Fished yesterday with Capt. Wild Bill Jarrell from Yellow Bluff. We fished around St. Catherine’s. Fishing was excellent! Seatrout bite consistently throughout the day. Shrimp was the bait of choice but bunches were landed on artificials as well! The bite around Savannah has been up and down. Several reports of lots of big seatrout and redfish around Thunderbolt and Cabbage Island. Some fishermen had no problem finding and catching fish over the Thanksgiving weekend while many struggled. The bite has definitely changed. Those fishing live shrimp found the bite soft and slow. Those who fished artificials found an aggressive reactionary bite. The bite was streaky. For a while the bite was hot then a slow down followed by a fish here or there. For the most part the bite has been mostly around the sounds.
A few winter patterns that can be productive. Fish mud flats provided the water is clean enough for fish to find your bait. In dirty water try fishing a chuck of dead bait. Deep holes can hold seatrout and redfish. A favorite tide to try fishing a hole is on low tide. Last but not least seatrout have been known to hold back in the grass when the water cold (the low 50’s is cold). Try fishing flooded grass much as you do for redfish. Anticipate seatrout to be holding in thin grass out of the current on the edges. Perhaps cold moving water for seatrout is much like wind chill for us. Not sure why it works but in cold conditions seatrout can be found in thin grass edges. Another winter trick is try plan your fishing during the warmest part of the day. Not only will fishing be more pleasurable but as conditions warm up this is likely when fish will bite the best. Some good reports of sheepshead action both inshore and offshore. Good numbers of sheepshead. Lots just under size with several larger fish. Whiting are still being caught but as late the numbers have not been large. Striper action is heat up!
Tides are relatively small this week with tides less than 7 on the high and around 1 foot on low water. These tides should give those pitching plastics plenty of opportunity to search for reds. Small tides are also favorable tides for those targeting sheepshead as well targeting stripers. Smaller tides should allow for good opportunities for sheepshead, redfish and stripers. If live bait isn’t producing, try pitching an artificial and look for reactionary bites rather than “hungry fish”. When fishing in cold conditions expect lots of bites to soft and slow. Adjust hook set accordingly. Slow your hook set to match the bite.
Black drum can still be found in good numbers. Black drum often can be found around wood. If fishing is slow try fishing fallen try tress or dock pilings for black drum and sheepshead you might be surprised what you hook into!
Hope this of help! Good Fishing! Fish On!
Capt. Jack McGowan