Captain Ben was born to be a fly fishing guide. Beginning at the young age of 4, when his grandfather gave him his first push button rod and reel, Captain Ben realized that he was hooked on fishing.
Growing up in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, he fished for smallmouth bass, panfish, and trout. Through his teenage years and early adult life, he has traveled to many parts of Canada, Nova Scotia, Alaska, Maine, and New Hampshire pursuing many different types of fish, from stripers, salmon, to Bluefin tuna.
Captain Ben has been fly fishing in the Charleston Low Country region for just about a decade now, his love for the Low Country is evident, as he works very hard to put his clients on trophy redfish. Captain Ben fishes out of a 2016 Maverick 17 HPX-S, powered by an F70 Yamaha. His boat can float in 6” of water, allowing you to take full advantage of fishing a flat on a flood tide or chasing redfish on a low tide maximizing the most of your time on the water.
Captain Ben is also a retired veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard; during his tenure with the Coast Guard, he has had the privilege of fishing in some of the most exotic places on earth, from the Florida Keys, Louisiana, Panama, and the Pacific side of Costa Rica.
Charleston and Surrounding Areas
Charleston is the oldest and largest city in South Carolina. The town is just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina’s coastline, located in Charleston Harbor; an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the convergence of the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. A popular tourist destination and is considered “America’s Top 10 Most Friendly City.”
Charleston, SC a town surrounded by fantastic beaches and fishing holes. Kiawah Island, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Seabrook Island, and Sullivan’s Island provide an extensive array of places to explore and fish. From Fly fishing for red drum from flats boat while being pushed into the shallow marsh to shrimp live baiting on the surrounding creeks.
In states where anglers catch sheepshead, they fish around hard structures to which barnacles, oysters, and mussels attach and provide hiding places for small crabs. Because of their high fighting ability and the exquisite taste of their firm, white flesh, this species is a highly prized catch. Sheepshead is a recreational and commercial species along the southern coast.
The southern flounder supports valuable commercial and recreational fisheries throughout the geographic range it inhabits. Since 1991, the total recreational catch in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (east coast) has ranged from a low of 432,000 to a high of 830,000 fish and appears to be quite stable from year to year throughout the region.
Red drum, a fish species found along the Atlantic coast of the United States from the eastern shore of Delaware to southern Florida. The Red drum is an iridescent silvery grey with a coppery cast which is darker on the back than on the belly. The tip of the tail of young red drum, 10 to 18 inches long is a beautiful silvery blue which disappears in larger fish.
On July 1, 1986, spotted seatrout was declared a gamefish in South Carolina. At that time a 12-inch minimum size was placed on fish retained by anglers as well as a 25 fish per angler per day catch limit. Through time, the catch limit has decreased to 15 fish per angler per day. Legally, spotted seatrout may only be harvested by hook and line (all year round) or by gig (in all months except December through February).
THE FISHING CURE
“There’s nothing that builds up a toil-weary soul
Like a day on a stream,
Back on the banks of the old fishing hole
Where a fellow can dream.
There’s nothing so good for a man as to flee
From the city and lie
Full length in the shade of a whispering tree
And gaze at the sky.” – Edgar A. Guest