The Menhaden Have Arrived: May Fishing Report from Folly Beach with Capt. Gates

By May, the water around Folly begins to feel different.

The tides carry more movement through the creeks and inlets. Birds gather over bait schools offshore. The marsh shifts into a greener, louder rhythm as the Lowcountry settles deeper into spring.

For anglers, it is one of the most exciting stretches of the year.

Each month, local charter captain Capt. Gates shares what he is seeing across the marsh, estuary, and nearshore reefs surrounding Folly Beach.

Here is his May fishing report from the water.

From the Water with Capt. Gates

On the ride out on a recent morning, at a fork in the waterway, I took a left towards the inlet instead of a right up to redfish country.

The air was still, the water was glassy, and I figured it was as good a day as any to fish more open water.

All of a sudden, the water in front of us started to ripple as if rain was falling.

I looked up to the sky. No rain clouds in sight.

I slowed the boat down, cut the engine, grabbed my biggest cast net from the hatch, and loaded it in my hands to prepare to launch it over the school of tens of thousands of Atlantic menhaden.

As the boat quietly coasted towards the school, I was startled by a loud splash just off the transom.

Spinning around, I saw a brown pelican bob up from the disturbed water, beak up to the sky, and shake the oily fish down his throat.

Then I heard another loud splash off the bow.

I turned around to see the aftermath of boiling water, but no pelican was bobbing.

Jimmy, my 10-year-old customer who was joining his father and uncle on the fishing trip, looked at the water with a degree of consternation and asked, “What was that?”

With no clues to work with other than a big, loud splash, I had to respond with an unsatisfactory answer for him.

“I’m not sure, buddy. Shark? Tarpon? I haven’t seen a dorsal fin come up, so I don’t think it was a dolphin.”

I decided to cast the net, and as it sank the line in my hands was shaking with excited fish.

One throw, and we had hundreds of two-inch-long glimmering and lively menhaden, also known as pogies, in the net.

Knowing I would not need them all, I dumped most of them back before bringing the net over the gunnel and emptying the remaining pogies into the livewell.

While cleaning up and stashing the net away before running to the fishing grounds, we saw several more mystery explosions, as well as dozens of pelicans and royal terns diving on the school.

In the timeline of events that mark a Lowcountry fishing year, there are a few that stand out bolder than the rest, and the day the menhaden arrive is one of them.

Migrating up the coast and blooming into massive schools millions strong, these densely schooled filter feeders swim around with their mouths agape, sifting the green phytoplankton fueled by sunlight from 93 million miles away.

And they convert that energy into an oily, protein-rich fish that it seems like everything is after, whether from above or below.

And for that reason, as anglers, so are we.

Since their arrival, we have caught redfish, trout, flounder, ladyfish, and several shark species on menhaden inshore.

On days that we go out to the reef, we have filled the well with them on the way out and traded them for cobia, barracuda, amberjack, grouper, and snapper.

King mackerel have not made the list yet, but soon they will.

A lot happens in our coastal ecosystems in May.

Seatrout are spawning, and some days yield high numbers as trout stack around points and current breaks.

Beachgoers may notice smaller terns diving on baitfish like silversides just beyond the surf. If they look closely enough, they may also spot Spanish mackerel erupting from below in pursuit.

Cobia are showing up over the nearshore reefs.

Flounder are populating the inshore banks.

Redfish are becoming increasingly keyed in on baitfish like finger mullet and menhaden, which means more aggressive fishing tactics like throwing topwater plugs.

And perhaps the greatest and most important happening of all is that the menhaden have arrived, fueling the frenzy throughout.

Fishing has always been part of the rhythm of Folly Beach.

Not only the catch itself, but the movement of the tide, the shifting birdlife overhead, and the feeling of watching the marsh and ocean come fully alive this time of year.

Even for longtime visitors, time on the water often reveals a different perspective on the island.

Capt. Gates offers guided fishing charters exploring the creeks, marshes, estuary, and nearshore waters surrounding Folly Beach.

You can learn more about his charters or plan a trip on the water through Capt. Gates Fishing Charters.