Coastal River Charters – Inshore Fishing Report

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May 28, 2008

Fishing has been for the most part good! When tides have been small, the current has been slow likewise the bite was slow. For the most part the best seatrout bite has toward high water close to the sounds. Shrimp are still scare. Some bait shops are carrying Florida shrimp: Ray's at the beach and Adam's Baitshop in Thunderbolt. The down side to Florida is they are small. The upside is you have bait, it's hardy and will catch fish. Peanut size menhaden can be seen in thick schools. Having a cast net is a good idea! Small menhaden are another very good bait for seatrout. When fishing a small bait downsize your hooks from a 1/0 or 2/0 to a # 2 or even smaller size. This is also a good time to fish a bleeding bait (red) hooks. Seatrout action can be very good when fishermen "find the fish". Even when fishing a hot spot timing is everything. Usually a drop will produce for a certain time. Then the bite will slow. Good flounder action in the creeks off the intra coastal waterway on bait and plastics. Mud minnows and finger mullet are great bait for flounders. Flounders will readily eat cut bait such as a chunk of blue fish as well. Typically flounder, black drum and sheepshead bite best on days with small tides. Look for flounder during the lower stages of the tide. Some small brown shrimp in the head of creeks. When throwing cast net in the creeks expect to pick up a lot of mud and trash. Fishermen can cast for shrimp but at present they aren't plentiful. Usually by the 1st. of June small brown shrimp are plentiful enough for bait shrimpers to make drags.

For those wanting their lines tightened this is excellent time to play with some sharks. Lots of atlantic sharp nose sharks in local waters. Some black tips and bonnet heads present. Male sharp nose sharks are thick.

As May wraps up tide are on the increase. As tides build the bite will build till it reaches a diminishing point. Often fishermen arbitrarily pick a number as the diminishing point. For some fisherman 8 feet is the magic number for others 8.1 or 8.2 or 8.3 or some other number. You can catch fish on tides over 8 feet. We have had outstanding days on tides in the 9 foot range. In general on high tides look for clean water and places with gentler currents.

Hope this of help for the coming week! Practice catch and release!

Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

May 20, 2008

The bite has been good! As Spring tides abated the bite has picked up. The flounder bite is picking up! Generally Memorial day can be thought of as the time when flounder fishing starts. These fish can be caught on mud minnows, shrimp, finger mullet as well plastics and cut bait. The whiting bite is still very good. Lots of sharks in local waters: black tips, atlantic sharp nose, bonnet heads are providing most of the action. Small blue fish and lady fish are also present. Sea trout during the summer are usually around the front side of the barrier islands. Redfish can be found in areas with favorable conditions. As temperature rises look for redfish holding around docks, in deeper water and where bait is present.

Shrimp will be in short supply for the next few weeks. A few bait shops are importing shrimp from Florida: Yellow Bluff Marina and the Tybee Island Baitshop to name two. Adams baitshop is finding some local white shrimp. These shrimp are large and generally more difficult to keep alive. Nonetheless, large shrimp will catch fish. Artificial shrimp can work well under a popping float. Mud minnows are also a good alternative to shrimp. Brown shrimp will start showing up in a few weeks. Until then anticipate bait to be problematic. Bo Bowen owner of Bandy's is recovering from lung surgery. Bo's wife Liz has been running the shop. Keep Bo and Liz in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult period.

Fishermen and boaters should check all safety equipment making sure all items are present, in good working, and up to date. A check list of Georgia and federal requirements can be found at most tackle or marine supply stores. Reading the regulations on boating and safety equipment could spare a ticket and perhaps prevent a worst situation. In short the regulations are for the benefit of all who use the resource. One common infraction is calling up porpoises by slapping the hull of your boat. This activity that can put porpoises closer to humans than intended. Reading the regulations and finding what's legal and be beneficial.

Tides for the remainder of the month look good. Tides will be springing as we head into June. Spring tides are higher tides than normal. As a general statement tides increasing in size over 8 feet become more difficult to fish. Generally tides in the 9 foot range are thought as spring tides. Wind and strong tide can make fishing difficult. When conditions become rough fish lee shores and try to fish spots with wind and tide working together. Tides for the next couple of weeks look good!

Hope this of help! Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

May 1, 2008

Fishing has been good! The pattern has been a little fall like in that some fishermen are finding lots of fish while others are struggling. Last week on a couple of occasions the bite was more of a bump than a bite. These light biting fish are usually large roe trout that haven’t move to beach front. The bite has been very good to very slow. The big factor isn’t finding bait and clean water. It’s simply finding the fish. Sea trout are in the sounds and on the inside. The bite is the sound in more traditional bite with sea trout slamming the bait! On the inside the bite has been soft and slow. Slow soft can mean big trout. Large roe are impressive to catch but better yet to catch and release! If the trout fishing thus far is an indicator of the fishing ahead we should have very good year. Sea trout action is taking center stage. Nice redfish can still be found on the flats. Although as things heat up anticipate more shark and toothy fish to appear.

A couple of reports of early season tarpon from Capt. Ray Crawely and Capt. Rick Reynolds. Both have either seen or hooked a tarpon. Large schools of ocean pogies have not shown up. Smaller river pogies can be found. Mullet in the Savannah River as well as in the sounds. The whiting bite has been very good to excellent. We caught a whiting the other day on a new penny jerk worm that was 14 inches. Thinking this was a redfish I put it the live well with another redfish to get a fin clipping for the DNR a little later in the day. To my chagrin one of our reds was a whiting. It was a large whiting! Lots of good reports of nice whiting catches.

Don Adams is finding shrimp. His shrimp are large white shrimp that over wintered (survived the winter). These shrimp look more appropriate for eating but will do fine in catching fish. Trash fish are present. When you get a bite look at what’s missing from you shrimp. This will give a good clue what kind of fish you’re dealing with. Light bite could be a sheepshead, black drum or even a large roe trout. When bits and pieces are taken from the shrimp you’re probably dealing with a bait stealer or as Miss Judy says a “fetish fish”. These are simply small fish that specialize in stealing your bait.

As we head into the first weekend in May we’re heading into Spring tides. The tides are getting progressively larger. Tides will be in the difficult range starting Saturday May 3 through Saturday May 10. This isn’t to say you can’t find fish. In general during for most fishermen the best time to fish on Spring tides is at the top or bottom of the tide. That being said quoting my uncle when is the best time to fish, it’s when you have the time. Hope this of help!

Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan 912.441.9930

Apr 25, 2008

One recent comment from a fisherman was this is typical Spring weather, eighty degrees one day, chilly and rainy the next, followed by fog Fishing despite changeable weather fishing has been pretty good. Nice sea trout in sounds, in the rivers and up river as well. Those finding fish have gone through lots of shrimp. Catches of ten or twelve fish have been typical. As tides began to Spring the bite has fallen off. Larry from Larry's Bait Shop in Port Wentworth has said there's plenty of bait up river. What this means is that local shrimp survived the winter. An abundance of bait means of course means bait for the fishermen and more importantly it's likely these fish will reproduce. All good things for a fisherman. Redfish action is primarily in the sounds. While shrimp is available not all creeks are holding bait. Areas with little bait mean few fish. Nature will fill in. In the mean time anticipate the fish to be where the bait is. Finger mullet being knocked out of water is a great sign of predator fish. Even if an area looks void of bait you might be surprised what's there. Once you in an area even the conditions look less great and there are no visible signs of bait. Slowing down and fishing the area could produce some nice fish. The key is just keep your bait or plastic in the water. If you get one good bite there's likely more.

The guys catching large numbers of fish are fishing shrimp. Those catching larger trout are often using bait fish or plastics that mimics a bait fish. This isn't to say a large trout wont readily take a shrimp, they will.

Whiting are coming in. In some places whiting have been large over twelve inches and thick. Recently Capt. Roger Straight had a bag full of whiting. We caught a nice bunch as well fishing close to beach on an incoming tide. We were anchored on the front side fishing a wind driven slick. When the slick would move and we were out of the slick the bite would slow down or stop. Letting more anchor rope enabled us to stay in the slick. Thank goodness for a heavy anchor a long anchor line. The whiting bite has been good. Small croaker can be a nuisance. If all you're catching are small croakers you better move. Shark action is heating up. Bonnet head and sharp nose sharks are moving into local waters. So far most of the sharpnose sharks have been males. Anticipate shark action to heat as water temperature raise. A few days we saw large bull sharks coming all the way out of water. It's not unusual to see a large ray or dolphin going airborne but seeing what look like bull sharks going airborne is pretty wild!

Another sign of Spring is look for birds feeding on bait fish. This can be an indicator for a good seatrout or redfish bite. The birds are likely feeding on glass minnows. We found seatrout in close and other toothy fish further out. This bite did not last long. As quick as we on it the dolphin found it as well. We did get several hook up and got only one trout to the boat before we were busted. Big tides, spring tides can literally pull bait and fish into the sounds when this happens dolphin can become much more aggressive in their search for food.

As tides and abate anticipate the bite to pick back up. In the mean time fish lee shores when the wind is up and look for drift (current) that isnt' too fast (about a walking pace).

Hope this of help. Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Mar 24, 2008

Typically as Spring approaches the weather can be mercurial. Last week fit the pattern: changeable weather with windy conditions. On one of the windiest days we still caught some nice seatrout pitching plastics (chartreuse or new penny Bass Assassins sea shads and Exude jerk baits). Pitching plastics was effective because the drift, flow of water was poor. Pitching enable fishermen to cover water and find fish. When the winds abated redfish could be found in the sounds. Lots of redfish already in the 14 to 16 inch range. Some flats are holding large numbers of fish about 27 inches. Reds are taking wide variety of artificial and natural baits. At present shrimp are available if not plentiful. It has been said that last winter was relatively mild and there are plenty of shrimp that over wintered, that survived the winter and that local shrimp are available at some bait shops. This time of year the availability shrimp is always problematic so giving your local bait shop a call is a good idea.

During windy days look for clean water and lee shores. If the drift is poor switch to pitching or trolling. On days when the wind is laying the sounds can be productive. An ideal spot is one where there is a good drift, clean water and bait is present. The strongest catches of seatrout have been south of Savannah fishing bait. Fishing will pick up as water temperature raises. Fishermen targeting sheepshead have done well both inshore and near shore. Whiting bite is picking up and should heat up in the coming weeks. Seems early but few flounders have already been landed.

Tides for the coming week are small from 6.6 to 5.6 feet. Small tides are ideal for redfish and sheepshead. Smaller tides give fishermen a longer window to target sheepshead as well as finding fish further off the structure and possibly easier to catch. Small tides also mean fishermen can stay up the flats longer allowing for more time with the fish. Small tides can mean poor drifts so when targeting seatrout fish spots that are prone to more current. Top of tide fish points. One definition of fishing is covering water. Pitching or trolling plastics will enable fishermen to cover a lot water when the drift is slow. Once you locate fish stay in that area.

Hope this of help! Remember to practice catch and release! Good fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Feb 27, 2008

February is quickly coming to a close that means longer warmer days and hotter fishing! Fishing has been pretty good for this time of the year. Good schools of redfish on the flats. These fish can very spooky. The best days to target these fish are when there is little wind, some current and a little overcast. Don't wait for the perfect day there is no such thing. My uncle would say go when you can and make the best of what nature provides. Most of the fish in Warsaw this week were very gold in color likely fish that moved from a brackish environment to a salty one. Heavy rain can cause fish to move. Despite new fish on the flats they are extremely wary. Once these fish have been caught one or twice they are educated and less likely to keep falling for the same tricks. Noise is another factor. Simply motoring up on a flat this time will likely spook any fish that were holding. Winter time reds can be caught use a little more stealth as well as lighter tackle. If a fishermen isn't sure how to fish a flat simply sit and watch. What you want to notice is how fast or slow other fishermen are fishing and of course are they hooking up. During the winter you want to give fellow fishermen so much room its silly'. When in doubt whether you're too close to another fisherman err on the side of giving too much room. You can try your luck at that spot another day. Anticipate slower fishing with fewer hook up but some quality hook ups. Last week the bites for seatrout and redfish were soft. There were exceptions but in cold water fishermen need to slow their hook sets. Capt. Ray Crawely told me to slow it down on my hook set. On one fish I was convinced I had the fish and missed. Two things going on here: First an early hook set means you're either going to get him or you wont. Second, when you wait on hook set even with plastics there is a good chance the fish will swallow the lure, hook or jig down to his crunchers. Not good. The fish will have a pretty good chance of surviving by simply cutting the line as close to its' mouth as possible. Lastly while still on my soap box use your fish gripper just to steady the fish not to lift him. Lifting with a fish puts lots of pressure on the fish's internals and possibly can kill the fish. All this being said there are reds on the flats that can offer fun and excitement for those who enjoy stealthy fishing. Nature is always changing. This is the pattern is what's going on now in a few days the pattern will likely change again.

Good catches of sea bass, sheepshead and cold water sharks on near shore wrecks and structure. Its 'all about location. If you're not catching fish keep moving and looking. Lots small sea bass close in with some keepers. Bigger ones seem to be further out. The sheepshead bite has been good both offshore and inshore. Capt. Wild Bill and I fish yesterday in his waters landing 29 the number could have larger had Bill wanted to catch more. Lots of fish barely legal to under sized with some nice as well. Definitely great action! Capt. Wild Bill did a great job!

Striper bite appears to have stalled. Some of the guys that have been pretty consistent pulling deep running lures have come up empty. Stripers action will likely pick up as water in the Savannah River get cleans up. Just nature, the water upriver has been pretty dirty. Some seatrout or reds being caught on the top or bottom of the tide.

Seems early but reports of some whiting and blacktip sharks on the sandbars. Around mid March look for stag bass to start roaming the beach fronts. At great bait if mullet are scarce is cut whiting. Fishing has been good this winter. Looks like a good Spring ahead! Want to mention when fishing Capt. Wild Bill we encounter a bunch or yellow tails (bait steelers) already. A couple of good catches of seatrout the beach. As front push through fishing should pick up as conditions clean up.

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Feb 18, 2008

Winter is quickly slipping by. Some good reports of redfish in Warsaw. Most of the catches were ten fish or less. Winter can be a tricky time to fish. Days when the water just appears to raise and fall can be difficult to fish. Little current means fish aren’t as likely to move and cold water means fish aren't as eager to feed. Noise on days with little current can be another big factor. Seek spots where there is more current such as creeks, creek mouths and heads. Where you find current a food chain is possible.

This week we've caught some nice seatrout and redfish. Most of the were on Glups (only caught a few on bait - mud minnows and shrimp). Glups aren't the only plastic that will catch fish but this week we leaned on them. My suggestion is fish a couple of different plastic as well as a Glup. Switch to Glup if it is out performing the other. One day we did well on Glups. The following day we pitched a Booyah Boogee Bait, Bass Assassin jerk worms and Glups. All caught fish. Nonetheless, it's hard to get away from a Glup when you're thinking the bites might be few. The Booyah Bait is large mouth bass bait and should be excellent for stripers, redfish and trout. The bait pushes a lot water can be slow or fast, white color, good wide gap hook. Very good all purpose bait.

Not a lot of reports. Most of the fishing has been those targeting sheepshead on near shore wrecks as well as by inshore fishermen. Tides the last few days were good for those targeting sheepshead. The inshore catches have been respectable but most of the fish are small with a few bigger ones thrown in..

As weather warmed caught some large seatrout on plastic fishing the heads of creeks. The bite wasn't fantastic but have had several in the three pound range. For the most part the bites weren't aggressive rather a small bump or bumps. A fast hook set will likely mean you'll miss a fish. As temperature continue to raise anticipate a faster harder bite.

This time of porpoises can be problem. If after an hour or so on a favorite mud flat you detect no life you might as well take your chance and look elsewhere. It's likely porpoises have already worked over the flat you're trying to fish. Just because a flat looks beautiful doesn't mean it's holding fish. Fish move. It's not uncommon in the winter to have incredible bite one day and nothing the next. Winter fish can be very spooky and will tolerate only so much pressure from fishermen or porpoises. During the winter keep your eye pealed for any sign of bait. Popping finger mullet can give away seatrout or redfish. Fishing during the winter is a little tricky. On the other hand you'll likely have the river all to yourself and never know you could have a great day that could rival fishing at anytime of the year!

Larry of Larry's bait shop (912.272.7339) in Port Wenworth is now carrying fiddler crabs. Larry's is the only local shop with shrimp and one of the few shops open. Nonetheless it's still winter. Call ahead to make sure he still has bait. This is a difficult time to find bait and stay stocked. He's done a great doing what he's done. Local fishermen need to show their support. Shrimping is a tough business. Winter is a particularly tough time of year to be on the water.

Hope several of you who are reading this report were at Miss Judy's Inshore seminar on Saturday Feb.16th. and plan on attending next year! Fun day with lots of story told!

Hope this of help! Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Jan 11, 2008

Received a call today from Larry, Larry's Bait & Tackle. Larry says he has shrimp and will likely have shrimp throughout the winter! Larry's phone is 912.272.7339. Larry's shop is located in Port Wentworth close to the Houlihan Bridge. Most bait shops in the Savannah area close during the winter. Bandy's located off of Diamond Causeway and Larry’s Bait & Tackle are two shops fishermen that are open for winter business..

Redfish action in Salt Pond has been consistent. Fishermen are averaging six or seven redfish per boat per outing. The numbers while not high have been consistent. Redfish are an excellent fish to release and catch. A seemingly large school can fish down by a relatively small number of boats in little time. Lots of small seatrout in the sounds. These small trout will grow quickly and should be a good sign for the coming year!

The unusual catch this week were large whiting in one of local creeks. The report was as fast as the rig would hit the bottom a large whiting would be on it. Whiting fishing isn't just during the fall and spring good whiting catches can happen during the winter!

Winter time is good time of the year to target deep holes in creeks at low water. It possible to see some spectacular winter fishing by working the holes. One favorite technique is pitching jigs or jerk worms. When your'e on the fish you'll know it! Fishing the flats is another favorite winter time pattern. These flats soak up heat when exposed during low water and releases heat energy as water flood over the flats. Bait and fish are attracted to these warmer spots. Flats can be red hot one day and cold the next. Keep in mind fish move. Generally a prime time for fishing the flats is from about hour and half into the incoming till an hour an half before high tide. The shallower draft of your boat the sooner you can get on the flat. Some boats require just a few inches. Think light when fishing the flats during winter. DOA shrimp are good choice. Down sizing your jigs to 1/8 oz. is likely a good move. When the water is still, not much current moving, and very clear fishing lighter can make a big difference!

Striper action appears to be slowing. One fisherman who has consistently been catching stripers caught just one after a full day of pulling lures. Striper fishing is little mercurial. Big catches followed by little or nothing. When this fish moves into local waters they make their present known. When they are scare fishing is tough. Should be some good striper ahead. Those fishing around the Houlinhan Bridge generally seem to do better on smaller tides with less current.

Winter is a great time of the year to be thinking sheepshead! The inshore catches are usually smaller fish and smaller numbers than what's caught on the wrecks. Nonetheless fishing dock and bridge pilings, rocks and fallen trees on the inside can be very productive.

Hope this of help! Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

HOPE TO YOU AT MISS JUDY'S INSHORE SEMINAR AT TUBBY’S. SATURDAY JAN.19TH! Give Miss Judy a call for details 912-897-2478..

Dec. 8, 2007

Fishing has been wide open until big tides started on Thanksgiving. Tides remained over 8 feet until Thursday November 29th. As tides abate and winds subside the bite pick up. It is possible to catch fish in the wind and on big tides. It is just much more difficult. Large tides literally pulls shrimp and bait fish into sounds. Cast netters who were having little problem catching bait found catching bait much more difficult. Mild weather and good tides can trigger a bite. There have good reports of sheepshead caught at the jetties. Seatrout, redfish and black drum can be caught be on good numbers particularly when using live shrimp. A few flounder being caught on average one or two in a day of fishing.

There are lots of tournaments most if not all benefit excellence causes. I wont try to recap all the local tournaments. In brief Capt. Matt Starling's boat took top honors in the Savannah leg of the Redbone Tournament (a pro/celebrity tournament benefitting cystic fibrosis). Capt. Allen Collins' boat took the runner up position. Capt. Brian Woelber's boat won the honors for most seatrout and your truly captained the boat for most redfish. Brad Goodman caught 18 reds the first day on plastics. Great effort by all involved! Most, if not all, tournament are for a "good cause". The purpose of this tournament is to benefit those suffering with cystic fibrosis. All fish caught in this tournament are measured and released. With increased fishing pressure not only from tournaments, charters and recreational fishing practicing catch and release can and will have a positive impact on our fishery. That said keeping some fish no problem. In general going light redfish is only smart. It take this fish four to five years to reach sexual maturity.

December has already yielded some good fishing! The weather for the most part has been mild. When not fighting wind fishing has been good to excellence! Seatrout are mercurial here today and gone tomorrow. There has been good action towards the sounds of large trout that appear to be in the early stages of spawning. Not all water is holding fish. Just like the earlier fall pattern if you not catching its time to move. Redfish and seatrout are on or near the flats and in the back waters. Shrimp are available but its that time of year when bait can become scare. Typically Don Admas will close his doors around New Year's. Bo at Bandys will likely continue selling shrimp and mud minnows as long as customers and bait are available. So far conditions have been mild and bait shrimpers are finding bait. This is an excellence time of the year to pitch or troll plastics. Shrimp is a great bait nonetheless you can catch plenty of fish on plastic!

Capt. Kent Bird of Hilton Head reports this has been a banner for stag bass and seatrout with big catches on both . Cooler water means an absence of sharks and a greater likelihood of stags running the inlets. As shark activity wanes stags show up! Capt. Kent reports having a great year!

Cooler water means bait is likely deep. Water temperature is in the upper fifties. With very clear water mud bottoms will soak up radiant energy from the sun and release heat during the day. Watching several hundred mud minnow practically on the bottom I did not think much of this until receiving a call from Stanley Devegter. Stanley said he was unable to catch a fish until he put his bait on the bottom. Makes sense if the bait is on the bottom that's where the fish want to go. Basically Stanley adjusted to pattern in nature. If the bait is close to the bottom, fish close to the bottom. As the day heat up and a drift picks up a conventional float rig will work fine but don't overlook the lowly carolina or bottom rig.

Hope this of help!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Nov 7, 2007

Fishing has been good, real good! That said "it's still fishing". A drop that was red hot one day can be ice cold the next. When the drop you're fishing isn't producing there is likely a reason : dirty water, poor or no drift, or too much current. Little changes can produce big results. Look for clean water and a nice drift, not too fast not too slow. Sometimes moving your boat a short distance can produce big results. The sea trout has been excellent with lots of fish in the 14 to 16 inch range some fish are bigger some are smaller. Live bait (shrimp) has been difficult to come by. Don Adams, Adams Bait House, attributes the difficulty in finding shrimp due to the heavy rain we had a few ago. Bo, Bandy's, has been finding shrimp a little further south but as of writing Bo's boat is down. Joey's at Hogan's Marina has been inconsistent in finding shrimp. Don Adams found shrimp today south of Savannah. Don's brother Jimmy said its been awhile since we've had this many shrimp. Definitely good news for those fishing bait! Last Saturday when presented the option no live shrimp we fished some plastics and mostly dead shrimp. Dead shrimp can be productive. We caught nice eight nice trout, three nice reds and a flounder. Just about everything was on dead shrimp. Other fishermen have had good success using Glups under a float. Favorite colors are pearl, chartreuse and red, and new penny both swimming mullet, shrimp patterns, and jerk worms are catching fish. Sea trout can be found well up river or in the sounds. Although bait shrimpers are having difficulty finding shrimp, fish are keying on live shrimp. There are reports of sea trout eating DOA shrimp under the lights at night. November is a great time for sea trout. These fish are on the move and hungry as fatten up for winter. Cool crisp days are synonymous with trout fishing. A cold front passing through can help school the fish. Fishing just before the front or a few days after things have settled down fishermen can find good fishing One fisherman yesterday said they only caught four sea trout but had a great with the redfish. The way I describe it as some days are great redfish days some are great sea trout days. A lots depends on how you're fishing. Working the currents, concentrating on the rips you're fishing for sea trout. Fishing structure you more likely to catch some reds.

We've caught a varity fish this week: black drum, red drum, sea trout, sheepshead and flounder. Have caught lots fish. When conditions permit large stag bass can be roaming along sand bars looking for an easy meal. Wind and rain has limited the opportunities to fish for stag bass. Some atlantic sharp nose and black tips can be found be in a deeper around the sand bars but most have headed to deeper water. Plenty of 12 inch whiting along the sand bars as well. When fishing for stag bass and mullet is scarce a chunk of whiting will work just fine!

Tides for this week are close to but less eight feet. Should be good tides to target sea trout. Sea trout love current and rips. Incoming or outgoing tide can create rips. Look for rips around points, creek mouths or gullies. The rips can hold fish. Usually the best spot is in the secondary or slower current. Fish a spot just because it looked good and you might be surprised just how fishy it can be!

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Oct 23, 2007

Fishing has been good! There have been statements like the fishing is so good fish are literally jumping in the boat and last week will likely be the best week of the year for fishing. Both statements are overstatements. Fishing has been good for those finding fish. That said a good fisherman can still struggle if your drops aren't producing. Last week saw good to excellent action on seatrout and redfish! Shrimp in the Savannah area have been hard to come by for local bait shrimpers. Don Adams, Adams Bait House, thinks the large amount of rain has messed up the shrimping. On one hand if shrimp aren't in the creeks one would assume they moved out to the sounds but not according to Donny. As big tides approach during the weekend salinity levels should balance out and improve shrimping. That said cast netters are still able to catch a quart and half in thirty minuets or so. Throwing a cast net is messy business but it's a good way to get shrimp when supply has dwindled. Nonetheless, even cast netters will find catching shrimp difficult as tides build. Big tides literally pull shrimp into the sounds reducing the numbers left in the creeks. With more tournaments and more fishermen part of the shrimp supply problem is simply more demand . When shrimp aren't available artifical shrimp, screw tails or a paddle tail under a float can be productive. DOA shrimp, XPS and Bett's holgraphic, and Glup shrimp are all great choices. Some favorite colors are red with glitter, new penny, white, natural, clear, chartreuse as well a holographic patterns. Sea trout and redfish are taking center stage. One fishermen says this is also great time of the year for large flounders coming in from the ocean!

Fishing will likely become trickier as tides build on Wednesday to over 8.4 feet, peaking with a 9.3 foot tide on Saturday. Big tides means fast moving dirty water. Tides over 8.5 feet coupled with an east or northeast wind could be a good time to target reds back in the grass. When fishing big tides focus your fishing on the top or bottom of the tide. Generally as the currents slow down sediments will fall out of the water and you'll opportunity to catch fish. The trick is guessing right. If you pick a hot spot it's possible to limit out on sea trout. On the other hand if your first drop wasn't that productive there wont be much time to recover. Tides will remain over 8 feet till 31st. (Halloween) then subside to fishier ranges later in the week and into the weekend 9th, 10th and 11th of November.

Last night at first annual CCA barbeque honoring James Lynah. Michael Schubert announced President Bush signed a bill granting game fish status to redfish in federal waters. On one hand one could argue that wasn't necessary. On the other hand it is bold conservation statement saying red drum are important to our country and need and will be protected. Congratulations Mr. President! Michael also announced that the CCA reef will be renamed the CCAJL reef in honor of Jim Lynah and his commitment to conservation. Jim no doubt is deeply loved and missed. In my beginning days as a guide I'm proud to say Jim was friend and gave tangible help and guidance to me. Jim is due many thanks! God bless!

Hope this report is of interest and use. Join your local CCA chapter. Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Oct 15, 2007

Fishing has been good despite constant wind. Typically a northeaster will blow for week then lay. Windy days for the past month have been rule. Fishermen who have found fish have produced catches of large seatrout and redfish. It's not unusual to hear of catches of over fifty legal reds with fishermen keeping only fish 16 inch fish or greater. Those finding success are finding clean water with little or no trash fish. Seatrout are on move fattening up before winter. Seatrout might be thick as thieves in an area for a several days then gone. Trash fish usually don't have a big presence when seatrout and redfish are around. Fishing a drop with lots of trash fish then suddenly no trash are biting. Stay put! The bite is likely about to turn on Some fishermen have covered massive areas in search of seatrout and redfish with little no luck. Water temperature is high enough to have plenty of trash fish (pin fish, pig fish, yellow tails to name a few) present. When fishing an area with lots of trash present expect to go through your bait quickly. A strategy that works is limit your shrimp to just a few shrimp unless the drop starts producing. Best bet when trash fish are biting just move. Shrimp are plentiful. Both seatrout and redfish are keying on shrimp. This is time of year to fish some of the many types of poppers and rattle floats. They all work. Find the one you like and it will likely be your next secrete weapon. Look for ones that cast well, make a nice rattle or pop and retrieves easily. Betts makes several good ones as well the all time favorite Cajun Thunder.

Black drum are present. On days with little or no drift this can be the time to pick up not only redfish but black drum as well. A give away for a drum bite is the shrimp is eaten from the tail to the head. When you think drum are present start tail hooking and crushing your bait. Drum are excellent fighting fish. Most are in the three to five pound range.

Those enjoying eating a mess of whiting now is likely time to catch a mess. For best success fish lee shores close to the sound using cut bait, pieces of squid, or shrimp. Lots of sting rays so be careful when handling or you might have an unplanned visit to the emergency room. A few large female bonnet head roaming the inshore waters but not nearly what was there just a few weeks ago.

A friend an avid fisherman Joey Wiggly is thinking about starting a sport fishing club for artificals only. Joey is testing the water to see there interest to sustain a group like this. As tournaments become more popular groups that are catch and release and artificial only will log valuable time on the water for tournament fishing. If there is an interest email me your name and number and I'll forward it to Joey.

One note of caution when fishing the Savannah River and the jetties pay close attention to where you are in relation to the structure. Accidents can happen. Don't cut corners. When in doubt, put it out.

Tides for the coming week look excellence!

Hope this of help! Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Sep. 28, 2007

Fishing has been pretty good despite wind and building tides. Redfish and seatrout are biting! A few reports of limits on seatrout. Most of the action is still on reds. Lots of fish in the 14 to 15 inch range. Some of the reds are up to 16 inches. A few bonnet head sharks can be found on the flats and hanging off of points. Lots of shrimp in the creeks and rivers. Big tides can blow shrimp out of the rivers into the sounds. Fishing big tides is definitely tricky. Nonetheless, fish can be caught. Finding drifts that aren't too fast and clean water is critical. In general when fishing big tides anticipate a smaller window of opportunity to find fish. Usually the best opportunity is around the top of tide, lasting about an hour. One fishermen today targeting the top of tide caught a couple of 19 - 20 inch reds and a 21 inch seatrout. Finding fish on big tides isn't unusual. Nonetheless bear in mind if you don't find fish on the top of tide you're now hunting for clean water and a fishable drift. Finding suitable conditions can be difficult but possible. Your favorite big water tide drop might have a fellow fishermen on it. Best advice for fishing less than favorable conditions "just go fishing". Nature is always surprising. Days that were suppose to be a bust can be very productive. Currents that were supposed to be ripping might be fine for fishing. As Miss Judy says, "it just fishing". With that in mind sometimes a low expectation can be greatly exceeded. Go fishing!

When heading out to look for reds on the flats a couple of fishermen in my boat said they saw a big fish jump. Thoughts were it was a late season tarpon or perhaps a spinner shark. The fish jumped again, this time the id was easy a large sturgeon.

Have heard several reports this week of one or two large flounder being caught while fishing. Several fishermen also report catching a mangrove snapper. This is typical a warm water fish that is found further south. Basically an indication of warm water.

One report that needs to be made is be very careful when handling stingrays particularly small ones. I'm always reluctant to write anything about myself but this is a little different. Today while removing a hook from ray I got barbed in the hand. The hook out device that is normally fool proof wasn't today. Small rays are more nimble than the heftier ones. Shaking the hook out of a larger ray might be suitable, for a smaller ray it definitely is not. Thanks to Miss Judy an the ER at Memorial Hospital a bad situation was righted. Lessons learned. Soak the injury in as hot as water as you stand and get medical attention immediately. The hot water actually draws out the toxin. It's difficult to describe the discomfort, it's real. When in doubt, cut the leader.

Anticipate tricky fishing conditions until tides start to fall. First tides under 8 feet are on Wednesday October 3rd. Tides look ideal going into weekend of October 5th and 6th. Hope this report of interest and some help.

Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Sep 17, 2007

September is turning out to the hottest month in waters near Savannah for tarpon! One fisherman reported landing four for six hook ups and six for seven on a following outing. Per Allen from River Supply, dirty water fish dead bait on the bottom. In clean water try live lining one on top and the other on the bottom. If the strikes are predominately on one then switch to one getting the hits. The likelihood of storms and rough conditions are the greater during September than any other time of all year. The opportunities to fish the outer sand bars will likely be limited but the chances of finding large tarpon are high. Small fish such as tomtates, pinfish, ladyfish and mullet all are excellent baits. Most fishermen prefer to fish large ocean pogies. Sometimes finding pogies can be difficult. The fall back baits can be just as productive or more. When surf conditions are rough try deep holes or the mouth of a slough. Water temperature is high per Wendell Harper, a great fishing guide out of Two Way Fish Camp, 82.6 degrees. It's likely as temperature drops tarpon will vanish. For now there are still big fish off the coast with large numbers reported from Savannah to St. Catherine's sound.

Don't despair if you wait too long for your tarpon you can find stag bass running the surf! You can use the same or lighter tackle. The magic number for big reds in the surf, by most accounts, is between 72 and 74 degrees. Finger mullet and cut mullet make a great bait for stag bass. Some fishermen prefer to fish from the beach while others prefer to fish from their boat. Anytime around the surf the key word is safety. Fishermen need to position their boat near as possible to the breakers with out being in them. Anchoring is tricky to say the least. As the tide pushes in what was safe one moment can quickly turn unsafe. Keep a constant eye for changing conditions.

For fishermen who aren't interesting in tangling themselves or their equipment in the surf there are lots 14 inch (legal size) redfish some 15 inches as well as some over and under the legal size (23 inch) in the creeks and rivers. It always a good idea to let redfish go or just keep a few. Lots of trash fish (little fish that steal your bait) so fishermen need to have plenty of bait. Having a pint or two of dead bait in addition to your live bait is a good idea. Redfish often seem to like dead bait more than live. To stretch your bait you might try putting a highly scented bait such as a Berkley Gulp or Bass Assassin Slurp under a float or on a jig. Little fish will still eat these baits but they can put quality fish in the boat.. Seatrout action has been sporadic. One day a good catch on drops in the Herb, Wilmington, or Bull river follow by not much on the same drop a few days later. The bite appears to be changing from a beach pattern to a river pattern. As shrimp become larger and more plentiful in the rivers and creeks the bite will likewise be mainly in these waters. With warm conditions lots of blue fish on the sand bars. Some bonnethead sharks but their numbers are lessening. Whiting are plentiful. As of last week lots small whiting, nine inches or less with plenty of keepers as well. Warm conditions not only means tarpon but sharks as well: spinners, blacktip and sand bar sharks. Until cool down anticipate small redfish to take center stage on the inshore bite. These fish are numerous and until they've been hooked they're not too savvy.

Tides look good for the coming week. The big question is the weather. Thunder storms and wind can blow out fishing. When weather isn't turbulent fishing could be good. Anticipate a sporadic seatrout bite laced with ladyfish, small trout and trash fish. In between all the bites there will be some nice trout. Redfish are plentiful and lots of them are legal. Incredible amounts of rain that fell last week near Savannah should have a positive impact on our fishery, washing out needed nutrients into the estuary and balancing salinity. On Thursday and Friday I had shrimp die in the bait well because the water was too fresh. This is pretty unusual. Nonetheless the rain was a good thing!

Hope this of help! Practice catch and release!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Sep 02, 2007

Needed rain over the Labor day holiday dampened boating and fishing activities. Strong northeast winds prior to the holiday coupled with high tides meant even higher tides than predicted. The result of tougher conditions and less quality fishing. For last week this was pretty much the case. Fish could be caught but conditions were tough and fishing wasn’t great. Even after enormous amounts of rain fell fish could be caught by bouncing a shrimp under a float. On Monday in a couple of hours caught seven or eight 13 inch redfish and three or four small seatrout and one two pound seatrout. After lots of rain in short period of time conditions will usually rapidly improve. Generally all it takes is a tide or two. As summer comes to a close fishermen are looking to the fall and indications are that this could be another good year on the coast! At present the flats are holding some fish but the water is still very hot. As water temperature begins to drop shallow water fishing will heat up!

Labor day always brings to memory of stag bass in the surf. This time of the large red drum start to run the beachfront. Inclement changing weather and be part of the mix that triggers the reds on the beach. Fishermen can target these fish in or out of their boat. Most surf fishermen prefer to walk the beach and outer bars looking for just the right rip or cut in the sand bar to pitch a finger mullet or cut bait. Fishing the surf can be gang busters one day and nothing the next. When reds on the surf are hot this can be a dynamic way to spend an morning or afternoon!

Shrimp are plentiful. Finding bait should not be a problem. That said when tide are large (spring tides). Bait is literally sucks out of the rivers and creeks to the sound. There of course is some bait around. The point is throwing a cast for shrimp during a high tide period could be frustrating for several reason. Not the least is that bait is pulled the sounds.

September is the time of year if you haven't caught your tarpon you better get with. Some have said this has been a better tarpon year in local waters. Others have lamented the bite hasn't been that strong. Likely like any fishing it's a matter of perspective. If you're on the fish, fishing is good. Larger mullet are abundant in local rivers. Medium to large mullet are great tarpon bait as well a medium sized ladyfish. Ladyfish are plentiful as well. The expression big ducks fly late can attributed to tarpon. Some of the largest tarpon are spotted and caught late in the season.

This week as tides fall back to less than eight feet and conditions continue to improve fishing will likely be good. Redfish and seatrout will hungry and on the prowl after big tide and poor conditions. Small tides during the fall are usually the best day for flounders and black drum. Lots of "trash fish" in local waters. Take plenty of bait be prepared to fish different drops if trash fish are overwhelming.

Fishing for the coming week should be good! Hope this of help! Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Aug 16, 2007

The days are hot on the coast. Various sting rays can be spotted on most outings. Occasionally a ray can be seen jumping out of the water or crashing back to the surface. Unfortunately for cast netters and swimmers jellyfish are plentiful. August is likely the height of the jellyfish season. When surf fishing this time of year wear a shoe suitable for water and long pants! One remedy for jellyfish stings is Adolf's meat tenderizer. A Savannah resident Chip Grayson with some assistant from the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography has come out with a product to provide relief from jellyfish stings. The bad news is this product is not yet on the market. This will likely be a product that fishermen and swimmers on the coast during late summer will want to have on hand. Despite lots of particle matter in the water finding clean water has not very difficult. The drift, flow of water, has been poor most of the week. Conditions have been less that ideal. Nonetheless fishing has been good! Most the larger seatrout are a pound and half or better. Slow moving water while not ideal for seatrout is good for flounder fishing. Plenty of ladyfish. Most of the trout have been caught on Cajun Thunders rigs with about a 2 foot leaders. While fishing has not been fast and furious the bite has been good with steady action and quality fish. Chartreuse or another color? When pitching for seatrout chartreuse is usually a go to color. After many casts with a chartreuse fly produced nothing; the first cast with a gold/brown rattle shrimp produced a seatrout. Seatrout are keying on shrimp. Shrimp patterns and colors are hard to beat! A few shrimp patterns from Bass Assassin are new penny, native shrimp and red/gold shiner. Any of these patterns will catch fish particularly when shrimp are plentiful!

Nice size whiting are plentiful on the sandbars. If one spot isn't producing look for different spot with a more current. Black tips large and small can found along sand spits. If shrimp and squid aren't producing switch to fresh cut bait. Fishermen are complaining large schools of menhaden aren't present in the sounds. This can vary day to day. At present small menhaden can be found in the rivers. Larger schools of bigger pogies are further out. Bait patterns vary year to year. If your day of fishing depends on finding menhaden always have a backup. Mullet, tomtates, pinfish and ladyfish can make an excellent tarpon/shark bait.

Some reports of triple tail along near shore structure. These fish are usually targeted when the current is slack or close to slack using float rigs and shrimp.

Tides for the remainder of this week are pretty small tides (less than 7 foot). Drift will likely be slow resulting in a slower bite and good flounder fishing. Capt. Wild Bill reports he starting to catch some young of the year redfish in the keeper range. Most are still around 12 inches but some have already keeper size. That said there's not much meat on a small redfish. It's always good to go light on your redfish take, opt for other fish. The main reasons are redfish are so much fun to catch and second it takes this fish several years to reach to sexual maturity.

Hope this of help! Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Aug 6, 2007

Summer is here! We're in the dog days of summer. Hot humid days, afternoon popup thunderstorms can be typical. Ample amounts of rain last week while mudding water in short run should be a help to our fishery. Lots of small summer trout (12" or so) showing on the sandbars. Capt. Wild Bill says it's reputed that summer trout hit harder than seatrout. Maybe so we had plenty of hard hits with fish you knew had to be larger. Large amounts of rain in a short period of time can push bait and the predator fish out to saltier water. In a few tide cycles conditions returned normal as slit and mud particles settled and rain water dissipated. Wind and rain last week made conditions difficult to fish. When conditions are rough the only alternative is to fish lee shores. Pick the most likely spot and fish the water in front of you. Rough conditions limit choices. Pitching a plastic might sound a little difficult on a rough day but not so. Remember you're fishing a lee shore. You're out of wind or practically out of the wind. Pitching can change your presentation. Fish that were reluctant might bite. When wind and tide are opposing, working against each other the result can be a miserable drift. You're fishing protected water and little if anything is happening. It likely there fish are there it's a matter of getting them to bite. Seatrout are predator fish. Pitching a soft plastic might trigger bite that otherwise would be hard to generate. As conditions began to improve on Saturday and Sunday so did the bite. Action reported near the beach fronts with seatrout, redfish, whiting and flounder. Capt. Vern on Monday of this week caught some nice seatrout fishing close to the sound. Fish early to try an beat the heat! Bonnethead sharks are plentiful particularly where crabs shrimp and muddy bottoms are presents as well as along sandbars. If you associate bonnetheads with mud you wont go wrong.

Another sign of summer is ladyfish. This is fast aggressive fish that can provide lots of fun on light tackle. The present Georgia state record is only 5 pounds. There are plenty of fish out there that will exceed that number. When seatrout aren't biting its likely ladyfish or bluefish will show up. Ladyfish seems to be a more impervious to summer heat. Seatrout will tend to bite best early or when conditions are cloudy. Ladyfish while not often kept for food can make excellent bait for tarpon and sharks. Ladyfish will take a variety of baits as well as artificials or a fly. For best action target areas with current and close to the sounds. The big eyes on ladyfish gives them excellent eye sight. Sometime its possible to catch this fish even in muddy conditions. Once you locate a school of ladyfish hold on! Anticipate frequent jumps, aggressive head shaking and strong fights. Some fishermen say catching a ladyfish is a sign of good luck to come! Ladyfish are in!

Hope of help! Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Jul 31, 2007

Fishing has been good! Seatrout and flounder have provided the best action! Female seatrout are still loaded with roe. Most of the bite is close to sounds and beach fronts. The best time to fish for seatrout during is usually early in the morning or during the evening. Seatrout love current. The most dynamic action is often where there is clean water, current and bait. Given these conditions the seatrout bite can be dynamic. Porpoises and sharks can adversely impact on seatrout fishing. When predator fish are present try fishing closer to the structure. It's likely you can still catch some quality fish by making some anchoring adjustments. We're catching most of our fish on live shrimp. There are lots small fish out there so take plenty of bait with you. For past couple of weeks I've had a "double shot" of bait. Double what you would normally expect to fish. My preference is to fish bait not too large or too small. Bait that is just right. Granted a nice flounder or seatrout will take a small bait. On the other hand it's all about energy. How much of payoff will the fish receive if it goes for your bait. For a quality fish, fish a quality bait. The standard way to hook a shrimp is to run the hook just under the horn, in front of the larger black spot and behind the small black spot not touching either. For bait that is particularly frisky try putting a small spilt shot on leader to make it easier for a fish to target your bait. Usually when you see your shrimp dancing on top of the water it will be followed by a nice bite. There are lots of small fish around so a dancing shrimp might simply be your shrimp trying to evade a small one.

Rayburn Goodman, of the Yellow Bluff Marina community, says shrimp in his area have been scarce. Fishermen are catching fish but finding shrimp is another matter. Locally, in Savannah, we are fairing much better. Don Adams, of Adams Bait House, is finding shrimp. Don's brother Jimmy says after recent rains the shrimp are growing quickly.

The recent pattern has been seatrout towards the top and bottom of the tide. When current has slowed the flounder bite has picked up. Larger reds the last of incoming and the first of outgoing. Tides will be building this week to 7.7 feet on Sunday August 5th.. Larger tides will mean stronger currents setting up fewer opportunity for flounders. When fishing stronger currents target seatrout until currents subside. Large whiting (12 inch and larger) can be found on the sandbars as well as lots of bonnethead sharks. Bonnetheads are very abundant up and down our coast. This shark main diet consist mainly of shrimp and crabs. It's not unusual to see a crab swimming by get nailed by a bonnethead. Bonnethead will work sandbars and oyster encrusted points that bait is passing over. A large pregnant female bonnethead is likely over three and half feet and thick. They can provide a nice tussle on light tackle. Don't anticipate a great seatrout if bonnethead are numerous. Black tips and other predator species can be found along the rips.

Most of the menhaden has been further off the beach front. Likewise most of tarpon and jacks that have been seen or caught have been on outer sand bars to near shore wrecks. Tides for the coming are building. Nonetheless, high tides will be less than 8 feet with slightly negative tides on Saturday and Sunday. Overall tides look fishy! Afternoon pop up storms are always a possibility for best chances of success during the summer fish the early morning hours.

Hope this of help! Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Jul 10, 2007

Fishing has been good for the most part. Nice seatrout in the ICW, sounds and neighboring creeks and rivers. Seatrout prefer clean water and current. When the drift is slow often seatrout can be found well off the structure. More current fish tighter to the grass lines or whatever structure you're fishing. Capt. Eric Traub reports redfish popping up from Ossabaw to Hilton Head. Eric says the fish he's finding are in schools of about or ten to twelve fish and skidish. Despite conventional wisdom that redfish are always in shallow water; try fishing well off the structure in deeper water you might be surprised in what you catch! Deeper water is likely a little cooler and more oxygenated. Some black drum being caught. Small drum will often congregate on stumps or fallen trees. Sargassum moved into Warsaw sound around mid week due likely to strong east winds. Any debris on top can fowl fishing line adding one more chore to getting a hookup. As quickly as the weed appeared it is breaking up just as quickly. The bite for small sharks( 3 foot and less) has been slower than usual. Tons of tiny black tips (12" or so) some two footers but the usual over abundance isn't there. The bite for small sharks will improve as more bait (pogies) pour into Warsaw sound. Pogies that can normally be found in the sound are well up river. Likely small sharks have followed. Bonnet heads are still numerous. Bonnet heads main diet is blue crabs. What dictates the presence of a species is favorable conditions per Capt. Wild Bill. It's likely in the coming days conditions will change again and black tips and sharpnose sharks will be in abundance the sounds.

Those fishing shrimp might still have difficulty finding bait. Although the bait situation is improving daily. White shrimp are moving into local waters. White shrimp are still small but recent rains should help give them a boost. Brown shrimp for the most have move out to the sounds. Shrimper are having a difficult time keeping up demand. In the coming weeks shrimp should become plentiful. The shortage is seasonal. Capt. Wild Bill said he had outstanding day on seatrout on mud minnows. Most think of mud minnows as primarily a winter but its also a great summertime bait as well. Lots of trash fish so running through a quart of shrimp isn't difficult. Seatrout are primarily live bait feeders but occasionally will smack a piece of dead bait. Cajun thunder floats as well as wide variety of poppers will work well doing this time of the year. The only draw back is that a dinner bell draws them all in (sharks, trash fish, etc.). Nonetheless, if seatrout are in the neighborhood a rattle float can be effective!

Tarpon sighting and hook ups are beginning to trickle in. Ricky Duffy said he saw several around Little Tybee. Capt. Eric reported sighting three as well. Brent McCollugh hooked one while trout fishing. Tarpon fishing isn't hot but it's starting up! Large sharks around the outer sand bars as well as massive rays. An occasional cobia might seen or hooked around the Warsaw rip, as well as blue fish, mackerel, whiting and sharks.

Tides for this week are in the negative range. Evening tides will build to over 8.1 feet. Tides for this week are not ideal but fishable. Morning mid outgoing tides are tricky to fish. Simply just not enough water for many fishermen to fish most drops. If you have a good flounder hole now is a good time to pull it out. Likely the better fishing will be later in the day. The tides next week will be in the 7 foot and less range likely good fishing!

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Jul 02, 2007

Fishing has been good prior to the full moon over the weekend. Tides were gentle despite the full moon. Nevertheless, fishing has been off. Are fishing feeding at night and less likely to forage during daylight. This is likely. Wind and tide opposing each other results in slow or almost no drift. Water that is not moving isn't likely to produce good fishing for seatrout. A drop one can be very productive and almost dead the next. A good drift is a key to good seatrout fishing. Slow or poor drift days can lend itself to fishing for redfish, black drum and flounder. Lots of little redfish can be found around oyster rakes. A few larger reds but don't expect good numbers of larger reds until bait is more abundant. Bait shops are having difficulty finding shrimp and keeping up with the demand. Shrimp in local waters are a mixture of some brown shrimp and some very small white. The shrimp situation will improve as the summer progresses. As of now shrimp are relatively scarce and bait shops are quickly running out of bait. Ray Golden (Tybee Island Bait & Tackle) is carrying shrimp from Florida. Captain Ray open his shop at 8:00am. Again best bet is to call ahead to make sure bait is on hand. Ray's number is 912.786.7472. Bo Bowen, Bandy's Bait Shop, has been consistent is finding good quality bait. Bo's number is 912.354.6444. Don Adams, Adams 'Bait Shop, is finding shrimp but keeping up with demand is almost impossible with the bait thats' presently in the creeks and river. Nonetheless, the Adams always does a great job! Adam's Bait Shop number is 912.898.1550.

Heading into 4th of July holiday tides look pretty good. There is a slight negative on low water. Anticipate highs and lows to be slightly greater than what's on your chart. So far this has been the pattern. Usually the best summer time fishing is early in the morning. Flounder and tarpon/shark seem to handle mid heat better than trout or bass. With high tides mid week around mid day this could be a good time to crack out the shark/ tarpon tackle. At present not seeing large pods of pogies. Nonetheless, it's the right time of the year to start targeting tarpon!

Hope this of help!

Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

"Practice catch & release and join your local CCA chapter"

June 21, 2007

Fishing this week started in a nice way! A nice seatrout bite near the sound. The seatrout bite isn't red hot but definitely good! Action can best be described as interesting. Roe trout can be found near high water around marshy points. Clean water and a good drift are always a plus in trout fishing. Male seatrout can found close to sandbars in around 12 feet of water. Action around the sand bars is red hot! A variety of fish are working the bars: whiting, ladyfish, bluefish, spanish, bonnetheads and blacktips to name a few.

Redfish action is picking up but the bite remains off. Young of the year redfish are barely able to bite a hook. These small reds are likely only seven inches or so. Not catching many of these tiny fish. These young of year will quickly grow and by the July 4th they should be biting everything hitting the water and by September or October these young of year will be legal size (14 inches).

John Bruke reports our salt water catfish is in trouble. Come to think of it when the last time you caught a gaff top or regular old salt water cat? If you're like me it's been a long time. Most of us can remember catching so many catfish that were consider a major nuisance. Granted a lot not love is lost for an obnoxious old cat much like an obnoxious old charter captain. On the other hand as Capt. Wild Bill says, this is a sign something isn't right with mother earth. South Carolina is immediately closing the taking of these fish while this situation is being studied. The point is to be aware of changes impacting our wetlands and that water quality is a major issue facing our coast and to stay informed.

Fishing for the remainder of this week should be good! Rain and clouds early in the week helped cool conditions and provide some much needed rain. Tides throughout the week look good. When winds kick up fish protected waters. Afternoon storms can kick up on any given summer day. Best fishing during summer is usually during the morning. This afternoon a dockhand said he launched a small boat from the marina and the family headed directly into a storm. Rain in a distance will look like sheets coming down. Running into a storm is not fun and potentially not safe. Check the weather forecast before and during your day on the water. Several GPS units have weather radar capability. A VHF radio is another good source of information and last but not least call a friend ask them to look a weather radar either on the weather channel, by internet or actual radar unit. There's lot of information out there. Now is good time to familiarize yourself on how to obtain weather information.

Hope this of help! Good fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

June 11, 2007

The seatrout bite has been pretty good. The bite is primarily in or near sounds. Capt. Wild Bill says the sounds have cleaner water due to sand bottoms. Capt. Rick verifies the same report that the bite has been near the sounds. Contrary to the bite in the sounds roe and male trout can be up rivers in brackish water. Lots of dirty water due to the aftermath of storms and wind. Fishermen are finding fish when they find clean water. When fishing for seatrout there are lots of other fish to take your bait so take plenty of bait. Rick reports lots of small trout as well as ladyfish.

Not lots of reports on redfish this week. A couple of fisherman have reported good success on glup baits. New penny is the favor of the week. Plastics can work very well. Glup baits can produce bites at times better than live bait. On the other hand it's good to have a variety of baits on hand. Brown shrimp are moving into local waters. New penny is basically a shrimp pattern. Another tip is change your float size when fishing. Line or float diameter is more important than color. That said trying smaller floats might be effective.

The shark bite is on! Dropping a line along a sand bar will likely produce a bite in little time. A favorite bait is the head from a menhaden. Squid can work well as well a variety of cut bait like bluefish or ladyfish. Allen from River Supply reports a variety of fish within five miles of the beach: jacks, bluefish, spanish and kings. When near shore isn't too rough fishing could be hot!

The flounder bite near the sounds continues to heat up! Best tide to fish near low tide. Best bait large mud minnows or finger mullet.

Tides this week are building with the evening tides Thursday peaking at 8.5 feet, an a .8 negative tide in the afternoon. Spring tides can be difficult to fish due to fast currents and dirty water. For best success try to find slower moving clean water.

Hope this of help!

Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

June 3, 2007

Thank goodness for the drenching rain on Saturday! It rained all day, a great soaking rain! The wildfires in South Georgia and Florida are 98% contained. Rainfall is a blessing to coastal marshes and our fisheries. Prior to the rain the river water was beginning to look cloudy. This is an algae bloom. A normal sign of warming conditions. This week there were seatrout caught on the beach fronts when conditions werent' too rough. Small sharks are plentiful along sandbars and in deep holes. Red drum and seatrout can be in brackish water as well as near the beach. Redfish are along the flats. The flounder bite is on! During Saturday rain storm the flounder were biting. The leading edge of front can trigger an intense flounder bite. Its 'not uncommon for a fisherman to feel a flounder picking up the bait only to miss the fish. Slowing your hook set and waiting till the fish commits is usually the best. Finger mullet and large mud minnows are a great flounder bait. Flounder will readily take a shrimp but it's easier to lose a shrimp. Capt. "Wild "Bill Jarrell says its all about energy. If you want a quality fish use a quality bait. With that in mind a finger mullet or large mud minnow is very appetizing. Tarpon had been spotted in local waters. Large schools of menhaden are not in Warsaw although schools of medium sized menhaden can be found in creeks off of Wilmington river. Tarpon fishing will correspond with bait. When bait is abundant it's likely the fish will find them. Seatrout and bluefish are biting. The best bite has been on high incoming tide. Key indicators for finding seatrout are a good drift, clean water, and bait. Strong winds have made fishing difficult. When wind is blowing try to make it work for you by fishing the windward side. If the wind is too strong then fish the lee shores. Excellence places to find seatrout are on points, along grass edges, small creek mouths or gullies. Seatrout will show up only for a limited period of time. The indicator is current. When the current is swirling in or out a food chain is likely taking place. Little or no current the seatrout bite will likely be slow. What's hot one day can be cold the next. In every type fishing there are patterns: seasonal patterns as well patterns within patterns. In a fishing report likewise look for a pattern. Most fishermen are looking for that magic spot. Yes location is important. My encouragement is look for patterns. Fishing is hopefully more than just killing a bunch of fish. Keep a few to eat if you desire and release the rest.

Last Friday Capt. Ray Crawely brought a dead redfish back to the Westin dock. There was a little friendly fishing competition among a group of fishermen (for the largest fish). The fish was meant as a joke. Apparently the fish had died a short while ago but had not begun to decompose. It's likely another fishermen caught this large red (32" or so) and held with their fish gripper. The larger the fish the care more in handling and releasing. One fisherman can do lots of damage they arent' even aware of. When using a fish gripper on a large fish use the gripper only to hold the head in place not to suspend the fish. Dropping a large redfish into the water is not a good idea. Often the fish will belly up. It's likely that fish will revive. Why put the fish through that stress? Place the fish in the water, point the fish into the current and hold by the small of the tail. Hold the fish until its dorsal fin pops up then release. Swishing the fish back and forth can force water through its gills counter to the natural flow. If a fish is slow to revive wait until the fish can swim off.

Tides look good for the coming week with negative starting Saturday. The following week evening tides will be over 8 foot. Big tides again! Brown shrimp should be showing in good numbers in local creeks and rivers. Rainfall on Saturday and good tides should provide good fishing for the coming week!

Hope this of help!

Capt. Jack McGowan

May 28, 2007

The weather pattern for the last several weeks has been high pressure over southeast. As a result, windy days with little rain. This is likely a record year for the lack of rain. Not a good record. Salty conditions can mean lots of shrimp and lots of seatrout. Nonetheless, rain is very much needed. Last week despite windy conditions seatrout are biting mostly around high tide. On the inside, around back barrier islands, there is a mixture of small males and roe seatrout. A few good catches of seatrout and redfish reported in the Savannah River but the bite has not been consistent. Flounders are showing up in good numbers with the best bite towards the sounds fishing around low tide. Some brown shrimp are in the heads of creeks but Don Adams says of Adams Bait House, the brown still have not come in.

Last week the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) held an annual Guide Meeting in Savannah at the Savannah Mall for fishing guides and any interested persons. Lots of good information out. Lots of folks are going to great efforts not only to put out information but to reach out the fishing community. One piece of pertinent information is that fishermen who charter will need to obtain a mandatory license guide license (in person) starting as of June 1st from either the Richmond Hill or Brunswick office. This license is addition to your personal fishing license. Fishermen can also purchase a voluntary license covering those fishing on their boat. Not many people like change but better managing our fishery is the future. Most people are in favor of more redfish. The DNR , GACCA and the Savannah Sport Fishing Club have combined efforts to "study the efficacity of stocking red drum of Georgia coast". Basically this means these groups are trying to see if stocking red drum could be an effective way to boost our stock. I encourage those interested in red drum on our coast and in particular those fishing Savannah waters to turn in carcases at drop off points and to participate in the fin clipping project. For complete information on how to participate contact the Brunswick DNR office.

The weather looks like more of same till the latter half of the week. Starting about Thursday rain is expected. Till then expect high pressure to dominate with wind 10 to 20 miles out of the east. Local shrimp are not available. Local bait shops typically are stocking up (Florida shrimp) during the weekt. Bait shops can have plenty one day and out the next. Fishermen who like artificials will likely have less hassle and more fish. Tides are relatively small all week. Best fishing for seatrout likely be in areas where wind and tide are working together to create a better drift. Early morning can also be a good time to fish before the day heats up and the wind picks up. Best tide for seatrout is around high tide. Target flounder near low tide. Some redfish on the mud flats. Look for bait fish or birds to find fish. Those targeting cobia are having a banner year. Most of the action is centered around the Broad River in South Carolina. The last couple of years have been poor to fair for cobia. This year appears to be a very good one! Salty conditions also means sharks. Lots of bonnet head sharks in the creeks.

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Practice catch and release!

May 21, 2007

Last week was a pretty tough week for inshore fishing. Evening tides were unusually high. Day time low tide were in the negative range. Couple extreme tides with strong wind, smoke from the Ware county fire, and not much bait in local waters and that what local conditions were like. The fishing last week was a little like work. That said we still caught some nice fish. Monday was likely the fishiness day with constant seatrout, redfish and ladyfish action. Caught a couple of flounders as well. The bite became more difficult as the week progressed. The typical catch was four or five nice fish in four hours. We caught and released several small trout that might have measured. Most fish bit soft and tentatively. The bite can change with in a matter of hours. A soft bite today does not mean a soft bite tomorrow!

Don Adams, Adams Baithouse, has been buying shrimp from Florida. Florida shrimp are little smaller than what we're use to but still a good hardy bait. When fishing Florida shrimp definitely look for the bigger shrimp your bucket. The lowly mud minnow is great Spring time bait as well. Flounder are starting to show up! We're not catching a lot so far but likely averaging a flounder or two in addition to the seatrout and reds. The flounder bite will be heating up in the coming weeks! Redfish action has been slow but will likely be picking as well as tides subside and brown shrimp start appearing in local waters. Seatrout remain center stage with good catches near the sounds and in local rivers.

Despite drought conditions fishing near the flood gates has been slow. Some fat seatrout and reds are well upriver. When fishing areas with lots mullet. Try fishing mullet or mullet imitation lures. Drought conditions means salty water. Salty water means sharks. Fishermen should have little problem getting their line stretched by these toothy critters.

Fishing for the coming should be improving! Coming off of Spring tides, the current will be less and the water will be cleaner. Mild days with little wind will be a pleasure to fish regardless of the catch. The conditions will be much more auspicious for catching fish. When winds kick up windward shores can be hot spots to fish until they become to rough; then fish lee shores and protected waters.

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Practice catch and release

May 8, 2007

Plenty of action for the inshore fisherman last week! Seatrout biting in the creeks and rivers as well near the beach fronts! Several seatrout landed in excess of three pounds. Shrimp are in short supply. Some local bait shops are getting Florida shrimp. If you're depending on shrimp, you better call ahead. Mud minnows are a great substitute for shrimp and usually can easily be obtained either from local bait shops or by setting a trap. There were reports of birds feeding on glass minnows. Blue fish were pushing the minnows to the surface. Birds find the minnows and fisherman find the birds. One fisherman said the blue fish action was non stop and "he can't wait to target them with a fly!" In short lots of action - a dynamic food chain!

It's obvious the Spring run of mullet in the Savannah River is taking place. Fishermen can see mullet jumping along the river banks. Fish feeding on mullet wont readily take a smaller bait. Bring your cast net! Fishing the bait that is most prominent can yield good results. Those who like eating smoked mullet now is the time to head up river!This looking a good year for cobia! One Savannah guide: Capt. Greg Davis and Larry Hartenhoff landed five in one outing! Great job! Most of the catches so far have come the Broad River in Carolina.

The redfish bite has been slow. A few good catches but for the most part redfish has been slow. When brown shrimp start making their arrival the redfish bite will likely heat up. At present the action on most flats has been slow. There have some good catches in local creeks. Likewise some flounder being caught but anticipate the flounder to pick as Spring progresses. Whiting action has been good. Sharks are becoming plentiful as temperature raise and salinity remains high.

On Sunday the Savannah area received some much needed rain. It was a slow drenching rain. Rain is critical for a healthy fishery. Rain water helps to balance the salinity and wash needed nutrients into the system. More rain is needed but thank goodness for the rain we've received. Wind in coastal fishing is a constant factor. The past week it seems as if we've received our share. Despite windy conditions many fishermen found good fish! Seatrout are taking center stage with several large catches and large fish being landed! Keep a few to eat and release the rest! Martha Stewart would say it's not a good thing to load a boat with large roe trout. Keep a few if desired and release rest. These large roe represent next year crop of fish. Keep a few and release the rest - it's a good thing!

Hope this of help!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Apr 27, 2007

How's the fishing? Pretty good despite strong winds and a lack of rain. Strong winds couple with large tides pushed water much higher than predicted. When fishermen are on the move it likely means they are struggling. Despite challenging conditions some fishermen were able to produce good catches of seatrout and whiting. When when wind and tides abated fishing picked up. Slow moving water due to small tides following the large tides can be challenging. Best action for seatrout is usually when fishermen find clean water and a good drift. This week we've caught seatrout on plastics as well as shrimp. Sharks are being to show up. Bonnet head sharks can be found close to their primary food source, blue crabs. When fishermen decide to keep a small shark make sure it's legal ( 30" TL). Try to avoid taking large bonnet heads. These are pregnant females. The presence of large bonnet heads is a sign of a healthy environment. Some states are experiencing a decrease in the size of this shark. There are small sharp nose sharks on the sand bars. So far the size remains of the sharp nose are less than two feet. Hopefully as the Spring progresses wel'l see larger sharp noses.

There are reports of glass coming into the sounds just sounds just south of Savannah. Glass minnows are indicator of good fishing. When this bait fish pushes in seatrout, redfish and lady fish will be close behind. This is the time when you can spot terns and ergets working glass minnows and find seatrout and redfish under them.

The whiting bite has been pretty good, not awesome but pretty good. Most of these fish are small 9 ½ or 10 inches with some bigger ones mixed in. One fishermen says he only keeps fish 11 or 12 or bigger. This is a pretty good rule of thumb. Small whiting can be fatally damage when unhooking so use care.

Seatrout are starting to roe up. As seatrout become laden with roe anticipate the bite to shift to the sounds.

The last couple of years seems to have been fair to below average years for cobia. So far there are reports of some nice being caught in the Broad River even in windy conditions. Live eels appear to be the bait of choice.

Bait shrimp is still available in the Savannah area. Usually there are a few weeks during the Spring when shrimp become scare in local bait shops. Maybe this year will be the exception but don't count on it. Capt. Wild Bill Jarrell says Rayburn of Yellow Bluff development was having difficulty in finding shrimp. Shrimp season for the large boats opened last week. Local boats are still at dock. When fishermen see shrimp boats in the sounds the bait in! Capt. Wendell Harper says, do you fish shrimp boats? Fishing close to shrimp boats can produce a variety of fish. When setting an anchor fish close but definitely not obstructing the shrimper's course.

Hope this of help! Keep a few seatrout, whiting or flounders when desiring some fish to eat. Always go light on take of reds or preferably release reds for another day.

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Apr 12, 2007

Looks likes a good year for seatrout! At present not much rain. One benefit that seems to go hand in hand with high salinity is good numbers of seatrout. That being said we still need rain. The seatrout action thus far has been good! Seatrout are starting to roe out. As these fish roe out the bite will shift mainly to the sounds and beach fronts. At present the bite has been scattered. One day in the creeks, another in sounds and the next closer to fresh water. Live shrimp is still available and in good supply (Adams Bait House). Anticipate shrimp to become scare as large roe shrimp move to the sounds.

Despite water temperatures being all over the place from the low sixties to the low seventies. There are small sharks already in the sounds (likely due to high salinity). We've caught mostly bonnetheads and small sharpnose and a few cold water sharks. As conditions continue warm up the whiting and shark bite should heat up!

Redfish action has been fair. Catching a few but the action has not been great. As conditions continues to improve and winds subside reds will likely start reappearing in good numbers. During windy conditions redfish are likely present just more difficult to target. It's more difficult to keep a lure in the strike zone, the fish just aren't eating or fish have moved to more into more backwater settings . As I've said before this one fish that it's good idea to go light on your take. Keep a few seatrout, flounder or whiting if you desire a few fish to eat.

Strangest catch of week was a short nose sturgeon by Jeff Smith at the Flood Gates. We were bouncing jigs at flood tide around when the fish hit. I thought we had a big old catfish. Then when I saw the tail I thought somehow a shark wondered up river. The sturgeon was quite a surprise. Also caught a few seatrout and a hybrid and red. Fishing upriver wasn't hot but caught some nice fish.

The best action for last week been seatrout. The bite has been all over: one day in the sound, the next in a creek, the next in a river. It all about conditions. Is there bait and is the water fairly clean? If the answer both of those questions is yes. Then I'm looking for current to stimulate a bite (food chain). The seatrout bite has been good. Roe trout are next year's crop of fish. That being said seatrout are very prolific. Keeping some should be no big deal (releasing big roe trout is good idea). Always stays with in the limits and encourage your friends to do likewise and support catch and release. I'm reading Tom Manns' book, Think like a Fish. Tom talks about a fish he caught and put in captivity. His wife named this fish Leroy Brown. The point is was a dominate fish that could only be fooled once and exhibited incredible survival instincts. In our fishing we're likely to come some Leroy Browns or Big Reds. These fish deserve to be released.

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Apr 2, 2007

Fishing has been pretty good! The seatrout have provided the best action. Seatrout can be found in the creeks and rivers. Don Adams, Adams Bait House, has been able to find shrimp south of Savannah. These shrimp are white shrimp that have made it through the winter. Most of these shrimp have been large but subsequent drags have produced smaller shrimp. Super large aren't a very good bait for trout fishing. Super large shrimp are best for frying up and eating. Anticipate shrimp to become scare in the coming weeks as white shrimp move to the sounds. Brown shrimp will appear around the 1st of June. Seatrout will also take a wide variety of platics. The criteria is often flash. Seatrout are primary sight feeders. Bright colors are usually the best. When in doubt fish a white Berkeky glup bait. Redfish can be found on or around mud flats. A good indicator of when to fish for reds is when bait shows up. High outgoing can be a prime time to target reds as they feed on mullet coming out grass. Another prime time is towards low tide just as the current slows. Hard fast moving water is less fishy for reds. Looks for slower currents, clean water and bait fish.

Last Saturday Capt."Wild Bill" Jarrell and I fished in the Savannah Redfish Tour (artificial only) Tournament. Lots of fancy go fast boats. Quite a spectacle! I believe there were 41 boats. My understanding is these tournaments are only going to become more popular in the coming years.. I believe about half the boats produced a goose egg. The other half turned in some nice fish. The good news is none of these were killed. We finished 4th with two 23 inch fish weighting 9.37 pounds. Tournaments can and do provide opportunities to reacquaint with old friends and making new friends. As fishing for redfish becomes more popular, practicing catch and release will become important! Encourage your friends to do likewise.

Water is in the mid sixties. Whiting and sharks are in the sounds but a strong southeast wind this week has made fishing around the bars sloppy. When fishermen have ducked out of wind fish can be caught but the bite has only been fair. As conditions continue to improve the whiting/shark bite will heat up!

Good Fisihng!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Mar 9, 2007

Fishing has been good just not consistent. When fronts have pushed through fishing has been poor. On the other hand just prior to the fronts and during good weather fishing has been good. Seatrout can be found in deep holes ( 7 to 12 feet) at low water fishing bait or plastics. Seatrout can also be found on traditional drops when the tide is moving. The bite can be soft and slow when water temperature is hovering in the low 50's. When water temperature is on the rise the bite can be hot and fast! When fishing a hole you believe is holding fish and nothing happens slow your retrieve. Capt. Eric Traub reports large seatrout are filled with hard backs - small shrimp. This is a good time to down size your bait!

There have been of reports people seeing schools of redfish and not able to get these fish to bite. Sometimes that just the way it is. Fish, even redfish do not continually feed. Current, water temperature, clarity and predators can all impact a bite. Another consideration is how much pressure are these fish experiencing. Fish that have seen just everything thrown at them can be very spooky. This is an excellent time to try something different: stay further away, pitch quieter lures (such as a DOA shrimp), use a push pole in lieu of a trolling motor, simply drift or anchor up. Even spooky fish will eat. The range of a school of redfish isn't miles and miles. Reds will be near structure. When redfish are in open water its usually because they have been pushed from a favorite spots. These fish are on move and not likely to eat. When several boats are presents on a flat your best bet isn't to compete. Look for fish elsewhere or simply stake up.

Fish the conditions

Sounds simple. Everyone wants to know where did you catch those fish. Location is important but just as important are the conditions. Look for what the day will allow and fish those conditions. When fishing a drop for seatrout in clean, clear water lengthen and lighten your leader, down size your hook. This simple step can mean all the difference in a day of winter fishing. Fish in water just above 50 degrees will usually bump at bait several times before committing to the bite. Watch for subtle movements of your float or a slight bump of plastic. This slight indication could be a nice seatrout. Slowing your hook set is usually what's in order. Twice this week I've caught myself missing the first fish or two due too fast a hook set. In one day you might see a soft bite in the morning turning to an aggressive bite in the afternoon as conditions warm. Even within a few cast you might notice an aggressive bite followed by soft bite. All I can is thats' winter time fishing! Fishing can be good just a little unpredictable.

Those looking forward to bumping the bottom need to wait no longer! There have already been several reports of good whiting catches! Wind and tide are the biggest factors. When the sounds are rough whiting fish is limited to protected water. Despite lots of wind there have been several good catches up and down the coast. It seems a little early for sharks. Nonetheless there reports of black tips showing up as well.

Hope this of help! Practice catch and release whenever you can and go light on take of redfish!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Feb 8, 2007

The last couple of weeks have been cold and wintery, not much fishing going on. Once the sun reappeared fishermen ventured out to find surface water temperatures from 47 to 50 degrees. That's pretty cold! Despite low temperatures, you catch fish in cold water!

A couple of winter patterns Miss Judy and I spoke about (during her inshore school) were fishing up river and along mud flats. Both patterns can be effective! Those preferring to fish bait can find success fishing a mud minnow under a small float or live lining. Generally the smaller the float better. When fishing a rattle float in clear calm water during the winter its best to let the bait do the work, make little or no noise with your float. Jerk baits can be effective as well as a variety small plastics. Lengthening and lighting your leader can be a plus in winter fishing. Cold temperatures impact the seatrout bite more than the reds. Nonetheless, some fishermen caught seatrout (last week) in 47 degree water. If the seatrout bite is slow switch to redfish or stripers. Even though conditions are cold redfish can be found schooling and hungry! Always go light on your catch of redfish. This week there have been good catches in sounds as well as upriver. With redfish sometimes when you catch one the others in the school will literally turn on. When this happens these fish loose wariness and fishing is nothing than popping a bait out. Working an artificial can be a little trickier. A big red can literally pull a moving boat into the path of other fish blowing any chance for multi hook ups. In general fishing for reds has been good! Seatrout action has been slow.

Leave stone unturned

After catching some nice reds on plastics Capt. "Wild Bill" Jarrell and I were exploring a small creek. We saw a fish pushing awake that from the size could have easily have been a porpoise. The wake was well out of casting range. We were pitching plastic working down the bank. The fish sensed the disturbance caused by the plastic and swam from across the creek, zeroing in on the plastic following it all the way to boat. No doubt a large red (perhaps 20 pounds)! The big red inspected the plastic and mulled around it, allowing time to make another soft pitch, then the fish was gone. What happened! As we worked the boat back up the creek we noticed a fish gasping for air along the bank. I thought it was likely a catfish because it looked so fat. Bill thought it was a trout. We proceeded another 100 feet or so. Bill said we need to check out that fish, "leave no stone unturned "were his words. My expectation wasn't very high seeing a dying catfish. As we got to the fish we found out that it was a pretty large mullet, maybe a pound and half. The mullet's head had been crushed, blood was seeping from its gills. We concluded the big red was looking for his lost meal. Our plastics caught his attention but the large redfish had a bigger meal in mind! What was amazing was how acute the big red senses were. Bill pitched the mullet in open water maybe the big red would return and reclaim his feast. Both Bill and I agreed and this fish has likely broken more than a few lines and hearts. Maybe we'll see big red another day!

Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Jan. 16, 2007

A warm trend, for last couple of weeks, has meant rising water temperatures. This means shrimp are still available. Despite shrimp in the rivers only Bandy's and Larrys' Bait & Tackle are opened for business. Shrimp can be plentiful one day and gone the next. Despite the abundance today. It's likely shrimp could become scare in the next few weeks. If your fishing trip is dependent on shrimp you might want to the call ahead to make sure shrimp are available. Bandy's number is 912-354-6444. The last number for Larry's is 272-7339. Larry does carry live finger mullet when he's able to find them. Finger mullet is an excellent bait for those targeting stripers!

Fishing success last week has been mixed . Small tides and gentle drifts helped some types of fishing and hindered fishing dependent on moving water. Small tides and gentle drift can mean a slow seatrout bite. On the other hand even though action was slow there were several large seatrout landed as well as lots of small ones. Some fishermen have limited out while most were catching some fish. With water temperature in the high 50's to low 60's and fetish fish (small fish that steal a bait) are out and about.

Small tides and slow drifts were ideal for sheepshead fishing! As water cool down and the bite for most fish slows sheepshead action is heating up! Sheepshead for the most part are thought of as a tricky fish to catch. On days with a slow drift the sheepshead fishing could be a good fish to target. It's possible to not only catch quality fish but have lot s of bites! Most fishermen prefer to fish around slack water. There have been several reports of good catches of sheepshead last week.

Redfish can be found along mudflats and in spots that poise the least amount of amounts of danger from porpoises and humans. The more disturbed fish are the more likely they are to seek new areas of refuge. Creeks that are rarely accessed and are holding bait can be likely spots for redfish to hold. Winter is the time of year to see large schools of reds. Large schools of fish don't necessarily mean large catches. These fish are easy to spook. This time of year clear, cold, slow moving water can make fishing challenging. Longer casts and artificials can work well! The best artificials are usually soft plastics like DOA shrimp and jerk worms. Any unnatural noise can send a school of redfish scurrying. It's not unusual for winter redfish to honker down. Blind casting can and does produce fish. Far more redfish are caught by blind casting than sight casting. Nonetheless, be on the look out for anything unusual in the water: a push of water, bait popping out of the water, or nervous water. Likely those sights and sounds are signs of redfish. As always keep only what you intend to eat and release the rest. Going light on your take of redfish or practicing catch and release is always a good idea.Tides for the coming are building. Could mean a good seatrout bite as tide build. Anticipate the best bite just before a front arrives and a couple of days after a front has passed. We're continuing to catch some nice seatrout and reds. Winter is a great time to target sheepshead. Striper action while not hot should produce some large fish as the winter progresses!

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Don't forget next Miss Judy's Inshore School is Jan. 27th . Call Miss Judy for more information and to register @ 912.897-2478. Lots of fun and good fishing information!

Thanks again! Capt. Jack McGowan

Jan 3, 2007

Some seatrout and redfish are being caught but the bite is slowing. Seatrout are scattered. Nonetheless it's still possible to for good catches! As water temperature drops seatrout will avoid strong currents. Fish are cold blooded (meaning its body temperature is regulated by the environment). As water temperature drops so does their metabolism. Seatrout can be found where they will expend little energy. Likely areas to find seatrout will be in or near marsh grass and out of direct current. Seatrout can also be found well upriver and deep. Seatrout are looking for favorable areas where they expend little energy and where there is bait. This time of the year fishing rips and strong currents will likely not produce fish. Lighten your tackle and fish upriver and deep or along marsh banks. The best marsh banks are those out of direct current. Anticipate fishing to be slower in winter. Redfish can be around mud flats. This year seems to be little off for reds. You might want to concentrate on seatrout or sheepshead. There have been several reports both inshore and offshore of good catches of sheepshead. The best bite for sheepshead is usually on small tides. Fishermen usually will fish one hour on either side of tide. The better fishing is usually on low water although high water can produce good catches as well. Striper action has been only fair. Fishermen are complaining the flood gates in silting in and that the water dynamics of the Back River are changing. This same complaint has been lodged for the past few years. The word is the better striper fishing is in the main river. Those fishing the main river have lots of structure to fish: rocks, docks, trees and remnant structure. The main bait of choice for most targeting stripers is still shrimp. Occasionally there will be a catch of 30 or more fish in the five to seven pound range but river the last few years is losing its consistency. Not many fishermen are taking these fish. The changing bite appears to have more to due with water flow. Most striper fishermen are catching their fish in the main river and further up the river.

Don Adams, of Adams Bait Shop in Thunderbolt, so far is still able to find shrimp. Donny is having to ride south to find bait. Donny is at the extent of his range. As long as the weather stays mild Donny will likely have bait. Bait shops further south sometimes will be able to find bait after the bait has left local waters. The seatrout bite has been scattered. Some redfish action. A few stripers some big ones. Allen, from River Supply in Thunderbolt, said this week there more reports of sheepsheads being caught both inshore and offshore.

Don't forget Miss Judy's first of two Inshore schools will be held at Tubbys 'Tankhouse in Thunderbolt, Jan. 13., 2007. Hope to see you there and look forward to sharing some adventures and lessons learned of the past season. Hope this of help! For information or to sign up for Miss Judy's Fishing Schools call 912-89-2478.

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Dec. 16, 2006

This week there has been a lot of fog and rain. Air temperature has been between 45 and 65 degrees. The tides all week have been in the 6 foot range. The difference on most days between high and low tide has only been about four and half feet, for coastal Georgia is not very dramatic. Fishing has been good in the north Savannah river system as well as in Wassaw and Ossabaw sound. After the rain and fog the days can only be described as soft. Even wakes from passing boats have had little energy. Gentle currents and vivid fall colors make these last days of fall sweet. The pass few days are like savoring the last of a tasty morsel. The bite for mostly part has not been frenetic but steady. Nonetheless, when fishermen have found good drifts the bite could be hot! Water clarity is excellent. Clean water leans itself to "good fishing"! Seatrout are predators that rely heavily on sight. Clean water is a definite plus. Calm clean water can make approaching redfish pretty tricky. Stripers have pushed into local waters but the bite has not been hot. As temperatures drop striper action will likely heat up. The last week the story has been the seatrout bite. When seatrout are on move during the late fall they are burning calories. They are on the move looking for those last few big feeding opportunities before winter arrives. Hungry seatrout will readily take plastics, shrimp or mud minnows. The key likely isn't one particularly color. It's finding the fish. Generally seatrout like highly visible colors such as chartreuse and plastics with flash and glitter. If you're fishing in gin clear water a low visibility plastic such as red and yellow might work well. Despite large numbers