Inshore Fishing Report

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 (of seatrout) keep only those you wish to eat and release the rest! Seatrout are relatively fragile if you're catching and releasing smash the barb on your hook for a less stressful release. When you in a feeding frenzy you could easily catch a seatrout on every cast. My suggestion play with them for a bit then move on. Catch your trout, then look for large reds or stripers. Another fun idea is pick up a fly rod and catch a few on a fly. The seatrout bite will likely remain hot as long conditions remain mild. There are redfish on flats just not as many as in previous years. Redfish are a fun to catch! Likely due to nature but possibly to due to fishing pressure. Redfish numbers appear to be down. Regulations will be slow in catching up to whats' happening. Now is the time to limit your catch on reds or even practice catch and release all together on redfish. I personally do not take any redfish for myself, always go light on your take on this fish.

Tides for the coming week are building but nothing over 7.7 feet on Thursday and Friday. Should be good tides for fishing! Higher tides will have stronger currents likely producing a good bite.

A nice item for last minuet Christmas gift would be a cajun anchor. This is simply a stainless steel rod that you spike into a mud flat in leu of anchoring. A four or five foot rod is suitable for a bay or flat boat. Usually the best inventions are pretty simple. This is pretty simple. To find one simply google cajun anchor. I believe Buddy Barton of Barton and Burwell in Charlestown, S.C. is originator. A Temple Fork fly rod would be another great Christmas gift.

Hope this of help! Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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Dec. 04, 2006

It's hard to believe winter officially begins in a couple weeks. Nonetheless as fall winds down reports of good catches redfish and seatrout continue! Some fishermen who were catching limits a couple of weeks ago are nice fish but generally not as many . Fishermen lucky enough to report large catches are fishing in dynamic energy areas: on or near beach fronts. Reporting a large catch is impressive. What's more impressive is staying within your limit or better yet releasing all or most of your catch. Last week weather and tide conditions were favorable for fishing resulting in good catches. Tides started building over the weekend and will remain over 8 foot range till Thursday. When high tides , wind, muddy water, cold water temperatures combine fishing can be difficult. Surface water temperature is around 56 degrees. That's pretty cold. A warming trend could trigger fish to bite. Several cloudy cold days could drive water temperature even lower. Fish wont feed much when the water is cold. Sometimes in cold water a seatrout bite can be confused with a yellow tail because the trout is just bumping the bait. Trick is not to set hook too quickly wait for the fish to commit. Small seatrout, those just legal size or little larger(legal size in Ga. is 13 inches) might uncharacteristically bite from tail up instead of hitting the head. What's happening is that small seatrout doesn't want to contend with a large frisky shrimp. Chomping from the tail up might be a safe way for a small seatrout to tangle with a larger bait. These fish can be fun to catch are present in most creeks where there is a supply of bait. Capt. "Wild Bill" Jarrell just called from Yellow Bluff. He the sheepshead are biting! He said he caught 11 and left them biting. On days with lots of currents best chances of success for sheepshead is at either the top or bottom of the tide.. Not many bait shops have fiddlers on hand. Bill said he got his from Bandy's at the foot of the bridge going onto Skidaway Island. Your best bet for finding bait at a bait shop this time of the year is to call ahead.

In the coming weeks as temperatures drop this is an excellent time only to your gear in shape but also to make room on your schedule to attend some fishing seminars! These events can be fun and informative! It doesn't matter if the fisherman is a skilled old salt or new to fishing , there's always something to learn! Dates for Miss Judy's Inshore School are January 13th and 27th. For more information contact Miss Judy at 912-897-2478.

Hope this of help!

Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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Nov. 27, 2006

The bite over the Thanksgiving holiday was sporadic. Just prior to front pushing through the bite was hot on Monday (big seatrout near the sound). As the front pushed through on Tuesday and Wednesday most fisherman were likely in warmer more comfortable environs. Thanksgiving day, the after the front conditions were still pretty unsettled. Fishing was good heading into the weekend!

Capt. Bill Jarrell said during this time of the year a fish metabolism slows down and to fish smaller baits. This is a good tip! Drifting a shore line with a fly rod pitching a small fly such as clouser minnows can be fun and effective! In the current on a fly seatrout will give nice fight. When targeting seatrout opt for color. Chartreuse is a classic as well as chartreuse and white, white, or christmas tree patterns. The trick for seatrout is color and down size your offering as temperatures drop. When selecting likely areas to target seatrout look for a drift. An ideal bank is one that isn't too steep ( has a gentle slop), has a good drift and plenty of features such as point, pockets and gullies to name a few. Gullies or small creeks that have little or no current are less likely to hold fish. Gullies or creeks that have a good drift can be holding fish. Ideal flies for seatrout are clouser minnows, half and halves, and deceivers. Fish relatively small flies 1 or 1/0 and bright colors. The same hold true for plastics downsize your plastics and opt for bright colors. That being said as you as you begin your fishing start with contrasting colors ( a dark and bright color) and see which is getting the hits and switch accordingly. In general the bright colors will likely work the best.

Tides for the coming week look good all less than 8 feet. Saturday and Sunday the tides are building to 8.2 and 8.5 feet respectively. The better fishing will likely be during the week. Water temperature is already is in the mid to upper 50's , pretty cold for this time of year. Joey's Bait Shop at Hogan's marina has already closed for the year. Apparently Joey was having difficultly finding bait. Adam's Bait House is normally open until New Year's. Bandy's remained opened last year throughout the winter. Its' that time of year when bait is becoming scarce. If you're planning on purchasing shrimp you might want to call ahead.

Hope this of help! Keep what you plan to eat fresh and release the rest!

Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Nov. 20, 2006

Fishing has been good although there are definite signs the seasons are changing. Most noticeable shrimp are becoming harder to find. As a result, seatrout are leaving areas where bait is scarce moving to areas where bait is more abundant. Numbers of fish being brought in by local fishermen while still impressive are less than catches just a few weeks ago. Many fishermen are reporting a banner for the seatrout while an average or less than average year for redfish. Likely this is just peculiarity of nature: an up year for one species, an average year for another. Regardless the reason for these vagaries of nature practicing catch and release only make sense. Each year we are seeing more and more boaters placing greater demands on the resource. Tom Demoss, a Florida Keys fishing guide (he and George Woodward) fished with me in the Redbone Tournament over this past weekend. Tom said taking fish has already diminish the quality of fishing in the Keys and will have similar on other fisheries . A quality fishery is vital not only to an individual experience and to our community . Take only those fish you plan to eat fresh and release the rest. My sentiments have been more towards redfish. These fish have to survive three years of fishermen, porpoises, and mother nature (storms, drought, high or low salinity and freezes) only to graduate to big league, " the ocean". Fish responsibly and encourage and practice, catch and release!

When winds have blown fishermen for the most have struggled. When winds have abated fishermen have brought in good catches of seatrout. The redfish bite has been less consistent. Nonetheless some fishermen have found no problem in finding reds. Water temperature on most mornings for the past week has been in the 50's. The best fishing has been in those areas where a food chain can be found. The elements to look for are clean moving water, structure, bait and perhaps evidence of active feeding: birds diving or bait popping on the surface. The best fishing last week when there was some cloud coverage , moving water and food chain . Twice just prior to bite turning on it looked as if there were diamonds on the surface of the water. The rays of the sun were hitting the water just the right angle where the water sparkled. This did not last for long. First the morning glare, then the glistening water, followed by a hot bite. Raising water will bring bait up. Small menhaden can be heard popping in some creeks and rivers. Don't overlook menhaden as bait source. Seatrout and redfish will definitely eat menhaden. The popping sound is menhaden being forced to the surface. Usually this means there are blue fish under them but at time of the year it could be seatrout. Even on windy days look for the food chain. If the activity is on the wind ward side then that's where you need to be fishing. Windy days can be problematic as fishermen move from one drop to the next. Holding tight (not running from drop to drop) you're not as likely to have a big catch (or strike out) but you'll catch some fish.

There have been several reports of stripers and seatrout well up the Savannah River. Currents can be strong. Fish neap tides. Concentrate your fishing up river when the river isn't boiling. When seatrout aren't biting it can mean stripers are present. Stripers will hit finger mullet, shrimp as well jigs, flies and lures. Some fisherman say fish wood, other say fish concrete structure. Stripers will and do hold on both. For best chances of success fish smaller tides. The limit is two per fisherman and the fish have to be over 27 inches. Indications are this should be a good year for stripers!

Hope this of help! Good fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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Nov. 7th , 2006

Election day, what a day for a fishing report! Most fishermen are saying the same refrain, that this likely one of best year for sea trout in the last ten or fifteen years. That said there will be times when wind and tides combine to make fishing difficult. As one Georgia DNR(Department of Natural Resources) official is paraphrased as saying there are times on the coast when it's not that the fish aren't there, it's that conditions are such that fishing is just difficult. Recent spring tides and north, northeast combined to make fishing difficult. The previous spring tides limits of sea trout were being brought to the dock. Strong winds over several days combined with high tides to muddy waters. Fishermen fishing the top and bottom of tide will faired than those fishing when the tide was rolling. Boat traffic on the ICW (intracoastal waterway) has increased to point where big boats are literally churning the water. Definitely not plus in the favorable fishing conditions column. In windy conditions lee shores (protected shore lines out of wind) can provide pleasant fishing when windward side are too to rough to fish. Even when fishermen found spots of clean water and good drifts the bite was fair to poor. Poor water conditions usually means small fish. Small fish are more like home bodies unable to move when water quality deteriorates. Where do larger fish go? One veteran fisherman says, out to sea. Quality fish will seek favorable conditions. When tides abate and water quality improves fish will reappear. Local bait shops are saying shrimp are becoming harder to find. Large tides will literally pull shrimp into the sounds. Plummeting water temperatures will also send shrimp deep. As water temperature drops fish activity slows. Although fishing last few days has been slow don't despair.

There still plenty of good fall fishing ahead! Warming days, clean water and good drift will likely mean fishing! Fishing following spring tides likely be good. Fish will be hungry and on the move as they search for easy meals in local waters. Tides will fall into the 7 foot range (good tide for fishing) starting Friday November 10th and will remain in the 7 foot range for the rest of the month. Water temperature is in the low 60's some trash fish still present but becoming more scarce. As water temperature drops anticipate shrimp supplies at bait shops to begin to be inconsistent. At present shrimpers are still finding shrimp but demand will likely outstrip supply in the coming days. In the Savannah area bait shrimpers usually keep their doors open until the end of December. Last year Bo at Bandy's was open most of winter. Should be good fishing ahead!

Just a side note, two fishermen last week said they caught a snook! This is something that is pretty unusual in local tidal waters. One those fishermen thinks this is a sign of warming conditions. Not sure. What I am sure is that catching a snook in local waters doesn't happen very often, about as often as it snows. Just seems like kind of neat!

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

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Oct. 26, 2006

To say fishing been good is an understatement! This is will go down as one of the best years up and down the coast out of the last ten or fifteen years. That's a strong statement. That being said it's still just fishing. A front can slow the bite. Usually fishing will be good just before the front and after the fish have adjusted to the conditions. Immediately after a front sounds like an ideal time to fish. On the contrary even if you find clean water fishing will likely be fair to poor (immediately after a front).

Several mild winters and ideal salinity levels have come together to create a bumper crop of seatrout. Seatrout can be found on almost patch of marsh grass. Seatrout are on the move in search of shrimp. An ideal time to target this fish is either when the shrimp are entering or leaving the grass. Current can concentrate bait and fish. When conditions come together the bite can be fast and furious. Many fishermen are taking a few to eat and releasing the rest (many legal fish). Drops that can produce seemingly an endless supply of fish one day might not produce a single bite the next. Fish will move as bait moves. Porpoises and fishing pressure can also change a pattern. When fishing look for conditions: clean water, bait, lack of porpoises and good drift. When these come together you'll likely find fish. Almost any patch of marsh grass might be holding a thick school of seatrout. When targeting reds look for hard structure: oysters shells, hard bottom and thin grass.

One fisherman asked me yesterday how long could he expect to catch fish. It all depends. On some past years we've seen a hot inshore up to New Year's. Cold fronts always play a big part. . Don Adams, Adams Baithouse has said shrimp are already starting to become hard to find. Shrimp that are plentiful one day can be pulled out into the sounds on a big tide. Shrimp in the Savannah area are usually pretty scare by New Year's. Fishing should be hot as long temperatures are mild and shrimp are plentiful. Enjoy it!

Tides look good for the coming week. Weather permitting could be some of the best fishing of the year! Time to wet a line!

Good Fishing! Always practice catch and release - keep a few and release the rest!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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Oct. 16, 2006

The inshore bite the last several days has been hot! Clean water, good drifts, mild weather have come together to make for some great fishing! When winds have gotten up lots of fishermen are still catching fish. Fishermen who have said they struggled catching fish are coming to dock with some nice seatrout, redfish and flounder.

Fall is great time of the year for inshore! Shrimp is the primary bait! Those desiring to pitch artificals or a fly will find seatrout and redfish will take these with abandon. Tides look good throughout the week. Generally, seatrout generally bite best on incoming tides around points or spots where the current is channeled by some kind of structure: sandbars, oyster rakes, rocks, marshgrass, rip rap, etc.. Seatrout can be at any level in the water column. Seatrout are sight and sound feeders. Rattle or popping cork will work well this of the year. Popping a standard float will likely produce more strikes than letting your cork sit. An ideal method of fishing is to pitch your float rig in the drift and let line out until your float has finished it’s drift. A typical drift might be 100 feet or longer. Sometime fishermen will find a magic spot where the fish just bite. A good cast is one that land short of the target and gently floats into the strike zone. Rod position is critical! This sound simple and it is as long your rod is pointing toward the float. A standard rod position will be about 45 degrees. When the float go down waiting a second or two can mean all the difference in catching a fish or not. A firm but gentle hook set usually works the best. Fighting the fish should be done with care. It’s easy to rip a hook out of large trout. Seatrout have notoriously weak or soft mouths. Seatrout are on the move coming off of spring tides. This means they hungry, schooled up and on the move in search of food! These fish will usually be present for an hour or two then gone. These are mercurial, a little like stripers, here one day and gone the next. When these fish are biting it’s easy to get caught in “trout fever”. Fishermen get so excited they lose their judgement. The result can be sloppy fishing or worse keeping over the legal limit of fish. Stay within the limits! Better yet practice catch and release or keep a few and release the rest!

Tip of the Week

Work the current for seatrout, fish structure for redfish. When possible practice and release!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Oct. 9, 2006

The inshore bite has been hot! Most of the action has been seatrout when fishermen have been able to find a suitable drift and clean water. Big tides and a northeaster have made fishing difficult. Despite tides close to and over 9 foot fishermen have still caught fish. Seatrout can be found schooling and on the move. Not all the seatrout are schooling but there are good schools of seatrout on the move. Muddy water, debris strong currents can all make fishing difficult. Catching a few fish on a big tide is an accomplishment! Some fisherman have managed to bring in good catches of seatrout despite the conditions. Fishing tides around the 9 foot range is problematic. Usually the best is around the top or bottom of the tide. Drops that can work well in a smaller tide range might be ineffective on higher tides. A northeaster can also reduce the amount of fishable water. Like any day look for suitable conditions. A few distress mullet can give away seatrout or redfish. A mullet jumping out of the water at unusual angles might be giving some nice fish near by. I call these mullet " unhappy mullet" as oppose to happy mullet. A happy mullet will jump in straight lines. One young student asked Dr. Ed Chin (former head of the University of Georgia Oceanography School), why do mullet jump? He laughed and said somethings you're going to have to ask good Lord. It is wonderful that are so many mysteries that even something so seemingly simple as a mullet jumping isn't completely understood. A distress mullet or unhappy mullet is a little easier to understand. This is fleeing fish. The mullet is swimming close to surface and trying to avoid a predator.

There are still lots of fetish fish or trash fish in local waters so take plenty of bait. Anticipate very challenging fishing conditions until tides lessen, this be on Thursday ( the good tides after the Spring tides). Fish will likely be hungry and on the move. The best bite has been towards the sounds. Spring tides blow the shrimp out the creeks and river. Concentrating on the sounds during big tides is usually more productive than heading up river. As tides fall from the 9 foot range to the 7 range fishing should pick up. Fisherman during the fall might find good fish on literally any spot along marsh. Fall means fishing, particularly inshore fishing!

Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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Sep. 18, 2006

Following big tides, lots of rain and strong wind conditions improved dramatically resulting in good catches of redfish, seatrout and flounder. The rivers and creeks are literally full of shrimp. Lots of shrimp are large. Those desiring to put up some shrimp for the winter should head out in the coming days. It's not improbable to catch a quart of shrimp in one cast! Those going fishing might still want to buy their shrimp. Timing is everything. Once the water has flooded the grass throwing a cast isn't very productive. Throwing a cast net on an outgoing tide can be very productive.

Lots of bait means lots of fish! The last few days there have been several good catches of seatrout in the sounds as well as in the creeks. Plastics can produce fish nonetheless seatrout are keying on shrimp. When the bite has been on literally it's possible to catch a fish on every cast! Redfish are still on the small. Most small are measuring 13 ½ inches. A few are legal size (14 inches) but most are a little shy. Water temperature has dropped dramatically (mid 70's). Lots of trash fish "fetish fish" still in the creeks and rivers: yellow tails, pin fish and tomtates. September can be a good month for flounders. Some fishermen think the flounder bite is winding down. Don't believe it. There are still plenty of flounders. The good flounder fishing can be found close to sounds and near sandy or muddy bottoms. Black drum are on the move. Black drum have an extremely light bite. It's not unusual for fishermen to confuse a black drum bite with a fetish fish both are light bites. Black drum bite from the tail up. One trick is to change the way you're hooking your shrimp; if you think it might be a black drum try tail hooking your shrimp.

Several fishermen have said that sharks have been present all year for the past few years. Cooler water temperatures have not sent sharks out. Cooler temperatures if anything have brought sharks that are infrequent to coastal waters in close. Fishermen need make sure they properly identify their shark and read the regulations carefully ( 2 per boat is max on small sharks composite 30TL) if you plan on keeping any of these fish.

Tides for the coming week look ideal for fishing!

The Georgia Redfish Rally 2006. A coastwide tournament to benefit the American Diabetes Association and provide funding for studying the efficacy of redfish stocking on the Georgia coast is between October 1 - November 15. In short this is a very worthwhile cause that some day could be of major importance to our fishery. All encouraged to participate in this fun event! For more information visit www.ccaga.org

Hope this of interest and help! Keep only a few you wish to eat and release the rest!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Sep. 06, 2006

Sharks, redfishsh and flounder continue to make the bulk of the inshore bite this week. Small black tip sharks are plentiful. Redfish can be found along oyster bars. Flounders can be near sandy bottom creeks close to the beach front. The bite has been good but as tides continue to build through the coming week anticipate strong currents and dirty water. Tides by this weekend will peak at 8.7ft.. These are high tides. Best chance of success will likely be at the top or bottom of tide or fishing back in the grass in search of redfish. Either way big tides are a challenge to fish. The bite this week for redfish was not an aggressive bite. Working artificials slower was more productive. Berkley's lime tiger shrimp, similar to electric chicken, is good bait to work on a slow bite. This time of year with so many small redfish down size your jig to a smaller Gotcha jighead rather than a wider gap jig. The wide gap jig will impale many of these fish in the eye. Fish the wider gap jigs as the season progresses. Some fishermen are keeping the small redfish. More and more fishermen are realizing there is not much meat on these small fish and secondly there is likelihood these small fish will become much larger and even more fun on light tackle! When ever possible practice catch and release! A word of caution about fish grippers we all like to use. Those devices which grip the lip might be damaging the fish. Weight your fish in your landing net. If you use a gripping device use it to steady the fish. When in doubt, err on the side of caution.

Fishing for the remainder of week will be challenging. Try to find clean water and areas without blasting currents or fish back in the grass. Plenty of bait in the creeks and rivers. Next week when tides abate the bite will pick back up. For the remainder of this week when you find good conditions you will likely catch fish.

Hope this of help.

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack

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Aug. 28, 2006

Fishing this week has been good! Lots of small sharks (mostly bonnet heads and black tips) and large ladyfish near the sounds. Sharks and ladyfish have been thick! The state record for ladyfish is only 5 lbs.. There are plenty fish in the sounds over this weight.. We weighted one at 4.25 lbs. Ladyfish sometimes called "poor man's tarpon" can be a challenge to land. Frequent jumps, incredible speed and a tender mouth make thrown hooks common. Those desiring to land these fish need to be to reel fast to keep up this speed demons. A solid hook set is no guarantee of landing this fish. This fish can be a lot of fun but also frustrating if you think you're dealing with your typical inshore fish. Old timers say catching a ladyfish is a sign of good luck. That's probably because you need luck to land this fish!

Seatrout action has been good when the water has been clean and sharks and ladyfish haven't been overwhelming. Best action has around points and in the current. Those fishing at night around dock lights have done well! Redfish action has been good. Some small redfish are already 14" (legal size). Most are still around 12", still large enough to hit a plastic. Some larger redfish are on the flats. As temperatures begin to cool, action on tidal mud flats will heat up! The flounder bite has been good near the sounds. Those gigging flounders are typically taking more fish than rod and reel fishermen. Tarpon action appears to picking up but east winds have limited fishing. Nonetheless, there are reports of pogies, tarpon and large black tips on the beachfronts. As August comes to a conclusion this is an excellent time to think about large reds in the surf. Fishermen can target this fish from a boat or the beach. Timing in surf fishing, like all coastal fishing, is critical. Low incoming is a favorite tide to target large reds on outer sand bars. The state redfish limit is five fish per fisherman with a slot limit of 14 to 23 inches. Most redfish in the surf will be larger than 23 inches. It is possible to catch a legal fish surf. A large redfish, channel bass, is big a beautiful fish. It puts up a great fight, makes a great picture and might be responsible for making more fish. What a great fish!

Fishing for the coming week looks a little ify with Ernesto hovering below. Best fishing opportunities will come early in the week before the coast experiences wind and rain from the storm. Tides during the week are less than 7 feet building to 7.2 feet on Saturday. Rain is much needed. Despite good tides fishing opportunities will decrease as we go through the week.

Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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Aug. 21, 2006

The seatrout bite has been consistent all summer! Several fishermen who strictly target tarpon during the summer months are fishing for seatrout. The tarpon bite has been fair at best. The seatrout bite has been consistent. Lots of small seatrout and larger fish as well. The pattern appears to be changing from a beachfront pattern to tidal creeks. Seatrout are still carrying roe. Nonetheless, their bellies appear to be flat appearing as if they have partially spawned. The best tarpon fishing is likely still ahead. The bite for small sharks has slowed. The bite for big sharks has heated up! Capt. Tommy Williams has landed several giant bull sharks. Large black tips can also be found around the beachfronts. Joe Thomas landed a large jack while trout fishing in an interior river. More and more jacks are popping up! There are lots of mullet in the rivers and creeks. The water temperature is still in the mid 80's too hot for an ideal redfish bite but ideal for toothy fish. Mullet jumping out of the water at crazy angle are likely indicating sharks in the area. Bonnet head sharks have been the most numerous. Black tips are also present. It's not unusual while fishing for seatrout to hook up several bonnet heads. Bonnet heads are usually closer to the structure. Bonnet head sharks often feed on crabs pinning their prey against the mud bank. Black tips are more likely found in the current. Ladyfish are present but thus far we haven't seen school of this fish. We're catching a few single here and there. This summer remains to be a good year for flounder! The flounder bite has gotten consistently better since shrimpers were required to place a by catch reduction device on their nets. Small redfish, first year fish, are about 12 inches. Lots of trash fish in the rivers. Schools of pinfish and yellowtail can deplete a quart of shrimp in little time. Those fishing near wrecks have done well on spadefish and spainish as well as few large catches of tripletail.

Tides for the coming week (Aug. 21st. - 27th.) should provide plenty of opportunities for good fishing! The tides the week before last were bigger than predicted. It can happen. Morning tides are softer than afternoon tides. Nonetheless the highest tide afternoon tide is at 7.6 feet well within the "good fishing" range.

Hope this of help! Practice catch and release (particularly for redfish and large roe seatrout)!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Aug. 14, 2006

Tides last were higher than predicted. High tides and windy conditions put a damper on fishing. Heavy rains over the weekend were welcomed! Once again we well behind the average rainfall. Salty conditions have likely helped to produce lots of seatrout. Shrimp are very abundant in the creeks and rivers. Finger mullet are schooling in the rivers and creeks just before dawn. Just before dawn is an ideal time to throw a cast net for bait fish. First year redfish are about 12 inches. These fish can be found along oyster bars, docks and other structure on lower tide stages. It's not unusual to catch several small redfish then hook into a larger fish or seatrout. The word is that this year so far hasn't been a banner year for tarpon. Those fishing south of Savannah are saying the tarpon bite in just beginning to heat up. Likely the best tarpon fishing in local waters is just ahead! Some jack crevalles are showing up. The shark bite has slowed. Nonetheless there are still plenty of sharks in local waters. On days when the seatrout bite slowed, the flounder picked up. The summer seatrout pattern is changing from a beachfront pattern to a backwater pattern. As bait pushes into rivers seatrout and redfish will follow.

Tides will be subsiding during the coming week. As tides subside fishing conditions will improve. Tides for the latter half of week look more promising.

August is a great month for redfish. It's also the month to beware of jellyfish! Their sting can be painful. Anchor ropes can pick up particles from a jellyfish that can sting. Care should be taken not to rub in further. When surf fishing wearing long pants can be a good option when jellyfish are present. Large stingrays are in the sounds. At times these large fish can be seen becoming air born likely chasing a bait.

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Aug. 3, 2006

The days have been hot! Despite the heat fishing has been good particularly in the sounds and around the beach fronts. Best fishing has been before midday. The wind has been consistently out the south (usually a southeast or southwest wind). When winds are forecasted at 5 to 10 knots, you're likely the wind on the coast 5 to 10 knots stronger. Last week small tides meant slow drifts. When the wind and tide were opposing the drift was poor. Despite small tides and poor drifts several fishermen brought in nice catches of seatrout. Capt. Matt Williams on a Miss Judy's charter brought in several nice trout. Capt. Matt said the action was consistent and that he could have caught fish on ten other drops! Cliff Avery who fished me on a Miss Judy's charter last Wednesday said it was best fishing he has experienced. We fished for seatrout. Capt. Rick also reported a good catches of seatrout.

As the day heats up seatrout, large whiting and small sharks can be found in 15 feet or deeper water on the ledges of sandbars. Seatrout action at times can be fast and furious. Seatrout are running in all sizes with most are undersized. Nonetheless, there have been plenty of legal fish as well as large roe trout. In general, the seatrout are in a summer pattern moving from the beach fronts to the sounds. Days with overcast skies and a good drift have been an ideal for trout fishing. Despite a nonchalant attitude displayed by some trout fishermen, this summer has produced some very good trout fishing! If the trout fishing this summer is any indication this fall could produce some good to excellent fishing! Large roe trout are prized for their food value. Nonetheless going light on this fish is only smart. Cliff Avery, said he likes to practice CPR. Cliff said catch, take a picture and release! Cliff I said I'm tracking. The point is that a fisherman doesn't have to kill every fish they catch to have a good time. Practicing catch and release or keeping a few fish is smart! Fishermen who try to rationalize their fishing by few more fillets are viewing this fishery in the short term. Keeping a few fish no problem. Maximizing your take will likely help create a poor fishery for not only yourself but for future generations. The future of a successful fishery on the Georgia is catch and release (per Spud Woodward Georgia DNR)!

Back to the report. Shrimp are ideal size for fishing! Bait shops should have ample quantities of shrimp. Mud minnows are plentiful. Finger mullet are showing up! When the finger mullet show up redfish wont be far behind! Flounder bite has been pretty good. Nonetheless, this is a tricky fish to catch. The best bite has been on lower water with mud minnows. Spanish are showing on the rips. Pogies,( menhaden), are everywhere one day; the next they can be hard to find. When pogies are difficult to find try fishing other baits: mullet or other small fish. Best fishing has been on the beach fronts and in sounds!

Tides for the coming week are small in the 6 foot range. Should be plenty of opportunities to target seatrout, flounder and redfish. Avoid the heads of creeks until the heat breaks. Fishing the sounds and beach fronts should be fishier and more pleasant fishing!

Hope this of help!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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July 21, 2006

Several factors this week made fishing challenging: the algae bloom, rough conditions caused by wind and negative tides. Despite challenging conditions there has been some good flounder and seatrout fishing. Best seatrout action can be on beach fronts. Fishermen can find a mixture of seatrout from small males to legal fish to large roe seatrout. Schools of small redfish are popping up. These schools of small "rat reds" do not appear to as concentrated as in past years. Hopefully this will change as the summer progresses. The shark bite which has been phenomenal in Wassaw Sound has slowed. Bait which has been everywhere suddenly is hard to find. Large school of bait will filter back into the sound system as negative tides abate. A negative tide is that is lower than a average low tide. A week of negative tides (combined with wind) can literally pull bait out. It is a stretch to say it was the tides alone attributed to the challenging conditions. More likely it was a combination of factors. The negative tides definitely did not help. On a brighter note there were nice flounder caught near the sounds fishing with mud minnows and shrimp as well some dandy seatrout!

Tides for the coming week are soft tides. Should give plenty of opportunities to target flounders and redfish. The seatrout bite should be good. An oil spill in the near Elba Island has put a temporary damper on targeting jack crevalles in the Savannah River . Prior to the oil spill there few jacks seen and few caught near the Coast Guard station. Fishermen are well advised to stay clear of South Channel, Fields Cuts and the Savannah River until the spill has been cleared and the damaged assessed. This will likely take several days if not longer. Ricky Johnston reported catching about 30 seatrout north of Savannah. There have been similar catches in local waters. Typically most of seatrout will be undersized with a few keepers and few large fish. It's always a good idea to release any large roe seatrout. This is next year's crop of fish!

There have few tarpon caught. Tarpon action should continue to heat up!

Most unusual catch this week was a nurse shark that weighted about 100 pounds by Will, Sam, Jay and Blake Herrin off of Cabbage Island Spit. The guys videoed the fish and let it slide back down to its haunts off of Wassaw.

Hope this of help!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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July 11, 2006

Fishing has been up and down this week. A mid week storm dumped needed rain into locals waters. A poor or slow drift coupled with lots of fresh water put a definite damper on fishing. Prior to the mid week storm water temperature in the Wilmington River was at 87 degrees. David Bauerman said he marked the water temperature in the Savannah shipping channel at 90 degrees! That's hot! The rainfall we received will definitely be a benefit to the marsh system. Fishermen prior to the storm were catching fish. Joe Thomas has been catching nice seatrout and reds in local waters. Capt Jay Rosenzweig said he's catching about a dozen nice seatrout in an outing. The report has been mixed. Some fishermen are reporting good catches while others are struggling. Local conditions have a lot to with catching fish. Poor drifts and dirty water usually mean poor fishing. Clean water with a good drift is likely to produce fish. Even for those catching fish the bite was more methodical rather than fast and furious.

Prior to mid week storm sharks dominated the sandbars and many inshore drops. Capt. Rick said twice a shark nail a nice seatrout as they were reeling it in. Sharks are plentiful! That said sudden changes in salinity (due to rain) will drive these fish out into the ocean in search of saltier water. Spanish mackerel and sharks are working the sandbars. One fishermen said when pitching a bucktail for mackerel tie on a piece a 20 pound fluorocarbon to help prevent brake offs. One of Allen's customers ( from River Supply) Tom said this is shaping to a great year for flounder and redfish. Tom said his preference is to pitch a 4" chartreuse and red bass assassin (sea shad) "red rooster" another good patterns is the electric buzzard. Spinner baits are getting a lot of attention. In subtle conditions a light 1/8 oz. jig or DOA shrimp would likely be a fisher choice. In conditions where a bait is competing with current, high water, muddy water try a spinner. A jig is a lure that can do most anything. On days with poor drifts and hot water fishing a jig deep can produce fish. There been lots of bait in Turners Creeks and not surprisingly there has a report of some large roe caught on menhaden in the creek. Sometimes you don't have to go far to catch fish. We fishermen are creatures of habits. Often fishermen we travel long distances to fish a favorite drop when often there can be plenty of fish within a short distance from where you started. You might be surprised at what you can catch. The law of attraction (in fishing) is one boat attracts another and another and so on. Fishing an area because there are plenty of boats is a mistake. Look for the conditions rather than the boats. A minimum distance to be courteous when fishing around other boats is 50 yards.

Tides for the coming are the coming week are building. This is a condition I like. Tides look good. Nothing over 7.4 feet. A Springtime characteristic are lower than average lows. Next week we'll have several days with negative tides. Depending on the wind the low tides could be exaggerated. Catching fish on the bottom of tide during the summer is tough. For best chances of success try to avoid fishing through the bottom of the tide.

Hope this of help! Good Fishing!

Capt. Jack McGowan

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June 26, 2006

Summer has officially started (June 21st)! This is probably no news. Mornings are likely the best time to fish. As the day heats up on shore, hot air raises drawing in a cool sea breeze. A sea breeze is from the east which can churn expose water making fishing difficult. Early morning fishing is often more comfortable and less choppy. Mud flats are holding some reds. Mud flats during the summer are generally more productive on higher water. Seatrout can be found around the beachfront but finding favorable conditions isn't a given. Some small first year redfish (rat reds) are just large enough to bite hook. Tons of baby black tip sharks in the sounds and rivers as well as tons of bait (menhaden). Capt. Ron Thomas of the Bahia Bleu Marina says the tarpon have not showed up (in numbers) south of Savannah and similarly few tarpon have shown up in local waters. Most fishermen opt to fish the sounds during the summer months and the backwaters during the fall and winter. Strong east winds last week made fishing difficult no matter where you were fishing. On a challenging day one key for success is to find and fish protected water . Fish close to structure and deep during hot conditions.

Bait shops are finding more shrimp but supply is still inconsistent. Shrimp coming the creeks are painfully small almost too small to fish. One fishermen called me today and asked what's the best bait for his mud minnow trap. Almost anything will work, my favorite bait for a mud minnow trap is a fresh fish carcass (minus the fillets!). If you can find some medium to large mud minnows fish them. Small pogies (3 inches) are great for seatrout. Larger pogies are great for larger reds. When the wind has been from the east fishing has been tough. Best fishing has been in the morning.

Tides look good for the first week of July. Fishing will pick up as storms and low pressure push out!

Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

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June 13, 2006

Hot temperatures has meant some of inshore has bite has heated up while some has cooled. On the hot side the Herb River has produced some nice seatrout and redfish during the past week. Most notable was a seven pound seatrout caught on an artificial. In general the bite for redfish and seatrout has been a little slow. Water temperature is already near 80 degrees. When temperatures raise try fishing around docks. Docks provide shade, protection and deeper water for fish to hold in. Seatrout are typically thought to be on the beach fronts during the summer but this isn't only place you'll find these fish. Deep water creeks will hold pre spawn fish as they fatten for the spawn. It always a good idea to release large roe seatrout. My suggestion keep a couple and release the rest. Shrimp are still scare. As soon as the bait shops catch some bait they quickly selling out. Brown shrimp are in the creeks just not plentiful. The bait situation should improve quickly. Recent rains will likely improve local fishing. Rain water should help balance the salinity and wash needed nutrients into the creeks and rivers. On the down side ample amounts of rain could put a damper on what has been an incredible shark bite. Lots of fresh water dumping into the sounds can drive bait fish and the fish that follow them well offshore. Not to worry, the shark bite will be hot as bait fish push into the sounds! Wassaw sound is an incredible shark fishery due primarily to the lay of the islands and rivers. Those wanting to get their string tightened Wassaw is the place! Bull sharks are primarily on the flats, sharp nose sharks in the holes and along the sand bars, black tips in the gaps along the bars, bonnet and scalloped bonnet heads are mostly found closer to the river system and in muddier water, and occasional great hammer head. Little has been said about the Wassaw shark fishery. Whiting fishermen view sharks as tackle busters. Fishermen looking for aggressive fish with attitude shark fishing should be overlooked! Not only is shark fishing fun; fisherman of any age can get plenty of experience fighting a big fish! Sharks need to handle with care not to hurt yourself or the fish. Releasing sharks is always encourage. If you're keeping a shark you need to certain your fish is legal (30 inch for small shark composite). My suggestion is have fun with the fish and release it to fight another day.

Last week we had several occasions with two or more fishermen were hooked up at the same time. It can be little crazy when everyone on board is fighting a fish. Keeping lines straight and bait in the water sounds simple but not so when you're shark fishing. A large black tip will often make a fisherman follow him. We're fishing relatively light tackle which add to the excitement of an already exciting fish. Shark fishing like most is about the food chain or moving water. I prefer to fish near the sand bars. I think of these bars as the interstate highway for fish. Fish can be dispersed anywhere in the sounds. A sand bars give a reference or a boundary that fish can follow and feed along. Not only do sharks work the sounds and sand bars but so do a variety of other fish. Last weeks some of fish that were caught while fishing the sand bars: summer trout, cobia, blue fish and whiting. When fishing close to the ocean the sentence "you never know" is definitely true. You could hook into a tarpon, a jack or who knows what. I think the fact that you could hook into so many different fish is part of makes fishing the sounds during the summer so much fun!

Thanks again! Hope this of help! Capt. Jack McGowan

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May 31, 2006

Wind, wind and more wind! Despite an easterly wind, negative tides and a lack of bait fishing has been surprising good. One fisherman, commented yeah there's not much bait but when find you the fish they're hungry. This is pretty much on target. Less bait, hungry fish! Water temperature has jumped already to upper 70's. Lots of small of small blue fish and menhaden in the sounds as well some spanish mackerel. Menhaden about five to six inches are plentiful. Small menhaden are an excellent bait for redfish or sharks. The whiting bite has slowed but the shark bite is RED hot! Large pre spawn sea trout can be caught near the sounds as well in the back waters. Shrimp have been scare for the past couple of weeks. Some small brown shrimp have moved into local creeks but local bait dealers are still having difficultly in finding local or buying Florida shrimp. Best bet in obtaining shrimp, call ahead. Sea trout, redfish, flounder and sharks will readily take a mud minnow or a pogie. Artificials and plastics can work as well. When shrimp are scare, "fish the bait that's present! Redfish, seatrout and flounder are feeding on pogies, glass minnows, silver sides, mud minnows, fiddlers crabs and finger mullet. Remember to take a cast net on your next fishing trip and try fishing the bait that's present. You'll likely be rewarded with some nice tugs. As water temperatures continue raise anticipate the bite to heat up. The best bite will likely be in deeper, moving water. Guy Hoffman reported catching a dozen flounders on mud minnows. Best fishing action this week has been in the sounds. Poor drifts due to opposing wind and current can be difficult to fish. Poor drifts on lower tides stages are usually good for flounder and sheepshead. Good reports of sheepshead caught off the jetties last week.

Tides for the 1st week in June are barely over 6 feet. Water should clear up. The coming week (weather permitting) will likely provide plenty of opportunities to target redfish, flounder and sheepshead. Shark action is hot!

Hope this of help! Always practice catch and release!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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May 15, 2006

Fishing has been good! Strong wind has muddied local waters making finding fish more difficult. Nonetheless when fishermen have found clean water fishing has been good. Lots of small menhaden (3 to 4 inch) in the rivers. This bait will attract lots of fish! Allen (from River Supply) said a fisherman caught a 27" seatrout on a hard bait while fishing off the bank at Bonaventure cemetery. We've caught several nice redfish and seatrout on menhaden. Don't overlook the bait that present. Shrimp for the next few weeks will be difficult to come by. White shrimp are moving into the sounds. Brown shrimp haven't moved in. Usually brown shrimp will start appearing around the 1st of June hence the nickname "junies". Glass minnows are present in the sounds in the sounds. This bait fish is so slender its literally impossible to catch this fish in a legal net. Seatrout, ladyfish and redfish love to pound glass minnows. When birds are working bait during the Spring they're usually working menhaden out and glass minnows in. Fishing around feeding birds can be productive! No telling what you're going to catch. Maybe a spanish, a seatrout or lady fish pretty neat! The flounder and seatrout bite in Wassaw sound has been good! The whiting bite on the sandbars is slowing up and larger sharks are showing up. When fishing shallow water for sharks fish spots without lots of boat traffic. The continual churning over the bars will drive off even the most obnoxious fish. The key is bait. What kind of bait are you seeing? No bait, no bites move on. In strong wind look for lee shores, clean water and a good drift. When the drift is poor the bait fish aren't moving neither are the fish. A good drift will likely mean good fishing. No bait, a poor drift, and dirty water will usually mean fishermen are struggling. Sometimes you can make the best out of a difficult situation by looking for pockets of clean water. You'll see bait fish in these pockets as well as the fish you're targeting. This is exactly how the Bailelys and I caught some nice fish this week. We found some clean water and worked lee shores.

Despite the full moon last Saturday the tides were small (less than 6.5 feet). Small tides and dirty water caused by the wind presented challenging conditions. Tides for the coming are once again small tides. Should be good for flounder fishing not the best for float fishing. Tides are building to 6.7 ft on Saturday and 7.1 ft on Sunday. For those heading out on the weekend might find the best fishing of the week. Building tides often corresponds to a building bite.

Hope this of help! Keep a few and release the rest! Always go light on your redfish catch. The redfish bite in Wassaw has been sad but good to the south and north.

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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April 26, 2006

Fishing has been good! Good reports of seatrout, redfish, sheepshead, whiting and sharks. Most of the large roe seatrout action continues to be in the creeks and rivers although this pattern is changing as more seatrout are starting to be caught in the sounds. Capt. Eric reported catching nine seatrout in Salt Pond. Redfish action slowed as temperatures soared to the low 90's. Lots of bait fish, menhaden, have pushed deep into local rivers. These fish will attract large redfish as well many other fish. Large redfish are also feeding on glass minnows that find themselves trapped on wind ward shore lines. Birds can indicate an awesome spring time food chain. Active feeding terns can reveal schools of redfish, seatrout and ladyfish. Although it seems early there already been tarpon spotted along local the beachfronts as well a few black tip sharks. A few nice flounders have been caught this week but most than been small. The whiting bite has been good. There were reports of good sheepshead catches on some of near shore wrecks. This seems a little late for sheepshead. Lots of wind during the week muddied waters and making finding clean water difficult. With small tides garfish can show up. Garfish and redfish are not incompatible. Garfish are not necessarily a sign a poor fishing. Nonetheless, you need to see something else like clean water, bait fish, birds, or fish. The point is you need see something besides garfish. Garfish alone are not a very auspicious sign. Scanning a grass line might reveal birds actively feeding and a food chain in process! As mud flats heat up anticipate redfish to leave the flats seeking cooler water. Hot days will likely mean mud flats will too warm to hold fish for long. Areas close to deeper water, current, and plenty of bait will become likely hot spots.

Tides for the remainder of the month should allow for plenty of fishing opportunities.

A few words about sharks. Yes they're in! Troy Bradely reported his son Brian caught several large sharks in Wassaw sound. Brian said the "sparks were flying off his reel"! Now that's a good shark bite! I think a couple of those of sharks are likely still running. Don't worry there's plenty more, summer hasn't begun!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Keep a few, release the rest!

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Apr. 20, 2006

The bite is on! Seatrout are on the move and biting! Best action for seatrout has been on the inside (as opposed to the sound) around creeks, rivers, sloughs as well as around some hammocks. These fish are taking live shrimp, mud minnows as well a variety of plastics. Some fishermen are reporting large catches of seatrout with only few legal size. Others are catching large roe trout on the inside. Redfish action is picking as well! Shrimp and mud minnows have been working well but don't overlook fishing a small menhaden or mullet. Redfish will take any of these baits with zeal! Spring is a great time of the year to look for birds feeding on bait fish. Typically bait can get trapped in pockets on a grass line. The birds are an excellent indicator of food chain. Going to the birds doesn't automatically produce fish but it can. Sometimes the sight can be spectacle. The key is actively feeding birds. Active birds indicate a food chain in process. Birds standing at the ready could be an indication the bite is about to happen. In either case birds are good scene. Another good scene is seeing bait. Whatever bait is present that's the bait you should be fishing. Fishing has been good. Water temperature is up (mid 60's) and the reds have been hot! There have been a few flounders caught but not many as of yet. The whiting bite has been excellent for the past two or three weeks. Several whiting over 13" are not uncommon. Whiting catches have been strong. With the whiting follows a variety of sharks. Cold sharks are now scare and bonnet head sharks are replacing them on the sand bars.

Tides for the coming are building. The bite will likely be steadily improving throughout the week. On Saturday April 29th the high tide is 8.3 in the evening not effecting day fishermen. Provided the wind doesn't too hard should be "good fishing". Even in windy conditions fisherman can find fish by fishing a lee shore or protected areas. Look for spots out of the wind and clean water. When fishing for redfish concentrate on the short grass; for seatrout fish the drift or in the current. Adam's Bait Shop and Bandy's have had plenty of shrimp.

Hope this of help! Practice catch and release whenever possible. Keep only those fish you wish to eat and release the rest! Thank you!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Apr. 6 2006 - The Rescue of George Hamilton

It is my understanding that Mr. Hamilton's boat drifted off while he was gathering oysters and that there was no one else on board. I came across Mr. Hamilton while on a charter with Miss Judy Charters. The wind the day before was out of the south and strong. I remember pitching a fly was nearly impossible. It was about 8am the wind was much less but the day just beginning. I just pulled the boat off of plan. We were near Turtle Island. Within a few minuets we (Eva, Tina and Bob) thought we some unusual noise. Between the wind and birds it's hard to say what we hearing. Then we saw a face near the tree line. My charter was worried that we stumbled on a drunk, a criminal or something worse. I wasn't sure all I knew we had to investigate.

The mud flat was massive. We poled as close to island as could get. It was a man. He was semi coherent and unable to stand for more than a few moments. We could not understand what he saying. One word stood out, water! He was in trouble. Prior to poling the flat we called Miss Judy, Bahia Bleu and the Coast Guard to let folks what our situation was just in case. The tide was ebbing. Direct access to the island was impossible. Each time pushing in we were more likely to get stuck. We pushed in close as possible nearly sticking the boat. Still no Coast Guard. Another phone call, another request for a helicopter. Half an hour later Petty Officer Taylor called. They were in a boat at Whal's Cut could I lead them in. I did. Their zodiac while a great rescue boat wasn't the best for the flats. I asked if could off my charter and take one their men to the island. I poled as close I get and the officer made his way to the island. Knowing Mr. Hammond's request was for water I repeatedly asked he had plenty of water. The reply was yes. After some struggle the officer reached Mr. Hamilton. He yelled back he was badly lacerated and dehydrated and he needed more water. The officer wasn't able to trudge through the mud. I tried throwing water but to little avail, too much tide had gone out. It looked like a stand still; however, the flats were taking shape. Outline were appearing. I ran the boat up and down the flat. I found a deeper edge relatively close by. I was able to put about 30 feet from the grass, from that position tossing a few waters was no problem. In a short while Mr. Hamilton and the officer were making their to the boat. The shortest distance would have taken them in soft mud. With a little guiding they stayed in the grass and made their way safely to bank. Shortly before Mr. Hamilton would have piled on my boat a Coast Guard jon boat arrived and the transfer was complete.

Just another day not hardly. When I reflect back on this event a couple of things stand out. One was that Mr. Hamilton signaled other boats who either did not see him or would not investigate. Sometimes whether we like it or not we need to slow to ensure our fellow boater is safe. The roles could easily be reversed. Second be observance. It will help your fishing. Who knows we might help someone. Frank Sitera (retired army) says stay in one location. Mr. Hamilton spotted a helicopter combing one side of the island. He moved to that side then the helicopter started combing where he was. Tough call I remember a similar situation while duck hunting we made torches out of the marsh grass and stayed put. Concentrating your efforts on signaling is a better than moving. Last but not least a Coast Guard boating course is a good start to safe boating!

It's remarkable the old gentleman survive. A testimony to his water skills, God grace and simple good fortune. The lesson I take from this event is that we all need a reminder to slow down. Afterthought, I think Mr. Hamilton was missing for nine days. I think the search had been called off for 3 days. Perhaps this is a fitting report for Easter. Not so much about chasing redfish or kids catching whiting but about hope and faith. Mr. Hamilton's survival was unlikely. Mr. Hamilton's will to survive was impressive no doubt there were other forces at work that day. I believe the good Lord chose for his pleasure that intersection of George and Jack and all the parties involved. What was meant for ill was turned to good. Thank God!

Best Wishes and Happy Easter! Capt. Jack McGowan

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The Legend of Big Red

You’re probably wondering who or what is Big Red. Big Red is a redfish. Big Red isn’t your ordinary redfish. He’s a redfish with attitude. I came across big red early this week while fishing a mud flat. We were catching some nice redfish mostly 16 inchers, and a few oversized fish. Then big redfish hit! The 20 pound power pro snapped like it was thread! He was definitely the boss fish of the bunch. With an attitude like that it was little wonder that Big Red engulf our shrimp with such relish. With a hook firmly set Big Red was trailing a small red float, hence another reason for his name Big Red.

Over the past week we’ve seen Big Red move up and down the same mud flat. On one occasion when we were fighting a fish Big Red charged out from nowhere. We tried poling to Big Red and grabbing the float with no luck.

There has been lots of speculation on the size of big red. Some say he’s a monster. Other say he’s only a small fish with a monster attitude. I’m not sure all I know is that Big Red refuses to leave his flat and he refuses to be landed. The question is how long will Big Red have carry his scarlet float? When will Big Red become untethered? Big Red appears to be in good shape able to feed and swim. There was talk of offering reward for bringing in Big Red.. Big Red has to be captured and released!

Lessons learned from Big Red

Big Red moves with the current. He is a social fish. He likes the company of other fish. His ability to sense a boat is more acute than most would believe. Big Red is able to feel the pressure of the boat on the water and move away. Big Red’s range is smaller than most would think. His range consists of about the size of a football field in length and no more than 60 feet from the bank. When you’re not seeing or catching fish there are a few possiblities: they aren’t present (the fish have been caught or spooked) or the fish are there and conditions are not favorable for fishing. You need to have confidence in where you’re fishing. If you are waiting on the fish, wait until the water is out of grass before you give on an area. The more fishing pressure any area receives expect the fish to move later tide. Most redfish are caught in 3 foot or less.

News Flash****News Flash****News Flash****News Flash****News Flash****News Flash

Sunday March, 26th after four days Big Red was captured by rod and reel. Contrary to reports Big Red’s appetite did not do him in, an accurate cast did. A cast a nice 40 foot cast approximately 3 feet in front of Big Red snagged the wire on his float and the fight was on! In all the trashing Ryan managed somehow to keep the hook cradled on the wire. Big Red was quickly boated and released. Pictured weren’t taken but Big Red was well beyond keeper size. Big Red was no worse for wear. He was missing a small chuck from the corner of his tail where he had a close call with a porpoise. Otherwise he looked good shape.

After Thought

Lots of people have lots of opinions about redfish. One opinion I’ve heard is that these fish can’t be hurt with rod and reel. The bottom line is even the largest schools can be fished down. Releasing fish can only be of benefit.

My hope and desire is that we have many many Big Reds for years to come and that you have the opportunity to experience quality fishing!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

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Mar. 29, 2006