7. Charleston, South Carolina
With its quaint Southern charm, historical sites and a bona-fide billfish bite, Charleston ranks right up there as a must-see spot on the circuit. The blue marlin arrive offshore in early April, and the bite peaks in the latter part of May and into June. During this period, the South Carolina Governor's Cup (
http://govcup.dnr.sc.gov) hosts a series of marlin tournaments throughout the area. Over the past several seasons, the sailfish bite off Charleston has blown up as well. The sails move north into the area at the end of the summer. The bite stays fairly good until the fall, and then it picks back up again as the fish migrate back through on their way to winter feeding grounds down south. Last December a local boat caught a super slam, so there's other species around as well, making Charleston a great spot to tie up for the winter.
"The bite is between 50 to 60 miles," says Capt. Bobby Garmany, who runs Bench Mark. "In the fall we see sails balling bait. Early in the year, we fish temperature and water patterns. The blue marlin bite is usually between 100 and 150 fathoms, while we fish 40 to 60 fathoms for sails."
The Sailfish Slam (www.sailfishslam.com) runs the entire month of October out of the City Marina (www.megadock.us) in downtown Charleston. When the sails start showing in the fall, it's not uncommon to get 15 or more bites a day. Boats have also started swordfishing in the deeper waters here, with a few 300-pounders hitting the docks.
