[Mark55]

Cold and nasty in the upstate today, so I have been surfing the internet on surf fishing in SC. Having read a good deal of information, it has lead to 2 questions that I feel sure the group down in the Surfside/MB area can answer. First, what are the regulations concerning a Recreational Saltwater License. I've been camping at Pirateland for the past 5 years and surf fishing there for the past 3 and have never purchased a license. Without fail someone watching or walking past has always asked me if they needed a license to fish from the beach. I always have told them no. Are you required to have a license? I went to the SCDNR website and its sorta fuzzy on the subject. I believe it stated something along the line of if your fishing within 3 nautical miles.... Second question concerns shark fishing from the surf. I know it is not allowed from the piers. I read somewhere that in Horry County it is also illegal to fish for them from the beach. Once again I was unable to either confirm or deny it. Help me out here if you can. It's no big deal to buy a license if I have to, it is certainly better than having my equipment confinscated.

 

[BubbaHoTep]

Mark, you don't need a saltwater license to fish from the bank/surf. If you go to an ocean pier, the "license" fee is included in your fishing ticket. You need a license if you are fishing from a private boat (or transporting fish in a private boat), but when you pay to go on the boats, the license fee is included there as well. If you are castnetting for shrimp as bait, you don't need a license, but if you're castnetting for bait other than shrimp, you do. These regs would apply to inlet/coastal creek bank fishing at Murrell's Inlet or up at Cherry Grove at Hog Inlet as well - and you can fish from those piers there at Capt Dick's and 53rd Ave North at CG without a license. Pretty much use Hwy 17 as your dividing line. Anything on the coast side of that you're okay without a license until you get up to I think it's where Highway 9 crosses 17 up there before you get to Little River at CG. Since the Intracoastal is west of 17, you'd need a license for that. For any questions on that upper end 9any "iffy" water around Hwy 9), it's probably best to talk to the folks at Eugene Platt's there in Cherry Grove.

Let's say that channel is running between Pirateland and Lakewood campgrounds and you're tossing a castnet for finger mullet in there (or in any of those lakes). I doubt you'd get busted for it, but you'd theoretically need a license. If you castnet those lakes in there for shrimp, though, you don't need one.