Fishing for the past week has been spotty. Some redfish, a few seatrout and stripers being caught. The high light is the size of some the stripers. Last week a young angler Tyler boated a 31 pound striper on live shrimp! We had some action on jigs. Most of the action has been in the front river. As temperatures continue warm stripers will move up river and seatrout and redfish bite should heat up! Last week most of the action was with redfish. There are fish being caught in the Savannah River and in the sounds but the bite has not hot. As bait moves into local rivers and creeks the bite should be heating up!
Adams Baitshop (912-898-1550) is open. Adams has plenty of live shrimp. A mild winter has meant that plenty of shrimp are available. The only obvious immediate down side to a mild winter is there are lots of no see ’em once the breeze stops. Make sure you have plenty of bug spray for all of outings near the water. No reports in Savannah of whiting along the sandbars but one sound below us there have already been reports of whiting catches. Locally cold water sharks are along the sand bars. This should change rapidly. Water temperature is already in the mid to upper 50’s and rising!
Sheepshead action has hot on the near wrecks. Usually boats posting large numbers are that taking big, small ones and everything in bewteen. Most fishermen are releasing small fish as well as the large ones, keeping a few mid sized fish. Not maximizing your catch is probably a smart since offshore sheepshead are the reproducers. Miss Judy had several great tips on catching sheepshead at her seminar. Next year mark your calendar this is a fun information packed event you’ll want to attend! When planning to sheepshead fish pick a day when its not too rough. Preferably one to two seas. Work the structure. If you’re catching fish try tightening your anchor or looking for new structure. This is great winter time, early spring fishery where you can get lots of bites.
Tides look ideal for sheepshead or redfish for the coming week. The seatrout bite should knick in local creeks. Around St. Patrick’s day large seatrout are on the move looking for an easy meal. Slow fishing is effective during slow moving water. Try live lining a bait using light monofilament or a light fluorocarbon leader. My friend outdoor writer Bill Jarrell says match your hook size to the bait you’re using not to the fish. (A small needs a small hook) Make sense but not many people think about hook size and bait.
For fishermen new to coastal fishing or desiring to sharpen their skills learning trips are offered!
Hope this report is of help! Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan