Family Vacation - HiltonHead Island SC - What to bring?

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cyberflexx

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August 17-22 my family will be taking a vacation to Hilton Head Island, SC. The house we are renting has an 11 mile lagoon behind it. There is a canoe and lifejackets to use as well. Was wondering what kind of tackle I should take with me. I have to take my telescopic rod or maybe a cheapo 2pc rod with me for space, but will slap on a good reel.

Does anyone know how bad the gators are or if this would be saltwater or fresh water? I havent been to the beach since 1985 and I really dont remember much about fishing it.

If there are gators, should I be concerned that one will stalk me and drag me from the bank?

Just some concerns and questions that I had..


Thanks!
 
Thanks Doc.. I guess I wont be taking my kids to the bank of the lagoon. For some reason I am scred of gators even though I have never seen one in the wild.
 
We have tons of them around here. We removed a 9'er out of my yard last year. It's not uncommon to see 3-4 gators while we are swimming in our favorite swim holes. In my 33 years of living, swimming, and fishing beside them, I have never had a problem or felt threatened by one. You have nothing to fear with gators as long as you use your head. They should be scared of you. The main problem with them is when people start feeding them and they associate people with food.
 
We have gators here and for the most part they are not too bad in the rivers and lakes. There is one reservoir that I go to that is overloaded with gators. They are not scared of people at all there. They will come right up to the boat and look at you checking you out. It is not too bad when I am in my 14ft jon. When I am in my canoe I am real cautious when they come up to me. I have had them rub up against the boat. I will not go swimming in the reservoir. I have never seen any residents on the reservoir swimming in there also.
As for salt water or fresh? It would be salt water for Hilton Head Island. The good news about that is gators are more partial to fresh water. There may be a rouge gator here and there but they prefer and need fresh water.
 
cyberflexx said:
Thanks Doc.. I guess I wont be taking my kids to the bank of the lagoon. For some reason I am scared of gators even though I have never seen one in the wild.
Better safe than sorry when it comes to your kids. They can always visit a body of water where there are no gators at another time. The risk is small, but the loss is irreplaceable.

I just moved my 23 year old daughter to Florida a couple weeks ago and had to tell her not to go near the edges of any unfamiliar body of fresh water in Florida alone. She thought I was kidding at first. :roll:
 
cyber,
Get you a $20 spinning combo (big reel and 7ft hvy rod) from wally world. Find a tackle shop close by and ask what's biting in the surf and what rig you should buy. It's hard to beat a double dropper setup with fresh shrimp. Another $10 will get you some bait and rigs, and you don't have to worry about messing up one of your nice reels in the salt water.

Take some pics and good luck!
 
I forgot to add this.Pick up a large bottle and use it heavily. :LMFAO:

neutrogena_main.jpg
 
Cool, Thanks for the tips...

My wife is also talking about doing a 4 hour shark fishing trip. Are those trips worth the money?
 
my brother just moved back from st.simons island. talk about some good fishin

anyhoo, like said you have no reason to fear the gators. 2 tips i can give ya from living in florida and swimming with the gators. dont dangle a stringer of fish in the water, and dont leave any bloody fish or meat around you. other than that they arnt going to bother you. if they do get close to check you out throw somthing at them and they'll run

i'd secon buying the cheapo walmart real. it will probably be worthless after your vacation but its better than putting wear on an expensive setup. when we go to the beach i always go straight to the baitshop and ask them whats working. they're usually more than happy to give you tips. try and find some goodsized greenbacks or threadfins for the lagoon. live shrimp in the surf w/ a pyramid weight about a foot or so below the bait. if its rocky you'll want a larger round weight

yall are going to have a blast. i'd make the chitlins and dogs stay away from the bank if you see gators, but they're usually not going to want anything to do with a full grown man

if you can learn to immatate there grunts its fun to go out at night and call um in
 

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