Fishing Piers on Hilton Head Island, SC

Does Hilton Head Have a Fishing Pier?

Yes, two public saltwater ones, and both are free. The Hilton Head fishing pier most people mean is the Charles C. Haigh Jr. Fishing Pier, a county pier beside the boat ramp at 2 William Hilton Parkway, on Pinckney Island just before the bridge onto the island. It reaches out over deep, fast tidal water, has a big free parking lot, and is open all year. The other is House Creek Fishing Pier, a small Town dock at the end of a boardwalk over the marsh on the north end, better known locally for crabbing.

Neither one is on the beach. Hilton Head has no ocean pier, so a fishing pier in Hilton Head, SC always means a creek or the Intracoastal Waterway, where the fish come to you with the tide.

Which Pier Is Best for Fishing?

• For a real day of fishing: the Haigh pier. Deeper water, room for a group on the T at the end, parking for about 90 vehicles and a portable toilet. Anglers catch redfish, whiting, black sea bass and small sharks.

• For crabbing with kids: House Creek. A short walk over the marsh, quiet water, blue crabs on a chicken neck. Parking is only five or six cars and there are no restrooms.

• For freshwater and small children: the floating pier at Jarvis Creek Park, a stocked lagoon with restrooms and a playground a few steps away.

• For the view, not the fish: Harbour Town Pier in Sea Pines.

Pier Fishing in Hilton Head: License, Tides and Tackle

A free public pier is not a licensed pier, so anyone 16 or older needs a South Carolina saltwater fishing license to fish from either one. You can buy it online from SCDNR before you go. Crabbing with three or fewer drop nets, fold-up traps or hand lines is the exception and needs no license.

Both piers sit on tidal creeks, and the tide here can rise and fall 6 to 8 feet. The water runs hard mid-tide and goes slack near high and low, which is when most people get bites. Check the Hilton Head tide chart before you pick a time, bring a heavier weight than you think you need for the Haigh pier, and pack bug spray for dusk: the marsh is mosquito country. For charters, surf fishing and where to buy bait, see the Hilton Head fishing guide.

The Freshwater Pier at Jarvis Creek Park

Jarvis Creek Park, at 100 Jarvis Park Road off William Hilton Parkway, is built around an 11-acre stocked lagoon with a floating fishing pier. It holds largemouth bass and bluegill, and fishing there is catch and release. The park is free, with restrooms, picnic shelters, a playground and a one-mile walking loop, which makes it the easiest first fishing trip for young kids. It opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. in summer, earlier in winter.

Is There a Beach Pier on Hilton Head?

No. None of Hilton Head’s beaches has a pier out into the ocean. If you want to fish the ocean without a boat, surf fishing from the beach is allowed, and the fishing guide covers where and how.

Hilton Head Island Fishing Cooperative Park

On Squire Pope Road near Beach City Road, Hilton Head Island Fishing Cooperative Park honors the Hilton Head Fishing Cooperative, founded in 1966 by Black fishermen from the island’s Gullah communities and active until 1978 at this same site on Skull Creek. The park doesn’t have a fishing pier of its own, since it is built around rowing and sailing on the surrounding waterways, but it is worth knowing about for the history it keeps, especially if the name turned up while you were looking for Hilton Head’s piers.