Inshore Fishing Report Spring 2023 Savannah, GA./Tybee Island, GA. to Hilton Head, SC.

Inshore Fishing Report Spring 2023 Savannah, GA./Tybee Island, GA. to Hilton Head, SC.

The bite this Spring has mostly redfish. In the sounds we’ve lot of summer trout pushing in. Summer trout look similar to the sea trout but they have no spots and prefers sandy bottoms and usually caught while fishing for whiting. This year we’ve seen more summer trout than usual and more saltwater catfish as well. Catfish are likely like the canary in the mind. Seeing a return of saltwater catfish while generally considered a nuisance could be a sign of a healthy fishery.

Whiting numbers look pretty good. Lots of days have been windy and which has limited the opportunities fishermen could the sounds. Sea trout have inconsistent. The early (late winter/early spring) sea trout bite looked good but as Spring has progressed the bite has been inconsistent. As brown shrimp begin to push into our waterways in mid May the sea trout action will likely be picking up. Often fishermen on the Georgia coast think of May as the month for big (roe) trout. That said releasing a big trout could potentially be putting thousands of fish back into the fishery.

The inshore/nearshore sheepshead bite has been good this spring. Fishermen fishing nearshore wrecks did particularly well in March and April. The inshore bite was good as well with some pilings, docks or rip rap holding some nice fish. The favorite sheepshead bait for most folks is purple back fiddler crabs.

Redfish have been the most consistent with nice fish being taken around the barrier islands as well as in the rivers. Again, keep what you want to eat and release the rest. It takes a red drum five years to reach spawning age. Reds can be caught on a variety of baits from live and dead. A simple piece of dead shrimp can often be all you need to catch some quality fish. Don’t over look pitching plastics or fly a red will readily take both. My rule of thumb is fish structure and fish deep.

With water temperature now at 70 degrees and above there a plenty of sharks in our local waters: some bulls, black tips, spinners, bonnets and sharp nose to name some of the arrivals we’ve hooked into so far.

Flounder action seems to picking up in the last few weeks. South Carolina size limit is at 16 inches. The size increase seems to be working. Yes we’ve released several under sized flounder but we are occasionally catching some inshore flounder up to 19 inches. Flounders numbers have plummeted in many coastal states. South Carolina looks like they are doing a good job in managing this fishery.

As conditions continue to warm up we’ll see more bait pushing in which will mean more fish. Savannah is a little usual in its location (bait wise). Locally brown shrimp don’t start showing up till mid May. Some shrimpers nickname brown shrimp as “junies”; meaning around the first of June the shrimp brown will be large and abundant enough to catch. Likely the brown will arrive a little early (mid May) as well.

I hope this report is of interest and help. Hope to see you on the water!

Fish On!

Jack

Capt. Jack McGowan
Coastal River Charters