4 Sons Charters: A True Lowcountry Adventure

EXPERIENCING THE LOWCOUNTRY

Built on tide, tradition, and family, 4 Sons Fishing Charters delivers a true Lowcountry adventure

words by Caley Smith · images by 4 Sons Charters

Long before the sun rises over the Charleston Harbor, Johnston McCurry is already awake and moving. Fuel tanks are checked. Ice is loaded. Bait is packed. Weather conditions are reviewed one last time before the boat leaves the dock. By 3:30 a.m., while most of the Lowcountry is still asleep, McCurry is often heading toward the marina preparing for another day offshore.

For the owner of 4 Sons Charters, those early mornings are not just part of the job, they are part of a way of life deeply woven into his family’s roots in the Lowcountry.

“We have been doing this stuff since we were able to walk,” McCurry said. “My dad, his family, his dad, we are all big outdoorsmen. It would feel funny going to do something else.”

Born and raised in Summerville, McCurry grew up surrounded by Charleston’s waterways. His family has longstanding ties to the local school district, where his father, Tom McCurry, spent years working before retiring in 2018. Johnston, the oldest of four boys, spent much of his childhood hunting and fishing with his dad, developing a connection to the outdoors that would eventually shape his future career.

That path became clearer while McCurry was attending Clemson University. During one summer break, he worked alongside a roommate who was involved in the charter fishing industry. The experience sparked an idea that quickly turned into something much bigger.

“I told my dad I wanted to pursue charter fishing after graduation and asked if he wanted to do it together,” McCurry said. “He already had his captain’s license and had dabbled in it before, but we never had our own boat.”

What followed was a leap of faith built on family, hard work, and a shared love for the water. Using retirement savings, Tom purchased a 35-foot Everglades offshore boat, and the father-son duo launched what would become 4 Sons Charters. McCurry still vividly remembers the emotions surrounding that very first trip they ran together.

“My dad was my mate, and everything kind of came full circle,” he said. “We didn’t know where the business was going to go. Looking back now, those were the simple days. We looked at each other and said, ‘Man, we did it.'”

4 Sons Charters crew with a catch — The crew with a Gulf Stream haul.

In the beginning, the business focused solely on offshore fishing. Then, unexpectedly, the pandemic accelerated their growth far faster than either of them anticipated.

“COVID catapulted the business faster than it probably would have,” McCurry said. “People wanted to get outside.”

As demand grew, so did the fleet. After several successful years running offshore trips, the company added a 24-foot bay boat and expanded into inshore fishing. Eventually, additional captains were hired, more boats were purchased, and the operation steadily evolved into one of the Lowcountry’s premier hyper-local charter businesses. Now entering its ninth year, 4 Sons Charters operates two offshore boats, three bay boats, a flats boat, and even a specialized mud boat used for flounder gigging and nighttime frog-snatching adventures.

Despite the company’s growth, McCurry says the mission has remained remarkably simple: provide guests with a true Lowcountry experience.

“We treat our customers how we would want our family treated,” he said. “For some people, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We want to make sure they have the best experience possible.”

And in Charleston, there is certainly no shortage of places to explore. The city’s waterways create a uniquely diverse fishery, where the Cooper, Ashley, and Wando rivers all converge into Charleston Harbor before flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Endless creeks, marshes, grass flats, and stretches of the Intracoastal Waterway provide opportunities for anglers of every skill level.

“We’re very lucky here,” McCurry said. “There are so many unique fisheries all connected together.”

For inshore guests, trips often include targeting redfish, trout, black drum, and sheepshead while winding through scenic marshes and tidal creeks just minutes from downtown Charleston. Offshore excursions, meanwhile, offer an entirely different experience.

“The ocean world is more interesting to me,” McCurry admitted. “I grew up inshore fishing, but offshore fishing became my passion.”

A 4 Sons Charters boat on the water — The Catch.

Those trips can range from seasonal reef fishing excursions to full Gulf Stream adventures running 55 to 75 miles offshore in search of mahi-mahi, snapper, grouper, and other prized catches. Some trips last six to eight hours, while others stretch into full-day adventures deep into the Atlantic.

Still, McCurry believes the experience itself matters just as much as the fishing.

“Fishing is fishing,” he said with a laugh. “Very rarely do we not catch anything, but it’s about the experience and seeing Charleston from the water. We’re not God — we’re guides. We’re going to take you where the fish are, use the right bait, and give you the best opportunity to have a phenomenal day.”

That appreciation for the waterways also comes with a strong respect for conservation. McCurry says protecting the local fishery is something many Lowcountry captains take seriously.

“We really try not to keep many redfish,” he explained. “We don’t want to take the breeders. The captains around here care about the environment and keeping the fisheries healthy.”

In addition to fishing charters, 4 Sons Charters has expanded into dolphin tours, sunset cruises, and some distinctly Southern nighttime adventures that showcase Charleston’s wild side. Guests can glide through quiet marshes under the stars while flounder gigging or even try their hand at catching frogs along remote riverbanks.

“This is one of the most authentic and wild Lowcountry experiences we offer,” McCurry said.

Behind the scenes, McCurry credits much of the company’s success to his wife, Whitney, who has become an integral part of the business.

“She’s a huge reason this business works,” he said. “She’s very outdoors-oriented and helped grow the social media side. She would organize women’s hunting and fishing trips and bring hundreds of women out to fish.”

Married for three years, the couple balances family life with the demanding realities of the charter industry, a schedule that often involves exhausting offshore trips followed by late nights preparing boats for the next morning.

“People see the business and think, ‘You’re so lucky,’ and we are,” McCurry said. “But there are a lot of late nights. She’s putting the kids down while I’m at the marina fixing something or getting a boat ready for the next morning. It’s absolutely a team effort.”

As the business continues to grow, McCurry says he has no interest in becoming the biggest charter company on the coast. Instead, he wants to preserve the personal touch that built the business in the first place.

“We’re happy where we are,” he said. “We want to keep it personal and prideful and not compromise the experience.”

For McCurry, success is not measured by the size of the fleet or the number of bookings on the calendar. It is measured in moments, fathers teaching sons to fish, veterans reconnecting on the water, families spotting dolphins at sunset, and visitors experiencing Charleston from a perspective few truly get to see.

“This is a true Lowcountry adventure,” he said. “And our family looks forward to making new memories with yours.”

Plan Your Adventure

4 Sons Charters offers everything from inshore creek fishing and fly fishing to deep-sea Gulf Stream runs and sunset harbor cruises. Whether you’re a seasoned angler or putting a rod in your kid’s hands for the first time, their captains will tailor the trip to your group. Don’t overlook the after-dark offerings — flounder gigging and frog snatching are about as authentically Lowcountry as it gets.