FISH CALL CHARTERS

---Guiding Charleston's Waters Since 1996--- Celebrating 25 years of business!! Oct 2021

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Capt. J.R. kissing the King

My 9-yr old son Guerin hooked up to a tarpon!
My proudest moment as a father/fisherman! Guerin landed this 110+ pound tarpon with no help from daddy!

Matt Bachinski with the 2014 Charleston Harbor Tarpon Tournament winner!!
Tournament founder Cantey Smith, winner Matt Bachinski, and guide J.R. Waits (not pictured Bill Browne)
Scott Lanzon and Capt. J.R. with largest fish of the 2014 Georgetown Tapron Tournament, estimated 150-160 pounds.

Huge cobia!! - 88.6 pounds, just 4 shy of state record
Capt. Fritz and I caught this huge cobia just over a mile off of Isle of Palms

Eddie Collins with the Fish Call "Catch-of-the-Year" 2012, 32 pound inshore redfish!
Eddie's red is the largest ever caught inshore by Fish Call clients.

Zach Lever with a 130-lb tarpon caught at the Charleston Jetty.
Grant Meyer with the second biggest inshore red ever caught on the Fish Call, 27 pounds!

Dave Hinke from Bass Pro Shops with Fish Call's 2011 "Catch-of-the-Year"!! Dave's enormous redfish weighed 17.5-lbs and was caught in then named "Bay of Pigs."
Dave's catch was part of this triple header of PIGS! John Doerr and Eddie Ketchum both had reds over 12-lbs at the same time. It was crazy battling these three giants from a 17' flats skiff in 10" of water. Dave also caught a 23-lb bonnethead shark which was 3-lbs off the I.G.F.A All-Tackle World Record! EPIC EPIC Day.

Most Amazing Catch of 2011> Greta Waits. My 10 year-old daughter caught this giant tarpon on August 15.
Greta's big tarpon fought extremely hard in a rushing current. Greta worked hard and wants to also thank Uncle Travis for helping out.
Great job, Greta! Her tarpon was well over 100-lbs, and she's less than half the weight of that, WOW! I'm a very proud daddy.

The largest tripletail ever caught on the Fish Call, 12.5-lbs
My personal largest redfish ever caught on fly, 26 pounds! Yes, it is another Louisiana fish.

Billy Jordan and I with the 2010 Fish Call "Catch-of-the-Year" > 130-140 pound TARPON Sept 10, 2010
Billy did a fantastic job fighting this monster through a shrimper's poles and then jumping on the other side of the shrimper's boat. Congrats!!

Largest Redfish 2010 > 37 pounds Calvin Masoaka July 27, 2010
Clint Watts' first tarpon. This fish is significant becasue Clint has fished for and lost tarpon with me several times over the years plus it is the earliest tarpon we have ever caught and it occurred on my 40th birthday, June 17, 2010

My largest redfish ever on fly, 16 pounds Louisiana.
First tarpon in the Wando River > Alex Michaels, my nephew.

I.G.F.A World Records

NO, I will not take that rod! - 8/23/06
Greta with her 23.8-lb I.G.F.A World Record bonnethead (Girl's Smallfry and Women's 16-lb Line Class Records)

Pilar's 16.5-lb I.G.F.A WR shark (Women's 06-lb Line Class) - 7/24/06 (since beaten)
My 22.1-lb I.G.F.A WR bonnethead (Men's 06-lb Line Class) - 7/21/06

Calvin Masoaka with his very impressive 19.1-lb I.G.F.A WR bonnethead (Men's 02-lb Line Class!!) - 7/3/06
Ralston Smith with 20.8 pound I.G.F.A Boy's Smallfry World Record Bonnethead Shark, 2005 (since beaten).

Troy Beaver's I.G.F.A Boy's Smallfry World Record Bonnethead Shark - 17.5 pounds, 2003 (since beaten).
Guerin Waits is our future World Record holder but what species???

Other Great Catches

Hyan Furniss and I won the 2009 Charleston IFA Redfish Tour Tournament!!

Both reds fell for Gulp Shrimp very near Isle of Palms. We won a fully rigged Ranger flats boat which Hylan fishes in Wilmington, NC.

Youngest angler to land a tarpon on the Fish Call, my nephew Wesley Michaels age 8, Aug 2009
Wes fights fish his way, upside down! He landed the tarpon but didn't get the glory picture.

Yikes! Please don't break...
Largest fish on fly by a client, 36 pound Amberjack!! (email me if this is you)

Tim Grinnings with his 170lb would-be state record tarpon!
"Catch of the Year" on the FISH CALL - 7/15/05

There is Nothing Like the First Jump!! (close-up)
One Second Later! (close-up)

The Landing - all three pictures from the same jump. (close-up)
Congrats to Christian Burns with Catch-of-the-Year 2003

Randy Stump with a 40 pound Black Drum
This One Bottomed Out the 60 lb. Boga Grip!!

Greta with the Croaker that Caught Tarpon #1
Steven's First Tarpon of the Day!

Hooked Up to the winning fish!
Steven Michaels and I won the 2003 Charleston Harbor Tarpon Release Tournamnet for the second year in a row! We landed 2 out of 5 tarpon hooked

The Catch of My Life, Pilar Ritchie Waits
The Waits Family at Greta's graduation from Academic Magnet High School,
the #1 public high school in the USA 2019

To book a charter please text 843-509-7337 or
call 843-509-7337 or
email jrwaits@fishcall.com

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website designed by Capt. J.R. Waits

Eddie Collins with the Fish Call "Catch-of-the-Year" 2012, 32 pound inshore redfish!	Eddie's red is the largest ever caught inshore by Fish Call clients.
Zach Lever with a 130-lb tarpon caught at the Charleston Jetty.	Grant Meyer with the second biggest inshore red ever caught on the Fish Call, 27 pounds!

Billy Jordan and I with the 2010 Fish Call "Catch-of-the-Year" > 130-140 pound TARPON Sept 10, 2010	Billy did a fantastic job fighting this monster through a shrimper's poles and then jumping on the other side of the shrimper's boat. Congrats!!
Largest Redfish 2010 > 37 pounds Calvin Masoaka July 27, 2010	Clint Watts' first tarpon. This fish is significant becasue Clint has fished for and lost tarpon with me several times over the years plus it is the earliest tarpon we have ever caught and it occurred on my 40th birthday, June 17, 2010
My largest redfish ever on fly, 16 pounds Louisiana.	First tarpon in the Wando River > Alex Michaels, my nephew.

NO, I will not take that rod! - 8/23/06	Greta with her 23.8-lb I.G.F.A World Record bonnethead (Girl's Smallfry and Women's 16-lb Line Class Records)
Pilar's 16.5-lb I.G.F.A WR shark (Women's 06-lb Line Class) - 7/24/06 (since beaten)	My 22.1-lb I.G.F.A WR bonnethead (Men's 06-lb Line Class) - 7/21/06
Calvin Masoaka with his very impressive 19.1-lb I.G.F.A WR bonnethead (Men's 02-lb Line Class!!) - 7/3/06	Ralston Smith with 20.8 pound I.G.F.A Boy's Smallfry World Record Bonnethead Shark, 2005 (since beaten).
Troy Beaver's I.G.F.A Boy's Smallfry World Record Bonnethead Shark - 17.5 pounds, 2003 (since beaten).	Guerin Waits is our future World Record holder but what species???

There is Nothing Like the First Jump!! (close-up)	One Second Later! (close-up)
The Landing - all three pictures from the same jump. (close-up)	Congrats to Christian Burns with Catch-of-the-Year 2003

Greta with the Croaker that Caught Tarpon #1	Steven's First Tarpon of the Day!
Hooked Up to the winning fish!	Steven Michaels and I won the 2003 Charleston Harbor Tarpon Release Tournamnet for the second year in a row! We landed 2 out of 5 tarpon hooked