Captain
Jim Branthoover

Member since July 2017 Murrells Inlet, United States
Background
My love for fishing started when I was young boy fishing in Pennsylvania with my father. We fished in the streams for Trout, and the rivers for Catfish, Bass, and Walleye. I moved to Upstate New York, where I fell in love with the big waters of the Great Lakes, the Salmon run, and the Pike and Lake Trout fishing. Over the years, I made my way, with my family, to the coast of South Carolina. Immediately I was Intrigued by the mysteries of the deep ocean, the beautiful pelagic fish, and the tasty reef fish. I spent many days fishing and many days on the local waters with my son, as he caught bait for the local shops, eventually deciding that I wanted to be able to help others experience the joy and excitement that can only come from offshore fishing.
Techniques
When bottom fishing we choose to use spinning reels, equipped with heavy, and X-heavy rods, lined with braid for maximum strength and sensitivity. We decided to use spinning reels for the convenience of those on board, as many people are familiar with them. Often times we do use conventional reels while bottom fishing when targeting sharks and grouper. Conventional reels are also our choice for trolling, balloon fishing, or free lining live bait. All of which we hope you are more then willing to learn to use if you are not familiar with them.

Hey, I'm Captain Jim Branthoover

Murrells Inlet, United States
Background
My love for fishing started when I was young boy fishing in Pennsylvania with my father. We fished in the streams for Trout, and the rivers for Catfish, Bass, and Walleye. I moved to Upstate New York, where I fell in love with the big waters of the Great Lakes, the Salmon run, and the Pike and Lake Trout fishing. Over the years, I made my way, with my family, to the coast of South Carolina. Immediately I was Intrigued by the mysteries of the deep ocean, the beautiful pelagic fish, and the tasty reef fish. I spent many days fishing and many days on the local waters with my son, as he caught bait for the local shops, eventually deciding that I wanted to be able to help others experience the joy and excitement that can only come from offshore fishing.
Techniques
When bottom fishing we choose to use spinning reels, equipped with heavy, and X-heavy rods, lined with braid for maximum strength and sensitivity. We decided to use spinning reels for the convenience of those on board, as many people are familiar with them. Often times we do use conventional reels while bottom fishing when targeting sharks and grouper. Conventional reels are also our choice for trolling, balloon fishing, or free lining live bait. All of which we hope you are more then willing to learn to use if you are not familiar with them.
Verified

My Charter Listing

Excellent
4.9 / 5
(109 reviews)
Murrells Inlet
 Instant Confirmation
Trips from US $900

Customer reviews

Rating summary
Excellent
4.9 / 5
out of 5 stars from 109 reviews
Boat
Excellent
4.8 / 5
Crew
Excellent
4.9 / 5
Experience
Excellent
4.8 / 5
Photos & videos by reviewers (186)
7-hr bottom fishing
Fishing with Jim
Fishing with Jim
+183
Angler rating
97
6
4
0
0
Anglers claimed
Good experience
96%
Friendly captain
100%
Recommend this charter
94%
Appropriate for children
85%
Satisfied with the boat
100%
Caught fish
89%
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Featured  
Showing:
5 of 109 reviews
Thomas V.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Fishing with Jim

VERIFIED   10 Hour Trip – Deep Bottom on July 14, 2024
The captain seemed like a good guy and fisherman. It was just me and three young kids for an offshore trip. The captain was...
Thomas V. recommends Wicked Hooker Charters
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Trey H.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

7-hr bottom fishing

VERIFIED   7 Hour Trip on August 31, 2024
Captain Jim put us right on the fish everywhere we went. We had a great day fishing and caught strawberry grouper, vermilion...
Trey H. recommends Wicked Hooker Charters
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Preston J.
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

Always a great time!

VERIFIED   6 Hour Trip on July 9, 2024
Captain Jim is always great! Knowledgeable on where to catch fish! Slow start, but found a great place to fish over a ship...
Preston J. recommends Wicked Hooker Charters
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Jarrett W.
Pawleys Island, South Carolina
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Experience:
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

7hr trip - Amazing!!!

VERIFIED   7 Hour Trip on May 5, 2023
What a great experience all-around. Wicked Hooker will be our go-to for deep sea fishing in the future. Captain Jim is awesome...
Jarrett W. recommends Wicked Hooker Charters
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James M. M.
Prosperity, SC
Excellent
4.7 / 5
Experience:
Very good
4.0 / 5
Boat
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Crew
Excellent
5.0 / 5
Overall

7 hour off shore trip

VERIFIED   7 Hour Trip on August 3, 2022
we had a very nice trip. We were looking for some harder fighting fish so even though the seas were less than desirable, captain...
James M. M. recommends Wicked Hooker Charters
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