May 18, 2010

By | May 18, 2010

Fishing last week was up and down! The bite went from poor to hot depending on who you were talking to you or what your experience was.

The whiting bite was fair to poor for those fishing in Wassaw sound. While those fishing near Tybee fishermen did very well. One fisherman said every time he would cast out he would get a fish. Many of the whiting are in the nine inch range but there are lots of bigger ones. Some scattered seatrout action. The best reports on seatrout were from fishermen fishing on or close to the beach front. Some nice reds caught last week on the flats pitching jerk worms. Fishermen reported were seeing fish that just would not eat. Fishermen have all sorts of theories why fish wont eat. Some say redfish will bite every other day. These theories are nice and neat. Who knows? Part of the problem of reluctant fish could be too much bait. On the other hand, lots of bait can and will likely pull in lots of fish! Sometime when bait seems like it is everywhere soft plastics will loose some of their effectiveness. When fishing a plastic I’ll try to select a pattern that matches the bait. The most consistent bite last week was the flounder bite. Water temperature presently is around 78 degrees. Capt. Wild Bill of Yellow Bluff, says when water temperature around 80 degree conditions are close to ideal for flounder. Right now conditions are favorable for flounders. Flounder seem to bite best on small tides. The tides this week are under 7 foot. Should be good conditions to catch a few flounders! Stag bass can still be found along the sand bars. Although as temperatures continue to warm stag bass will move out and sharks will move in. As of today the sharks are present however they haven’t completely taken over.

Fishermen fishing the shipping channel, offshore and near wrecks as well the Broad River are doing well on cobia! Windy days and rough conditions have limited the opportunities to fish for cobia. Adams Bait Shop is carrying live eels. Menhaden, another great cobia bait are plentiful the local rivers. Although the menhaden that are popping are small ones.

Tides will building throughout the week but still look good range for fishing! Best action this week will likely be close to beach for spanish mackerel, blue fish and seatrout ! Redfish action should be ok on the flats but as heat builds look for reds in deeper water. While a tarpon has been sighted in local waters, still a early for tarpon fishing. Those wishing to fish along the outer sand bars can likely catch some stag bass! Fishermen who want shrimp for fishing should call their favorite bait shop. Most shops have not been carrying shrimp. Adams Bait Shop specializes in live shrimp is reporting (the seasonal migration is underway) white shrimp are moving out of local waters and it will likely be a couple of weeks before brown shrimp start arriving. Michael from Adams Bait Shop said they should be receiving a load of shrimp from Florida on Thursday.

Hope this of interest and help! Keep only what you want to eat and release the rest!

Fish On! Capt. Jack McGowan