Inshore bite
Large spotted sea trout
We are still in the if you can find the right bait you can catch the right fish that is if it’s spotted sea trout that you are looking for. Live shrimp seems to be the hit with this fish. However, we have had a bit of appetite change in regards to the larger spotted sea trout. They love finger mullet, but there is a secret to getting the trout hooked up..you got to give them time to eat it before you go for the setting of the hook. It’s easy to make this mistake! In some case I think we would have a better chance if we just laid the rod down..When fishing offshore once hooked up and a fish drops the bait we normally go straight into the controlled free spooling mode. I just thought I would pass this on to you!
Red Fish
There a few big bull reds being caught off the beachfronts and around the sandbars located in the sound near the ocean. Best baits are going to be mullet chunks or fillets, live or dead finger mullet, live or dead shrimp, (larger the better) which you have threaded on to your hook.
These pelicans are full, happy, and resting! And they are doing this while menhaden surface school in all directions. The birds and the fishermen have a lot in common!
Feast or fainman
It’s tarpon time!
The best bait when target tarpon is going to be live menhaden. Not only do you put this fish on a hook, but you also cut it up for chum. The act of chumming can really get this fishes attention. The reason being is that fresh chum in the form of chunks is consider a found delicacy as well as a free meal. So the more menhaden you cut up and toss the pieces overboard the better your chances for a solid hook up! I call this the “Hansel and Gretel technique”
The tarpon are having a good feeding time crashing through schools of ocean pogies. The pogy/menhaden population seems to be healthy especially around the Wassaw Sound area. The fact of the matter is we normally look for diving pelicans to show us their whereabouts. However, when the pelicans get their fill they go in the resting mode. After all they can only pack so much in before they have to wait for their stomach to do its job. I think the pelican is like the old red fish and black sea bass in that it’s their main goal to eat until it falls out of their mouth.
While fishing the beachfronts Brantley strikes again!
Brantley Odom’s two tarpon in a row!
First Day
One tarpon one day and another tarpon the next
June 22, 2014 Tuesday
While using live menhaden as bait Brantley Odom, Pete Semaan, and Stanford Smith did a little tarpon fishing.
Brantley Odom and Sanford Smith are doing a great job of holding up the oversized tarpon. While fishing with a live menhaden also known as a pogy Sanford caught, fought, landed, and pick up this tarpon! Please know that this fish was successfully released back the wild!
Second tarpon catching day
Swimming with the big boys!
June 23, 2014 Wednesday
While using live menhaden as bait Brantley Odom and Stanford Smith did a little tarpon fishing.
Brantley Odom is swimming with a tarpon that he just landed while fishing with his favorite bait, which is live menhaden. Please know that this fish was successfully released back to the wild!
Welcome to shark-ville!
This juvenile tiger sharks showing off its fine set of teeth!
For fishermen that want a strong pull and don’t want to ride a long time to get it, doing a little shark fishing will get you there. This is a fish that is a strong puller, lasts a long time on the line, determined to pull hard against pressure, and will even bite you if you are not careful. I don’t know about you, but I am the kind of fisherman that likes a little sport in the fish I am trying to land. The shark is one fish that fights back! As far as best baits I suggest any fish cut in too chunks or steaks or fillets will do. However, as with anything when it comes to fishing there is an art to catching a shark on purpose. And this is what we do! Here are few suggestions:
While plain old bottom fishing in the sound
For those fishermen that just want to catch what bites then all you have to do is bait your hook up, drop to the bottom, and wait for a hit. You could find yourself catching anything from a small to large shark and then there are whiting, summer trout, hake, blue fish and other near shore biters.
Now for those that want to target the larger toothy monsters (sharks) I suggest using some of those smaller fish as bait. I have used them alive and they work…I have used them cut in chunk, pieces, and fillets and they work. I have also caught some of the biggest sharks on the smallest baits. However, if you are looking for a larger shark I suggest using a live fish such as whiting or menhaden. As far as best rig to use forget the weight and use a braided wire leader, which will keep you bait just deep enough.
Inshore fishing is good, if you can find, catch, or purchase live shrimp. Spotted seat trout and flounder are spending time together…with that be said anchor your live bait on the bottom and give the flounder time to eat…remember when a flounder grabs a bait it has to go through a turning process before it can crush and eat. While getting ready to eat the flounder moves ….don’t pull your bait from the lips of your flounder….My suggestion is to count 1,000, 1001, 1,002, 1,003….etc and then sturdy set the hook not wildly!
Genuine red snapper keeping days are just around the corner!
Ryan Howard is showing us what a nice genuine red snapper looks like! And if you go during the open season days this could be you!! You can keep one fish per day with not size limit!
Offshore fishing at the Savannah Snapper Banks is awesome! It is time to go!
Genuine red snapper recreational season opens
First week Friday July 11, Saturday July 12, and Sunday July 13, 2014
Second week Friday July 18, Saturday July 19, and Sunday July 21, 2014
Third week Friday July 25 and Saturday July 26, 2014 (no Sunday opening for this weekend)
How do I catch a genuine red snapper?
One good way is to just go the Savannah Snapper Banks, find some hard/live bottom, drop down some bait, wait for a hit, and hope it is a genuine red snapper. While doing this type of fishing you most likely are going to catch many other bottom species. So no matter what there is lots of biting action to be had by going this route.
If you want to get more technical and get an opportunity to catch more red snapper I suggest coming up with a plan.
A red snapper’s feeding movements can be up/down or side to side. The location of their eyes shows us and them the way. The snapper is known for feeding at all depths and can if it desires to feed all the way to the surface. The most likely place that you are going to catch them is up to 12 feet off the bottom. If you are fishing a higher relief area, such as a wreck, then I suggest adjusting your fishing depth accordingly. A red snapper will eat almost anything, but the secret to getting them to your hook is to bait it with what they want most. This boils down to lively bait that can’t swim away.
Best live bait or what I call the nervous baits are commonly known as cigar minnows and Spanish sardines types. These baits are able to move at will up and down in the water column seemly easier than others. In my book, any bait that can successfully change depths without any difficulties is hardy bait. To catch this bait in the wild the red snapper would have to be alert and willing to make a strong chase. However, if you have this bait on your hook it can’t swim away and the red snapper doesn’t seem concerned, because they eat them just about every time. Best way to bait up live baits such as these is to place the hook behind the dorsal fin. With this application the snapper just inhales the bait thus getting on your hook.
Gulf Stream Report
If you make this ride I suggest taking artificial and real baits for trolling and if that doesn’t work I suggest giving bottom fishing a try! It works almost every as any time!
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