Spadefish Charters

The subject of this post is not my hatless head after a 90 minute boat ride, as perhaps that deserves a post of its own. No, it’s the Atlantic spadefish, aka “angelfish” and “moonfish” which are some super fun to catch fish found offshore from Hilton Head Island. Despite the moniker ‘angelfish’, these fish are no angels. They are mean, lean fighting machines. They use their narrow and broad sided shape to fight rather effectively against your attempts to reel them in.

We caught this nice spadefish offshore of Hilton Head Island, SC at a super secret location. Well, as you can tell by the boats present in the background, it’s no real secret. It’s the well known Betsy Ross Artificial Reef, and you can often find large schools of spadefish cruising the reef and sometimes breaking the surface with their fins.

Best targeted with 10-17lb or 15-30lb spinning gear, with bait on a small circle hook. Clams work well, as do Jellyballs, but you’ll need to pick them up before you make the run offshore. It’s tremendous fun sight fishing to spadefish on light tackle, because they will hold their own in battle. Just don’t let go.