St Simons Island Fishing Report 2-25-11

Left the ramp at 0 double dark 30 with a half moon hanging high in the southern sky...usually my favorite moon. Wind was howling, and then came the rain. Managed to pick off 6 Reds and back to the hill by 11. At least the boat and equipment got a good rinse. Capt. Tim's fishing forecast says the next 5 days ought to be stellar. Hope the fish get this forecast.

Coastal Georgia Inshore Fishing Report & Forecast

With the Vernal Equinox (SPRING!) less than a month away, we will try to give a quick report and forecast.  Barring any major freezes, water temps should remain above 50 degrees, which bodes well for the forage and bait (shrimp, mullet, mud minnows, etc). 

The Redfish will generally hold their winter patterns and midday lows will still be favorable times to look for these fish.  Stealth will still be very important, as it always is, but especially this time of year when the water is clear, the schools are large and the fish are skittish.  As we move towards the end of March and into April, and bait becomes more prevalent, the popping corks will shine over the oysters on the higher tides.

Sheepshead fishing is prime right now.  Docks, pilings, rip rap, jetties and lay downs on the many bluffs are currently very productive.  If the wind lays down, the nearshore wrecks are also a good bet now through the end of March.  Lack of current helps, as the best way to fish these fish is vertically.  This may mean planning your trips away from the full and new moons, or when fishing these extreme tides, choose the windows around the tide changes, when the flow is less. 

Speckled Trout fishing on St Simons Island, and most of the Georgia coast, has been hit and miss.  I think when you see the ocean temperature reach 60 to 65 degrees, you will see the Trout start to feed.  As we get into spring, the Trout will be seeking areas close to the inlets.  Until the ocean temps pick up, I would concentrate your efforts at low tide in deeper creek bends further away from the ocean…5 to 15 miles away.  It is not uncommon to find the Trout around the I-95 bridges and further west. 

As for our fishing here at Coastal Georgia Inshore Charters, we have been concentrating on Redfish.  The good news is that we have found schools of lower slots, mid slots and overs on a fairly regular basis-- which bids well for the future of this fishery.  Great fishing can be found around St Simons Island and the entire Georgia coast, but patterning these fish is at times challenging.  Look for our next blog that will include prime fishing seasons, days and tides for Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Sheepshead, Tripletail, Whiting, Tarpon and those aggressive, hard-fighting Sharks.

Until next time, you won’t know if you don’t go…

St Simons Island Redfish 2-14-11

After spending three days on the water scouting and fishing areas from the ocean to well west of the I-95 corridor.  I can tell you the fishing has been tough.  I fished with some excellent anglers, including Michelle, Capt. TJ and Justin & Tracy from Douglas, GA on Saturday.  Capt. TJ and I found some stripers on Thursday in terrible weather.  On Friday, Michelle and I threw on hundreds of spooky reds without a look, and scouted several creeks without seeing fish.  Saturday I figured we'd throw some crabs on the spooky fish, and only got one bite--and that fish pulled the hook (no fish Saturday, so Justin and Tracy will receive a free trip in the future).  I feel like I need to report the bad days as well as the good--even guys like me, that spend a lot of time on the water, run into some tough conditions and will come across fish with a case of lock jaw. 

Today was different...finally.  Although it took some looking, I finally found some fish that would eat.  Ended up with 9 Reds and had a couple of good ones pull the hooks.  Had a couple lower slots, couple upper slots and four good overs, up to 26".  Water was gin clear, and all but a couple fish were caught on a white Exude soft plastic jerk bait with a weighted worm hook.  Gulp 3" Shrimp and Gulp New Penny jerk bait caught a couple too.  All fish released.

Had three BIG crazy otters barkin at me and raising straight up out of the water to look at me.  Kinda kooky!  Maybe I was sore mouthin their dinner, I don't know...

Couldn't go home til I found this heart shaped spot tail for my Baby for Valentine's Day.  What are odds?

Random Inshore Saltwater Tips For Catching Redfish, Trout and Flounder

1.    Tube baits have a natural pocket for scent attractants. Take a small piece of cotton with a dab of super glue and put it in the tube first. This piece of cotton will hold the scent attractant longer.  Use these for catching Flounder, Trout, and Redfish.

2.    Use a trailer on your spoon. Usually the tail piece of a curly tailed grub works fine. Some days this little change in the profile and action can make the difference. 

3.    Rig your artificial shrimp backwards for added casting distance. Glass rattles placed in an artificial shrimp can be deadly.

4.    Remove the treble hooks from your top-water plug and go to a single j hook on the back when working grass. You will be amazed how easy it works thru standing grass and still hooks the fish. This is also a good locator bait. If the fish are not connecting, usually a follow up with a gold spoon, spinnerbait or weedless plastic jerk bait will do the trick.

5.    Bass worms work great on Flounder, Redfish and Trout. So do senko type baits. It doesn’t matter if you use them on stand up jigs, shaky heads, Carolina rigged, Texas rigged or just plain weightless or weedless. They aren’t as sexy as some of the saltwater plastics….but they work just as good.

For those of you who prefer live bait here are a few things that work, that I am sure many of you are already doing, but worth mentioning.

1.    Blue Crabs. In my opinion, probably the best Redfish and Black Drum bait there is. We’ve caught Sheepshead, Whiting, Pompano, Tarpon, Cobia, Trout and Sharks on them as well. Starting with live crabs, immediately break and discard the claws. I then remove the back and remaining legs and split the crab down the middle (I now have two baits, or I’ll quarter it if is really big).  The holes created by removing the legs are where I thread my hook. Send it to your spot with a fish finder rig with just enough weight to keep it from moving. If a Redfish is anywhere in the area he will find and eat this bait.

2.    There are a few thoughts on rigging live shrimp, and I use a couple of methods. One of my favorite ways is to simply pinch the tail off and thread a light jig head into the shrimp. I put the point of the hook right into the last joint where I removed the tail and thread it up as far as it will go. I can cast this around structure or just sit it in the rod holder. Pinching off the tail disperses a little more scent.

3.    I like mullet heads. Not the haircut, but the actual head of a mullet. Now if I am catching that perfect 3-4 inch mullet, I usually fish him live and whole. But I have had more success on cut mullet. Especially the head. This is a good option during the year when the small mullet are hard to find. All of the cut mullet pieces work, but usually the head performs best.

4.    It’s worth mentioning that cut lady fish works quite well. It’s not a fish you can rely on catching, but if you do it’s worth throwing in the cooler if the fishing gets tough. That is the go to bait for a buddy of mine, who targets Tarpon.

5.    Finally, for an all around lively bait that just about every fish will readily eat and a rig that is user friendly: a mud minnow on a jig head. When times are tough, this is a great locator bait. You can throw it fairly easy, he stays on the hook, and you just about have to shoot him to kill him (depending on your area, these minnows may be called bull minnows, pollywogs, wogs, killifish, tiger minnows and a host of other names.)

6.    Some of the old timers that use only live or cut bait have made the switch to circle hooks.  These guys are swearing that their hook up ratio is much better.  One thing to remember is that when the fish pulls your line; do NOT set the hook, just reel.