The art of fishing: Island Boys Outdoor Adventures with Captain Art Brown

By Ford Walpole

Capt. Art Brown displays a cobia. 

PHOTO PROVIDED BY CAPT. ART BROWN

Captain Art Brown of Island Boys Outdoor Adventures is the quintessential local fishing guide. When he was growing up on Sullivan’s Island, his maternal grandfather held the lease for J.C. Long’s public fishing pier on the Isle of Palms, which was wiped out by Hurricane David. From a shack on the pier, his grandfather sold live shrimp, hot dogs and chips; the structure even boasted a Captain Fantastic pinball machine.

By the time he was three years old, Capt. Brown was fishing from the pier. “Back then, we used double-hook bottom rigs, and I caught spot, croaker and whiting,” he recalls. “As I learned more about fishing, I started catching spot-tailed bass, sheepshead and black drum. Growing up, I surf fished at Breach Inlet, where I caught trout, Spanish mackerel and flounder. And if you could get out to the bar, you could catch giant channel bass.”

On other occasions, Capt. Brown fished the rocks at the other end of Sullivan’s Island for sheepshead and flounder. “When I was a teenager, I went to the Capers Reef in a 13-foot Whaler with a handheld compass,” he says. “We trolled for Spanish mackerel on our way out to catch spadefish.”

Besides embracing the waters around Sullivan’s Island, Capt. Brown also enjoyed the beach, playing beach volleyball and even winning a professional tournament when he was 17. Years later, as a media and communications major at the College of Charleston, he worked as a co-host for the Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball Tour.

“I was always fishing!” Capt. Brown reflects. For years during high school and college, he worked on a longliner. The boat migrated from Charleston to Pompano, Fla., Venice, La., and the Bermuda Triangle — in pursuit of swordfish and tuna: yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin. During college, he worked as a mate on sportfishing boats.

After two decades of building cabinets and installing siding and custom interior trim, Capt. Brown decided, upon the advice of his wife, Lauren, and their boys, Finn, age eight, and Hudson, age six, to become a professional fishing guide, so I went to sea school to get my captain’s license.”

“My wife and kids are extremely spoiled when it comes to fishing,” he laughs. “The first time I took Lauren fishing in salt water, she caught a super-grand slam: spot-tailed bass, trout, black drum, flounder and a sheepshead!

“We saw social media posts from fishing guides bragging about catching eight fish on the same trip,” Capt. Brown continues. “To us, a 20-fish day is an extremely slow day. I grew up in these creeks, so I know when to be there, and at what tide, and under what conditions.

“Hudson loves being in the boat, and he is perfectly content once he catches his first fish of the day. Finn, on the other hand, “can catch fish from sunup to sundown and come home and go fishing in the pond,” he says. “He is good, but he is also lucky!” In the past year, the young angler has already won $8,000 in tournaments, and he is sponsored by Huk as a youth influencer.

Finn has won tournaments for trout, sheepshead and redfish, one of which was a Student Angler League Tournament Trail (SALTT) event. He also finished second in the king mackerel series. “He has crushed it, man!” Capt. Brown says. “He just won another Convict Classic Sheepshead Tournament. I have fished for sheepshead most of my life, and when that little turkey was six, he caught a 14-plus-pound and 12.5-pound sheepshead — both in the same day!” In addition, Finn won Junior Angler in this June’s Huk Charleston Cobia Cup.

Besides being a fine angler, Finn is an accomplished first mate. “He can guide clients, and he teaches them the proper presentation,” Capt. Brown says. “For example, if we are float fishing, he will show clients how much slack to let out so that the line floats freely, but not too much, so they can still get it tight when they get a bite. He baits hooks and takes fish off the hook. Finn is out there gaffing dolphin like he had been doing it his whole life!”

Capt. Brown’s 24-foot Sea Fox Commander affords him a versatile approach to fishing. In the creeks, he can fish in 18 inches of water, and the 117-gallon tank likewise allows him to fish the Gulf Stream. During the late winter and early spring, Capt. Brown likes to fish the nearshore reefs. “And when the weather is nice enough,” he says, “I like to go bottom fishing year-round. You can always catch something, and one of my favorite fish to target is triggerfish. I don’t like to make clients go fishing when it’s rough; I try to give them an opportunity to reschedule.”

Capt. Brown continues, “Cobia is strong right now, and I have lost count of how many cobia I have tagged as part of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources tagging program. I also participate in the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council’s release program.” The data he records helps the agency make recommendations.

He targets cobia in 40 to 90 feet of water. “What I have learned about cobia is that the early morning bite is always the best,” he tells us. “So at first light, I want to be catching menhaden. I prefer the bigger menhaden, which are faster and try to swim away. If a menhaden takes off, the cobia are going after it. For cobia, I focus on the reefs and also live-bottom areas. You can get them at the buoys, too. I have even seen some really nice cobia up in the Wando River.

“I like to have at least one live bait on the top, swimming where he wants, while I fish other rods on the bottom,” he says. “A lot of times, when you bring up a cobia, another one swims up with it. So if you have that free line ready, that other fish will grab your menhaden.”

Capt. Brown notes, “Sometimes, a lot of big sharks will be at the reef, and they will destroy your tackle. I will take an 80 and hook big sharks, because a lot of times, they will have big cobia swimming right with them. So, after you hook the shark, you can pitch your bait and catch the cobia.”

On a recent trip in 90 feet of water, Capt. Brown saw a massive great white shark — the first one he had seen in 20 years. “It swam around the boat three times and was every bit of 20 feet long. After that, we got covered up in amberjack,” he says. “Amberjack under 30 inches are some of the whitest, flakiest and tastiest fish you can eat. My wife says it tastes better than cobia. They’re delicious, man! Down south, what they call a grouper finger or a grouper dog is oftentimes an amberjack.”

When the weather permits, Capt. Brown enjoys heading to the Gulf Stream for dolphin and wahoo. “This time of year, spadefish are really turned on,” he says. In the summer, he also works the jetties for bull reds and sharks. “I like to target tarpon. I also do a pretty good amount of shark charters.” Fishing for sharks allows anglers to fish closer to shore without venturing as far out.

“During the fall, I like to hit the creeks once we get the first cold snap,” Capt. Brown says. “The trout start snapping, and the reds get in tighter schools as the water gets cooler. The majority of my inshore fishing is around Sullivan’s Island, Isle of Palms and Dewees Island because I know the area, and it has always been good to me. I have always fished the same three creeks, and even though they get a lot of pressure, they have always held fish, so I have never needed to go anywhere else.”

Capt. Brown’s happy clients are quick to book return charters. Some of his friends who manage vacation properties place advertising magnets in rental units. “I never get tired of fishing, but I don’t grind like a lot of other guides. But if the weather is nice, I will go fishing seven days in a row!” he says.

“For me, the biggest reward of being a fishing guide is putting a smile on people’s faces, especially kids!” he concludes. “They are going to remember that fishing trip, and you want to get kids addicted to fishing, rather than screens or other unhealthy influences. That is exactly why one of my hashtags is ‘take a kid fishing.’ I would rather hand somebody else that rod and have them catch a fish than catch it myself. I love watching kids light up when that drag starts getting pulled!”

To book a fishing charter with Capt. Art Brown, look up Island Boys Outdoor Adventures at FishingBooker.com. In addition, you may contact him at islandboysoutdooradventures@yahoo.com or (843) 793-8312.

Ford Walpole lives and writes on John’s Island and is the author of many articles on the outdoors. He teaches English at James Island Charter High School and the College of Charleston and may be reached atfordwalpole@gmail.com.