Big Cliff's Myrtle Beach Pictures

[Big Cliff]

Black tip shark. You aren't allowed to fish for sharks within 1/2 mile of shore in Myrtle Beach, they don't want the tourists to know they are there. As a result, you can't use a net or gaff to land them and you are not allowed to keep any that you do land. If you do hook one, you are allowed to hand line it up to the pier to remove the hook but must let it go right away. Since you are about 30' above the water you don't get to land many in excess of about 10-15 lbs. They sure are fun to catch though and put up one heck of a fight and apparently they are excellent eating.

 

Spiney Dog Fish: Very similar to the Black Tip Shark except they don't have the black tip on the tail and they have white dots along the lateral line. They also have spine on every fin similar to a catfish and will try to stick you if they get the chance. From what I was told it can really hurt if they do connect. Don't know about eating them but since they are a member of the shark family, you can't keep them either.

 

Salt Water EEL: Put up one heck of a fight both in the water and on land. I'm not much for snakes and eels so I wasn't ready to handle this guy but one of the fellows I was fishing with said they were excellent eating and asked if he could have it. That was the only thing that wasn't C&R. This little sucker has some nasty looking teeth. (no I didn't get a picture of them LOL).

 

Horseshoe crab: Well, it didn't put up much of a fight, more like pulling in an old boot. It sure was ugly, no one seemed to know if they were good to eat or anything. First picture is the top side, second one is the underside.

 

 

Clear Nose Skate: A lot of people confuse them with sting rays but they don't have the barb on the tail and there are several other differences. They are very plentiful and put up one heck of a fight. A 5-6 lb skate puts up as much fight as a 20 lb pike. They don't like to quit. I am told that if you are willing to do the work they can be good eating but I didn't see anyone keeping any. (I guess it must be a lot of work and there are only small portions of it that are usable).

 

 

 

Lastly, my favorite catch of the whole trip: A blue crab. You can't have anything but respect for this little guy. He might have weighed in at about 1.5 lbs. He grabbed onto my bait and wouldn't let go (now, that's determination) he caught me in about 35' of water then let me reel him in and lift him another 30' through the air and up onto the pier. He didn't let go of the shrimp until I set him down on the dock. Then he was ready to take on any commers.... backed himself up against the rail and took a shot at anything that came close (man this little guy had guts, I outweigh him about 200-1 but he wasn't going to give up without a fight). Couldn't help but respect that kind of courage. It took a few minutes but he too was released to fight another day.

 

 

Well, I took a lot more pictures but tried to post some of the more interesting ones. Hope you enjoy.

 

Big Cliff

Edited February 12, 2007 by Big Cliff

[Guest mistyriver1]

Very cool post Cliff. I'm with you on the snakes/eels, don't want any part of them.

Thanks for sharing your pics !!

 

Jim

[Beans]

You gotta love pier fishing...never know what you are going to hook-up with...

 

WTG with the picture posting...you'll have to explain to me how you got them hosted on OFC Community...

[Joey]

Great pics cliff. The image I had in my mind from your stories was just the same as those pictures. Thanks.

 

Joey

[dustink]

Some great pics there...!!!

 

dk

[ccmtcanada]

Wow! Great pics...thanks for the descriptions too...almost made me feel like I was actually there.

[Eddyk]

Thanks for sharing.

[pikehunter]

Thanks for posting your pics Cliff. I was looking forward to them from your Myrtle Beach reports.

 

I have heard that they serve dogfish on the menu in fish and chip shops in England, of course they probably don't call it dogfish though. Just something I read somewhere once.

[Crazyhook]

Cliff awesome pictures!!! looks like you had an excellent trip!

[Blake]

Great report and pics Cliff.

[Pinch]

Thanks for posting your pics Cliff. I was looking forward to them from your Myrtle Beach reports.

 

I have heard that they serve dogfish on the menu in fish and chip shops in England, of course they probably don't call it dogfish though. Just something I read somewhere once.

 

Your entirely right PikeHunter, they dont call it dogfish, they disguise it by calling it Rock Salmon of all things.

[fishindevil]

well they sure are very interesting marine life you caught there big cliff,.. ..it seems like you never know what you are going to catch.. ....WTG.thanks for sharing those pics and your fishing report cheers

[Castmaster]

Looks like a great trip! We catch all the Blue Crab we want in Florida using nothing but a peice of raw chicken, a peice of kite string, and a small net. Lots of fun for the wife and kid! The crabs grab on and start chowing down. Just watch for the string to start moving around pull it in slowly over the net and lift. It's really that easy. They're excellent eating.

[Big Cliff]

I would really love to spend some time with someone down there that knows all about how to harvest oysters, crab, clams, anything you can get living off the land so to speak. I wonder if there is any kind of an exchange program LOL. Wouldn't that be an interesting adventure?

[aplumma]

Nice pictures Cliff I am glad you had fun fishing saltwater. Their are a very large number of different fish to catch. The horseshoe crab you caught has 2 uses that I know of one is a strong immune system that they are studying to help cancer patients and the other is to make lamps to sell to tourists. Did you catch any robin fish they are black and ugly but have eyes that are as pretty as turquoise jewelry? It is a shame you could not keep the sharks they are very good eating when cleaned, soaked and deep fried.

 

Art

[Smokey]

Great pics Cliff. Like was said before you never know what your going to get when pier fishing down there. Makes for an interesting day. Thanks

[RobHall]

Excellent Pics Cliff and great report!! Thanks for sharing.

 

FOTB

[Whopper]

Good pics Big Cliff looks like you caught a variety of creatures.

I always enjoy pier fishing for a change of pace.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Whopper