disney about fishing in November at Disney. I recalled there not being any water under the pier when we visited in the past. She said that there may not be any water...but that we would need to watch for high and low tide.

PLEASE let me know if you have fished at Hilton Head.
Hubby and I really don't fish...and I'm almost positive that my friends only know about fresh water fishing...and would not be interested in catch and release. Matter of fact, they might look at me like I lost my mind if I mentioned it.

Boats are available to rent as well as Palmetto Bay Watersports for $195 per boat for 2 hours. WE will not be interested in renting a boat!

You can fish off Pinckney Island if you have a boat. You cannot fish from the actual island.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Moderators: I think I needed to post this on the planning board!

 

[dis-happy]

Most of my friends like to surf fish on the beach. There are also lagoons scattered around another friend likes to fish from (he's a catch and release guy too).

 

[lamb1961]

We just came back from a stay at HHI. We really did not do too much fishing. We purchased crab nets, and rented fising poles from recreation and fished off the pier. My daughter caught a stingray in her crab net! We did get some crab, but just threw them back since I have no idea how to cook crab.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

You can do fishing excursions right from the Disney resort. They are offered through Low Country Nature Tours. I think a half-day (3-1/2 hour) tour is $400 and a full day (6 hour) tour is $650. We did the half day last year, and it was great. We stayed in-shore and caught several sharks and my husband caught a 100-lb. stingray which took him about 30 minutes to reel in. Of course, everything is catch and release. Next year, we are planning on a full day excursion. We may go through another company though. I know several of the charters offer to clean your catch for you.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Thanks for all of the replies.

We are looking for a much simpler and cheaper experience.

We are not going to charter a boat, unless you we can find where we can rent a pontoon boat for $30 - $50.

We are definitely looking to fish off a bank or pier somewhere.

 

[DisneyNut22]

I will be there in January. What can of fish can I catch from the pier at the resort?