Coastal River Charters

Creeks and rivers are full of shrimp! One fisherman said in about twenty casts he had about two quarts. That’s pretty good! Shrimp are still a little small but most part ideal for fishing. As tides build in the next few days anticipate some shrimp to be pulled into the sounds. Nonetheless there should be plenty of bait shrimp for those casting a net. The seatrout bite has ranged from average to excellent. On some days seatrout are biting fast and furious. On other days catching a few is good. Catching seatrout is all about the drift and finding clean water. Some tarpon are in. We have been seeing one or two tarpon while trout fishing. Large numbers of tarpon have yet to push in. Although large menhaden are in the sounds and around the beach fronts. With large bait in it wont be long till predators fish find them: tarpon, large sharks, jacks, spanish and even kings. Look for baits being pushed to the surface or pelicans working the bait. Large bait, large fish. While trout fishing a nice tarpon cruised between our boat and a shell rake. The 70 or 80 pound tarpon cruised against the current as gentle as you please. Jon’s took a cast at the tarpon which landed well onto the shells. Fish fever! I told him not to worry had we hook up that fish likely would have jumped and landed on the shells. The fish was within a couple of feet of the shell rake. Jon and Sydney landed a few large black tips earlier in the morning then we switched to trout fishing. Fishing has been good!

The shark bite is changing. There have been lots of small sharks in local waters. Bonnet heads are still plentiful. The large concentration of atlantic sharp nose appear to have moved out of Warsaw. Large sharks are in! A couple of reports of lots of black tip sharks north of Savannah. The word has been pretty consistent some tarpon are in local waters. Look for more tarpon in the coming weeks. Those targeting reds on the flats are finding fish more difficult. As tidal flats heat up small fish push in. Redfish usually will seek deeper cooler water as conditions heat up. Look for the best inshore days when there is cloud coverage. High pressure, clear sky, little breeze often means slow fishing. We’ve had many days with lots of cloud coverage. Usually the best bet during the summer is to start fishing early and try to be off the water by two. Usually around one thirty in the afternoon a sea breeze will kick in. This breeze is out of the east and typically brisk. Lots of seatrout in all size ranges. Good fishing now and an indicator of good fishing this fall! Lots of little redfish around. It’s common to catch a redfish or two in your cast net. One fisherman said he recently caught a couple of keeper spanish while throwing his cast net for some menhaden. Plenty of small three inch finger mullet as well as larger mullet in the rivers .

In the past few weeks we’ve hooked up landed dozen of big black tips. One thing that I keep saying is “the bend is your friend”. Let the rod fight the fish. In just a couple of fights a fisherman can get experience what its like to fight a large fish. Last week a charter, Hurricane Mike, hooked up, fought and successfully landed several large fish. We got a few glimpses, two or three, at a silver king but did not hook up one that day. When large baits are in and the water quality is good large fish wont be far behind!

As July winds down tides are increasing. Large tides are in the evening and not over 8.4 feet. Despite large tides fishing should be good! Expect fishing to be slower on days with little or no cloud coverage. Try to avoid the heat of the day. Fish early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Contrary to conventional thought a few stripers being landed as well as some trout in rivers that have a fresh water source. Shrimp are doing well. Crabs are doing fair to poor. Not sure why crabs are hard to come by.

That’s all! Hope this report of interest and help! Practice catch and release and support your local CCA Chapter.

Good fishing! Capt. Jack McGowan

Fishing this summer has been good! Several days during the week of 4th despite big tides good catches of redfish in all size ranges, black drum, seatrout and flounder. Are conditions favorable to fish? The answer is often a little tricker than looking at a tide chart. Although a tide chart is usually a good place to start it can be a little misleading. If you’re waiting for prefect conditions you’ll likely never fish. In short, fish the conditions. For seatrout seek places with good drifts, clean water, bait and perhaps seeing the fish as well. A good drift is about the speed of a slow walk. Not too fast, not too slow. Both incoming and outgoing tide can effective tides to fish. A good of thumb is in about half an hour if you haven’t caught some good fish or had some good bites move on. Fish have tails. Just because the conditions look promising does not mean you’re going to catch fish there today.

What to look for. When spotting bait. Look for bait that’s being pushed to the surface. This can mean there are predator fish under the bait. Small bait such as a small menhaden flicking to the surface can mean small blue fish or seatrout. Any bait being forced to the surface is worth a few casts. Birds working the bait is another great indicator of fish. The larger the bait, the larger the fish. Large schools of large menhaden, pogies, might indicate jacks, black tip sharks, spanish, tarpon and other predator fish. Bait can be a strong indicator of fishing success. When possible fish the bait!

Summer time fishing usually focuses around the barrier islands. Flounder can be found along the banks of sandy bottom creeks and rivers close to the sounds. Likewise the best seatrout bite is usually close to sound or beach. Redfish action typically slow down during the dog days of summer. Reds are still on the flats but overlook fishing deeper water for redfish during the summer. Small reds are about 10 to 11 inches now. These little guys are just big enough to take a bait and bend your rod. When you’re into small reds catch a few and move or anticipate on going through a lot of bait. If you catch one you’re likely to catch a bunch!

Large bonnet head sharks are in local waters. Right now it’s typical to see a bonnet head pinning shrimp and crabs against the bank A shark is an opportunist feeder. Feeding on almost anything in front of it. It’s common to hear of a shark eating someone’s seatrout while they were reeling it in. While trout fishing we had a line that just broke. Likely a shark cut the line while swimming through the water with its mouth agape. As the unattached float is floating off a fish hits and hooked himself. In a few minuets we recovered the float only to find a fish head attached to the hook. A shark subsequently hit the hooked fish. In short there are plenty of sharks in local water! This week we seen mostly bonnet heads and small black tips about two feet or so. Different weeks different sharks show up. As the male sharp nose became scarce larger females showed up. Bonnet head and black tips have been consistent. A few weeks male atlantic sharp nose sharks were everywher. Anticipate large fish on days when large bait pushes in. Acres of bait being worked by pelicans can mean large fish are on the rampage. Often strikes are immediate and powerful! So much for waiting for hours for a bite. It all about the bait.. When bait is present it’s likely predator fish wont be far behind.

Often I’m asked what’s the best time to fish a drop. It isn’t a one size fits all answer. The norm would be hour and half on either side of the tide. Trust me this sacrosanct. This can vary one day to the next. The safe bet is to make sure you have enough water to float your boat. As you spend time on the water look for patterns and try to duplicate it other places. Like the birds and sharks be opportunistic. If a rip set up try fishing it you might be rewarded with some nice trout. Look for entrance and exist place in the grass that redfish will likely travel. Fish are creatures of habit. It’s about finding what they like and giving them what they want. One fishermen today said he’s catching plenty of trout. His secrete get away from the people. Basically this fishermen is fishing less fished water. Sounds pretty simple but actually it’s very smart. Conventional wisdom says fish where the boats are. A fisherman who catching fish says get away from the boats. You be the judge.

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

Practice catch and release!