The seasons are rapidly changing around Savannah. Less than the top third of the marsh is still brown. A vibrant green color is covering most of the salt marsh. Likewise the bite is rapidly changing as well. A week ago fishermen were catching lots of sheepshead on the near shore wrecks. This week those fishing the near shore wrecks were getting their hooks cleaned by small sea bass and spot tails. Looks like the offshore sheepshead has changed. On the other as king mackerel and cobia are showing on the offshore wrecks! One fishermen was cleaning a nice 20 pound cobia and said there were plenty of kings around! There are keeper sized bluefish and spanish mackerel on the beachfront as well! Large bull whiting (14 inch) can be found close to the sounds.
This week there were a couple reports of juvenile redfish being caught. A sign for some good early fall fishing! One fisherman said he released over 24 small redfish another said he released over 50! On most years juvenile reds start appearing in June. To see redfish this early looks promising! A few catches of seatrout being reported. This is another good sign after a long cold winter. Some seatrout being caught is good news! A few large roe trout popping up as well! A few anglers are keeping these fish but most fishermen are releasing these fish with the hope that releasing the larger ones will boost overall seatrout numbers. The CCA Coastal Conservation Association and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are spear heading this effort. Releasing one large seatrout could potentially means thousands of fish!
A few flounder being caught! Again seems a little early but great to see them! Adams Bait House has been able to keep a supply of shrimp on hand. The shrimp are large white shrimp. We caught some dandy redfish this week on some these shrimp as well one five pound seatrout (which was released). Small pogies, menhaden, are showing in the rivers. This is a great bait! There are also tons of glass minnows showing up! Glass minnows are not a practical for use as a bait but as a they their presence can mean redfish and seatrout!
This week on the days when the currents were gentle some fishermen caught some nice black drum! During the Spring its not unusual to find black drum in creeks close to the sounds. Black drum like places out of the current, marshy banks and wood. A few fishermen described fishing this week as good most fishermen struggled. Nonetheless there were plenty of fish caught and some did very well! Bonnet head sharks have definitely rolled into the sounds.
Capt. John Hannon, manager of West Marine Savannah store recommends a bait called Calcutta flashfoil. The two pattern Capt. John recommends are the mullet and redfish. These are 3 inch minnow type baits with a paddle tail, ½ ounce weight. Seems a little heavy but advantage is that you can make a long cast. I am sure the mullet pattern will catch seatrout and redfish pattern will be very effective on the reds! Paddle tail baits are proven in these waters as well as the flash. These baits are a winner! Its good to see guys like John running a store who actually love to fish!
Tides look good all week! Could be lots of good fishing opportunities!
Hope this of interest and help!
Fish On!
Capt. Jack McGowan