Coastal River Charters

Temperatures are on the rise! This week water temperatures hit around 67 degrees. Warmer water means fishier conditions! The whiting bite has been sporadic with most of the activity near the beach front and in the inlet separating Tybee from Little Tybee. As temperatures continued to rise this week the whiting bite became more wide spread and consistent. Whiting not only a fun, tasty fish to catch they are a harbinger of bigger fish!

With little rain in recent days conditions are salty. Large red drum can caught along the outer sand bar as well first sharks of season. The first sharks to show are medium sized sand bar sharks. There is action with the reds on the flats but these fish continue to be extremely skittish in near clear water. The bite for reds in recent days has been upriver or in the head of some creeks.

Another bright spot is this week there has been some catches of seatrout! The seatrout bite while not hot is encouraging! Live shrimp is favor bait in local waters. Don Adams, Adams Bait House said when winds abate in the coming days he’ll continue look for shrimp. In the mean time Don is stocking shrimp from Florida. These shrimp are little hardier than our white shrimp. Basically, a good bait. The inshore and offshore sheepshead bite has been good! My friend Capt. Wild Bill has said sometimes sheepshead wont bite. Its not that the fish aren’t there its just that the bite is off. Often fishermen want to say the fish moved from offshore to inshore. Likely that isn’t the case. Sheepshead at times can be finicky. There’s not much a fisherman can do when that happens. Fortunately, the overall inshore and offshore sheepshead bite has been good! CT at Tybee Island Bait and Tackle has done a great job in maintaing a ample supply frisky fiddler!

As winds and tides continue to abate fishing will likely continue to heat up! Big red drum in the surf, whiting in the inlets and along the sandbars. Big seatrout in early spring can be found in the mouth of small tidal creeks as they rise from their winter haunts. Look for reds on the flats or in the heads of creeks or up brackish rivers and creeks in search of easy meal. We could use some rain but for the now the warming conditions and the lessening wind is a welcomed change!

Likely fishing will be picking up!

Fish On!

Capt. Jack McGowan

Freedom Boat Club and the Bahia Bleu Marina will an Inshore Fishing Seminar, Tuesday April 19th, 2011, 6:30pm to 7:30pm. I will be presenting the seminar on the porch at the marina.

Please call the marina to register and for the cost. Thank you! Hope to see you there!

March is a transitional month the weather is changing from the cold of winter to the warmth of spring. During this period of change there can be windy days, as cold and warm weather systems collide. The water is still very clear in most places. Local shrimp which are sometimes available during March are not to had. These early season are white shrimp which over wintered. The next crop of shrimp on our coast is the brown shrimp which will start appearing in mid May. Don Adams, Adams Bait House said the cold of last winter was very sudden. When temperatures fall is slower manner nature can adjust.

Despite the sudden cold of last the signs of spring are abounding! Crabbers are actively working there pots. Mullet can be seen swirling in the hundreds on the lower tide stage in Salt Pond. When bait is an area it wont long till you find seatrout and redfish! Most of the redfish on the flats are large over sized fish. Due to very clear water and the fact that fish are more nervous than normal they can be tricky to catch. Having some chop or off colored can be advantage when fishing for reds. The bite although slow will be picking as conditions continue to warm.

St. Patrick’s day in Savannah is characterized by lots of festivities. St. Patrick’s in Savannah is also by the city ablaze with azaleas. This year there some azaleas in bloom but vast amount have not bloomed. Probably an indicator that spring is still just around the corner!

A few reports of seatrout are coming in! Redfish are on the move. Flats that aren’t holding bait wont hold fish. During the spring it is possible large schools of reds on the move as they leave one area looking bait in another. The most consistent bite, when the seas lay, has been offshore sheepshead. The trick is finding a day with suitable conditions. These are spawning fish so take a few eat and release the rest. One idea is see how many different structures you can find fish on. This is a vertical structure feeding fish. Anchoring is critical. If your bite is not on or close to structure you likely wont be getting bites. One word of caution these are fun to catch, good eating but a chore and a half to clean. Keep only what you are prepared to clean.

Tides will be building after St. Patrick’s day into the eight foot range with a negative tide on the low as we head into the weekend. These aren’t the best tide, fishing will likely be a little off. When the weather is incredibly nice sometimes it just a pleasure to get out. For the short term, lower your expectation on the numbers and just enjoy the day. The numbers will come!

For those to like to fish shrimp Adams Bait House has live shrimp from Florida. Don said he is to stocking fiddlers as well mud minnows. CT at Tybee Island Bait and Tackle has gone literally the extra mile or I should say miles to have a good supply of fiddlers! Fiddlers are the favorite bait for sheepshead. Fishing close CT’s dock on Lazaretto Creek with a fiddler crab I caught a nice redfish a few days ago. A redfish will definitely eat a crab!

Hope this of interest and help! Capt. Jack McGowan

Windy conditions last week made fishing tough. Blue bill ducks were rafting near the Cockspur light house in the hundreds. Numerous dolphins can be seen in the waterways feeding on small fish such as menhaden and mullet or the more sizable redfish. Prior to the wind there was good redfish action on the flats and in the heads of some creeks! Most of the reds are being caught on a variety of plastics. When you purchase your soft plastics baits there is a wide variety of patterns and colors to choose from.

A pattern that resembles a mud minnow such DOA’s crab golden shriner will work well for reds; as well Bass Assassin’s classic new penny or red/gold shriner or Gulp’s pearl white jerk worm. Zoom has come out with a new swimmin fluke disco violet (for the old timers) this is a salt and pepper fluke with a paddle tail. A few other interesting patterns are Zoom’s super salt plus super hog white. The salt helps a fish hold the bait. The additional arms will push more water. Zoom’s golden bream pattern is another bait that will catch reds. Bubble gum while not traditionally known of as redfish bait in our water is very productive in other coastal areas. Strike King exterme action swim’n jigs are chatter baits that simple to fish can be very effective. Perfect Plastics caffeine shad is another jerk that will resemble a mud minnow and is salt impregnated.

Spring is just around the corner. The spartina is a tan brown color but the first 18 inches peering from the mud is a vibrant green. The days are getting longer and the temperature is rising.

Most of the sheepshead action has been on the offshore wrecks. Legally until further notice fishermen fishing in federal waters will be required to use a circle hook. The unofficial word is that likely sheepshead will given an exception. Till then you use a circle hook.

Large stripers are in the Savannah River system! Last Friday the Georgia DNR electro shocked up two 40 pound stripers close to the flood gates! Those fishing for stripers will likely find fewer fish but larger fish!

With water temperatures quickly rising life it wont be long till whiting start showing up in the sounds! Usually its around mid March when the whiting start to run. This is an ideal time to make up or purchase some whiting rigs. CT at Tybee Island Bait has a wide variety to choose from as well a good supply of mud minnow and fiddlers on hand. Bait shrimpers so far have not been successful in finding shrimp. Don Adams said give things a couple of weeks to warm up.

Tides look pretty this week! Fishermen will likely catch some nice reds. For more consistent action try offshore sheepshead.

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

Fish On! Capt. Jack McGowan