Coastal River Charters

There have some seatrout biting in the creeks as well as summer trout the sand bars. Most of the seatrout have been 14 inches or less. Redfish have been fairly consistent although bite has slowed. Some large redfish (up to 40 inches) have been caught in Salt Pond. The Savannah River is yeilding some redfish and stripers although the bite has not been intense. The bite has been fair. White shrimp are no longer available and brown have yet to show up. Don Adams (Adam’s Baithouse) had a delivery of Florida shrimp prior to the weekend. Live shrimp probably wont out fish a large mud minnow although live shrimp are nice to have on board if you can get them. Sharks are more plentiful this week along the sandbars. Chuck King from reports the sharks ar following the whiting in and some large sharks have been caught in the Wilmington River. Sheepshead can caught next to pilings and rock on or near low water. As more bait pushes into our creeks and rivers the bite will likely pick up. There have reports of seatrout on some of the inshore wrecks hopefully it wont be long till fish start showing up along local beach fronts, sounds and creeks. Shrimp will continue to be in short supply for the next few weeks so plan accordingly. Finger mullet, mud minnows and fiddler crabs are all suitable baits for live bait fishing. This time of the year it’s best to gear expectations back. You can catch good fish but it’s likely you’ll one or two then it’s time to fish another area.

Warming temperatures mean more bait which in turns means more fish. Fishing will likely be improving but expect to work for your this week much the same as last week. Fishing should be steadily be improving. Water temperature is already in the mid to upper 60′s an ideal range for good fishing. Some flounders have already been caught; perhaps a sign of another good year for flounder. Several inshore fishermen are waiting for the inshore to bust loose. My guess is you’re going to have to wait a few more weeks. A colder than average Spring has delayed the bite a good two weeks or more. Fishing will likely be improving daily.

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Wind, Wind and more wind that’s been story. Despite the winds there has been activity with redfish, seatrout, flounder, black drum, stripers and whiting. The bad news is local shrimp are scare or non existent. Don Adams says expect brown shrimp to start showing up either the last of May or the 1st of June, hence there nickname – junies. Adams said Florida shrimpers are having difficulty catching shrimp, like local shrimpers, again due to the winds. Despite strong winds last week bait was available and some angler caught fish despite the conditions. Best reports were around the jetties and for whiting on the sand bars. Five to seven pounder stripers can be found in small brackish creeks. The whiting bite is fairly consistent with one party landing fifty two fish. As winds diminish fishing should improve. For stripers your best chance of success is either first or last light. The seatrout bite is improving with more fish being caught in local waters. Nonetheless, most of the action with seatrout has been south around Ossabaw. Most fishermen believe this will likely be another good year for redfish. Although as this fish receive more pressur it is critical to release fish that are not in the legal bag limit. Releasing a legal fish while it might appear to be an unnatural act could help maintain a healthy fishery. Our limits on redfish will likely be reduced when Georgia has its next stock assessment. Redfish are a great light tackle fish! You’ll be amazed at joy you’ll get in catching one and releasing one. Everything you catch doesn’t have to be eaten.

What’s up with the flounder? Flounder are usually thought of as a summer fish. There have been several caught this Spring. Hopefully this is indication of good things to come. Capt. Matt Starling caught several nice trout on a dark colored Bass Assassin so much for using light color in clear water. Well the color theory is not out the window, there’s plenty of wiggle room. Last year we caught fish in all conditions with Bass Assassin’s electric buzzard it’s dark bait with counter shading (two colors). A dark bait can work exceptionally well. Nonetheless, the standard in our waters is chartreuse. Hope you get a chance to do some fishing!

Good Fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan