Charleston Harbor & Lowcountry fishing conditions and tides
South Carolina · Atlantic coast · 5.5 ft mean tide range · 28 ppt
Spartina marsh, oyster bars and tailing redfish on the flood tide
Current conditions
Very Good
Fishing score 74/100
How this score is calculated
66°F against a 58–85°F band for redfish.
Slack low at 0.5 ft, moving 0.1 ft/hr. Near slack — expect fish to reposition and the bite to pause.
16 mph out of the N. Workable wind with useful chop.
2.3 ft at 14 seconds. Good working surf for beaches and inlets.
Good working clarity with some colour for cover.
29.86 inHg and steady.
56% illumination — neap tides with a smaller exchange.
Fall pattern is fully established for this zone.
What should I do today?
The highest-percentage pattern for this tide and this wind.
Backup pattern
Speckled Trout — popping cork with a soft plastic in 3–15 ft. Hold on creek mouth drops and deeper oyster edges, especially on the last of the falling tide.
Right now
Current conditions
Tide
Slack low
0.5 ft, +0.1 ft/hr
Next high
9:06 AM
5 ft
Next low
3:18 PM
0.5 ft
Mean range
5.5 ft
Typical high-to-low swing
Water temp
66°F
+0.3°F / 3 days
Water clarity
Lightly stained
Salinity about 28 ppt
Swell
2.3 ft
14 second period
Wind
16 mph
Out of the N
Pressure
29.86"
Stable pressure
Air temp
80°F
89% cloud cover
Moon
56%
First Quarter · solunar 12/100
Daylight
6:33 AM
Sunset 5:35 PM
Timing
Today's tides and fishing windows
- Low tide (0.8 ft) — tide change window1:53 AM – 3:53 AM
- Solunar major 26:01 AM – 8:01 AM
- Morning prime window6:08 AM – 8:53 AM
- Sunrise6:33 AM
- High tide (5 ft) — tide change window8:06 AM – 10:06 AM
- Low tide (0.5 ft) — tide change window2:18 PM – 4:18 PM
- Evening window3:35 PM – 6:10 PM
- Sunset5:35 PM
- Solunar major 16:01 PM – 8:01 PM
- High tide (4.7 ft) — tide change window8:31 PM – 10:31 PM
Targets
Target species in this zone
| Species | Activity | Depth | Best tide | Technique | Bait | Active temp | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redfish | ★★★★★ | 1–12 ft | Top two hours of a flood tide over 5.8 ft | Sight casting crab flies or weedless soft plastics | Fiddler crab, mud minnow | 58–85°F | Year-round, best September through November |
| Speckled Trout | ★★★★☆ | 3–15 ft | Falling tide through a creek mouth | Popping cork with a soft plastic | Live shrimp | 58–78°F | September through December |
| Flounder | ★★★☆☆ | 3–18 ft | Falling tide | Slow-dragged jig with a mud minnow | Mud minnow | 62–80°F | May through October |
| Tarpon | ★★★☆☆ | 8–30 ft | Moving water around the jetties | Live bait on a float near bait pods | Menhaden, mullet | 76–86°F | July through September |
- Redfish: Tail on the flooded grass on spring tides above about 5.8 ft, then stack in creek mouths on the fall.
- Speckled Trout: Hold on creek mouth drops and deeper oyster edges, especially on the last of the falling tide.
- Flounder: Ambush points at the downstream side of oyster bars and dock pilings.
- Tarpon: Roll through the harbor and along the beaches from July into September, keyed on menhaden pods.
Structure
Habitat and structure that holds fish
- Spartina marsh
- Oyster bar
- Creek mouth
- Harbor jetty
- Deep hole
- Charleston jetties
- Wando River oyster bars
- Shem Creek mouth
- Morris Island cut
- Folly River flats
Surf and beach notes
Folly and Sullivan's beaches fish best on a small 1–2 ft swell; the fishing here is far more about tide than surf.
Bait in the zone
Live shrimp is the universal bait; fiddler crabs for flood-tide reds and mud minnows for flounder.
Patterns
Season-by-season patterns
Spring
62–74°FRedfish break into smaller groups and spread across the flats; trout move back up the creeks as water passes 62°F.
Summer
80–86°FEarly morning and flood-tide windows only; mid-day heat pushes fish to deep shade and moving water.
Fall
68–80°FThe best season — shrimp flush out of the marsh, trout fire up and redfish school in big schools on the flats.
Winter
50–58°FRedfish form tight schools of 50-plus fish in shallow mud basins and are visible on calm sunny afternoons.
Outlook
7-day fishing forecast
| Day | Score | Water | Wind | Swell | First high tide | Best species | Morning window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 74Very Good | 66°F | 16 mph N | 2.3 ft | 9:06 AM (5 ft) | Redfish | 6:08 AM – 8:53 AM |
| Tue | 85Excellent | 67°F | 10 mph E | 1.8 ft | 9:56 AM (5.3 ft) | Redfish | 6:09 AM – 8:54 AM |
| Wed | 92Excellent | 68°F | 15 mph N | 2 ft | 10:47 AM (5.5 ft) | Redfish | 6:09 AM – 8:54 AM |
| Thu | 96Excellent | 69°F | 4 mph SE | 0.3 ft | 11:37 AM (5.7 ft) | Redfish | 6:10 AM – 8:55 AM |
| Fri | 90Excellent | 67°F | 15 mph E | 2.5 ft | 12:02 AM (5.9 ft) | Redfish | 6:11 AM – 8:56 AM |
| Sat | 95Excellent | 68°F | 5 mph NW | 1.5 ft | 12:53 AM (6.1 ft) | Redfish | 6:12 AM – 8:57 AM |
| Sun | 83Excellent | 68°F | 13 mph NW | 1 ft | 2:34 AM (6.2 ft) | Redfish | 6:13 AM – 8:58 AM |
Trends
Last 7 days
Water temperature
69°F → 66°F
Wind
13 mph → 16 mph
Swell
1.5 ft → 2.3 ft
Daily score
99 → 74
Water temperature has dropped 3°F this week. Expect fish to slide toward deeper channels and to bite best in the warmest part of the afternoon.
The water
About Charleston Harbor & Lowcountry
Charleston's 5.5 ft tide range floods thousands of acres of spartina grass twice a day, and redfish follow the water in to root fiddler crabs out of the mud. When the tide is out, the same fish stack on oyster bars and in the creek mouths. Nothing about fishing here works without reading the tide chart first.
Local knowledge
Expert notes
- Flood-tide redfish need a predicted tide above roughly 5.8 ft in Charleston Harbor. Below that, the grass never floods deep enough for fish to get in.
- Tailing fish give away their position with a wagging tail and moving grass stems — watch the grass, not the water.
- In winter, the schooled-up reds in shallow mud basins spook from a pushed wake. Pole or wade the last 100 feet, and cast well past the school.
Logistics
Access, ramps and launches
boat ramp
Wappoo Cut ramp
Central access to the harbor and the Stono system.
kayak launch
Shem Creek kayak launch
Easy paddle access to marsh creeks and the harbor edge.
pier
Folly Beach Pier
Good for whiting, Spanish mackerel and the occasional red.
marina
Charleston City Marina
Fuel, service and charter departures.
Rules
Regulations
- SC saltwater fishing license required.
- Red drum slot 15–23 inches, two per person and six per boat per day.
- Flounder minimum size and bag limits were tightened recently — verify before keeping fish.
Always verify current regulations with the relevant state wildlife agency before fishing. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Transparency
Data sources
Where this data comes from
Conditions are modelled from each water's documented climate, structure and seasonal patterns. Modules marked “Live data integration pending” are not yet pulling from their API, so those values are clearly labelled as sample data rather than presented as real-time readings.
Weather API
PendingNOAA / National Weather Service — Air temperature, wind, cloud cover, rainfall and barometric pressure with a 7-day forecast.
Water Level & Flow API
PendingUSGS Water Services — Reservoir stage, discharge and 7-day level trend from the nearest gauge.
Water Temperature
PendingUSGS / NOAA buoys — Surface water temperature and its multi-day trend.
Tide & Current API
PendingNOAA CO-OPS — Tide predictions, current direction and speed for coastal zones.
Moon & Solunar
LiveComputed on-site — Moon phase, illumination and solunar major/minor periods are calculated from date and coordinates.
Water Clarity
PendingSatellite imagery + angler reports — Visibility estimates by lake arm, refined by submitted fishing reports.
Fishing Regulations
PendingState wildlife agencies — License, size and creel rules, linked to the official agency page for verification.
Map Data
PendingBathymetry + access point database — Depth zones, structure locations and boat ramps for the lake infographic.
Keep reading