No not-a-fishing-trip would be complete without a visit to the local fly shop. When I first came to Hilton Head a few years back I stopped by Southern Drawl Outfitters to purchase a few flies and get some help with some walk and wade sight fishing spots. While they were helpful by pointing me in the right direction the 150 degree temps and flood tides at the wrong time helped me keep the redfish skunk alive.
Theresa and I stopped in and had a great conversation with the guy manning the shop and a local angler about Lowcountry fishing, and more importantly, their opinions on where we should relocate to. That had came down to either Latitude’s Margaritaville, which if we were ready we would have bought in already, or DelMarr’s Sun City, which we were out on, but are now almost all in with.
New in 2025 shop owner Graham Cotter twisted up my head when he said, “Why would you move to the Lowcountry and buy a place that looks like Florida?”, speaking on Margaritaville. That made some really good sense and kind of rattled Theresa’s and my brains up a bit. So off to Sun City we went, again.
It’s nice to see a local fly shop still in existence. You find them more in world class fishy places especially those that are a big tourist destination. But I am sure those shops still are faced with the challenges competing with the internet and today’s less than loyal customers. I saw this firsthand at The Fly Hatch when people would come in to browse, try things on, ask questions, and then go home and order on-line.
I talked to the guys about being a fly fisherman who’s number one fish is striped bass, to which they said, “Oh you’re gonna love redfish then”. And they added to that talking about their tarpon, jacks, cobia, and triple tail fishery, with seatrout, sheepshead, and sharks mixed in. Part of my plan will of course be bringing down my Jones Brothers 19’10 Cape Fishermen which should serve me well in and around Port Royal Sound.
Before I left I picked up a Southern Drawl t-shirt with one reason being so I am reminded of the fishery down here while I’m back home, for the next year, in New Jersey. As far as fishing goes, they said it’s tough wade fishing this time of year. It’s a low tide fishery and better from a skiff then while on foot. We have one day left so if I’m going to wet a line it’ll be tomorrow, thats if we don’t have more driving around and house hunting to do.