Spring will be quickly upon us. We’ve had a mild winter which means no fish kills due to cold weather. We’ve been having lots of wind. March is a transitional month. Winter is giving way to Spring. Spring can mean wonderful weather, azaleas in boom and good fishing!
A feature of late winter/early spring can be windy days. Usually when inshore fishing lee shores and protected water can be found. Heavy inland and coastal rain has lowered salinity on most of the coast. Where fresh water meets, mixes and mingles with salt water these are special places. That said too much fresh water can be too much of a good thing. As of now we have too much of good thing that said its nature.
Some bait shrimpers south of Savannah have been catching bait shrimp throughout the winter. Shrimp will become more difficult to find during March and won’t return until the end of May. This is a seasonal movement. The first shrimp to show up are brown shrimp also known locally as juries. Fishing on the Georgia/South Carolina corresponds to the abundance of bait. As more bait shows up, more fish shows up. Brown shrimp will be in for about a month. In early July white shrimp will begin up. White shrimp make up the biggest shrimp crop on the Georgia coast, roughly 80% of the total harvest will be white shrimp. When white shrimp move into local waters this is the best time for fishing on the coast. That’s the fall of the year.
One local fishing tackle manager has said thank goodness for redfish. Redfish this winter have provided a consistent bite for fishermen. Sheepshead both inshore and offshore has provided action. Redfish, sheepshead, sea trout and whiting are springtime favorites. Usually whiting are the first to bite followed by sea trout. When water temperature raises to close to 70 degrees sharks start moving into local waters. A couple sounds systems south of Savannah fishermen have already started catching good numbers of whiting. The whiting bite normally starts off south of Savanah then within a short time the bite will be on here. Whiting are fun fish to catch, great for kids, older kids or kids at heart.
Lately we’ve been fishing mostly for redfish and sheepshead. Tide is important for both fish. Usually for the reds the best tide stage is when the water is out of the grass. On high water often redfish will be back in the grass. As the tide ebbs these fish will be forced to move. On a recent fishing trip the client said the fish just showed up. Timing the tides is very important for inshore fishing. I’m often asked what is the best tide to fish? My short answer is when the water is moving; bait and fish are forced out of the grass, noise is dissipated and fish are stimulated fish to eat. Fish moving water. Some “drops” work better on an incoming tide, some on an outgoing tide. Some drops will work both incoming and outgoing. Often finding when and where fish want to feed is trail and error.
As we head into spring fishermen are encouraged that this could be another good year. A mild winter meant no fish kills and just as important sea trout were likely reproducing throughout the winter. The dance between water temperature, salinity and other factors are complicated mix well beyond my thoughts. Likely we’ll have a good spring bite ahead!
Thank you for reading this report! Hope to see you on the water!
Fish On!
Capt. Jack
912.441.9930
Capt. Jack McGowan
Coastal River Charters
