Trophy Red Fish are still being caught offshore!
Mike Woodward is holding up his just caught, fought, and tagged 31 ½ inch trophy red fish, which he caught on a very small piece of squid. This fish was caught while bottom fishing at the CCA artificial reef.
Surf fishing report
Report brought by our surf fishing specialist Glenn Conway!
Photo by Surf Fishing Specialist Glenn Conway
Surf fishing for the Southern kingfish
Our surf fishing specialist, Glenn Conway, sends me some great information…and I have going to share it with you! And Glenn wrote….
Well Judy, they don’t call our Whiting Kingfish for no good reason, they are the most common fish pulled out of our inshore waters from boats, piers, docks, and surf bar none! The Southern Kingfish, more commonly known as Whiting are catchable literally all year long and are considered great table fair. And in addition the great state of GA lets you keep all the Whiting you want at any length, but I say, Whiting that are bigger than ten inches would be considered eaten size and any less I would call bait. They are plentiful, easy to catch and Mmmmmn good. Get the oil hot because here is how to catch all you want from the surf.
Soon, real soon, starting late March/Early April on through May after surf water temps reach the high sixties to low seventies it’s on. Not just on a little bit, but on where you can harvest all the Whiting you want and then some. This spring run lasts until the surf water starts to feel like bath water. You only need the very basic of equipment, a rod and reel, surf rig with the right sized hook and weight along with the right bait.
I’ll start with the rod and reel. Generally, any set up will catch fish from the surf, but ideally you want a rod that is longer than usual, seven up to twelve feet and can cast two ounces or more. Why? A longer rod will help you when dealing with the incoming breakers, for casting past them, and for casting for distance. Any reel that is suited for the rod is fine. Not required, but I highly recommend the use of a sand spike.
The basic go to surf rig will always be the double dropper rig. You can buy them premade or learn to make your own. I feel the premade/store bought rigs to be a waste of time and money. Real simple, if you take the time to learn how to tie your own surf rigs you will catch twice as many fish! Commercially made surf rigs are made to catch fisherman, hand tied surf rigs are made to catch fish.
Choosing the right sinker and right size hook are essential for successful surf fishing for Whiting. Get these choices wrong and your catches will suffer. Thin wire circle hooks in sizes 4 up to 1/0 along with a sinker that will hold bottom is the key.
Whiting are not very picky when it comes to eating. The top two Whiting baits are small pieces of fresh peeled shrimp and small strips of cut mullet, but they will bite just about anything. I have even caught Whiting while using strips of cut Whiting for bait.
When at the beach targeting Whiting remember they can be found in the wash, just past the breakers and way out. So figuring out what area of the surf to present your bait is important. Using multiple rods makes this task easy. One rod for in close, one rod for just past the breakers and one for as far as you can cast. Only takes a short while to find where they are feeding.
The best times to fish for Whiting will always be when you can find the time to go. But, just like all other fishing, the first few hours after dawn and just before dusk are most productive. Unlike other inshore game fish, catching Whiting is not dependant on having clean water as they mainly use scent to find food. Whiting will feed at any tide stage, but the common saying of two hours before and after the tide change applies to Whiting all so.
Hey Judy is the oil hot yet, because I’m ready to eat some delicious Southern Kingfish! And my answer to this question is yes, and I have plenty of Georgia Cane Syrup too!
For those of you that just want to do a little fishing, well it is your time. Water temperatures are finally at a place, where some sound bites can happen. The Wassaw Sound offers fishermen a wealth of bottom fishing opportunity. It is time to get out that light to medium tackle and give plain old bottom fishing a try. I like to start out with Carolina style rig with small hooks.
Well, Well, Well we got our fish bite spring on!
Inshore fishing
Therese Garofalo is showing off a nice red fish that she caught, fought, and released while fishing with Captain Matt Williams!
Red Fish Catching Affair! And Captain Matt Williams showed them the way!
While fishing with Captain Matt Williams of Miss Judy Charters this fishing team had a red fish catching kind of the day!
Artificial Reefs Report!
Emily Woodward with the assist of Captain Kathy Brown is showing off her double header black sea bass catch.
T. Smith Jr (Olin Thompson “T” Smith’s son, see blue water report) and his fishing team!
From right to left: back row Tyler (T’s son), T Jr. Smith, Jonathan (T’s Son) holding a black fish, and Captain Kathy Brown Front Row: Michael Lotz sporting a Mustang sweatshirt holding a nice black fish..
Hairy Dog’s Blue Water Team’s first sword fish story!
T and I had a great time on the boat talking about old times. And there were many stories told, but here’s one that I think you will enjoy! I especially loved the way he talked about the time spent with his father. (O. Thompson Smith 1937-2015) it reminded me a lot of fishing with my own father. T and his father had a great fishing bond! I loved the story about rigging baits. They rigged everything for scratch meaning no assist from special rig purchased at the tackle story. According to T, they had contests to see whose bait swam the best. After all, being a fisherman myself baits that are not rigged right, won’t swim right basically scaring off more fish than they attract. Their family boat, Hairy Dog, was known far and wide as having one of the best fishing team. Now I am not just talking about in Savannah, they were also known in other areas as well! They won their share of fishing tournaments with not only catching the first fish from an area, but also the biggest. When the Hairy Dog came into view it usually had some kind of large fish either hanging off the gin pole or the tuna/marlin door, or heck just lying on the deck.
The old team’s first sword fish!
I remember this one story that T told me in regards to catching a sword fish. The crew had all read up on the best way to catch a sword fish. If I had to guess, Saltwater Sportsman at that time was known as the fisherman’s bible. When this magazine hit the stands, well, fishermen were there to grab it and read every page at least twice. And how do I know this? I was one of those fishermen. And this seventies blue water catching team thought that they had it all figured out!
They did hook up a big one too!
Well, while drifting 130 miles off the Georgia coast in 1,500 plus feet of water, during pitch a black night, they hooked up a big sword. After a while of fighting this fish, they finally got it to the boat. When the gaff was placed, it was embedded in the fish’s tail. Heck, you know the old saying, when a fish’s tail is lifted out of the water or restricted it just cannot swim! Once getting this water tiger by the tail, it was quickly decided that they should drag it through the tuna door, which they did. This left the big sword fish’s head still hanging out of the stern. According to T, it wasn’t until the big fish died did they realized how lucky that they were when the gaff was placed where it was. The sword fish does sport a sword, which is just like most swords, sharp on both sides. They watched as this fish swung its head from side to side throwing its sword back and forth on each side of the tuna door. And all T could say then and now was this…I am so glad that we did not throw this fish in the boat head first or try to grab it’s bill, because someone would have most likely gotten hurt! The best news was no one got hurt, the team brought in yet another big fish, and all on board scored once again! Rumor has it that in a few years there is going to be another boat, yes named “Hairy Dog” tied to the dock!!
Savannah Snapper Banks
Snapper banks an array of bottom fish bites are waiting for anyone that cares to make this ride!!
Gulf Stream Report!
It is that time of the year, especially when heading out to the blue waters of the stream a series of bite can happen! I am always suggesting that if you get a good couple of calm weather days that you should be ready to go! And as far as the best baits to pull or the best jigs to jig or the best bottom baits to drop it has been proven many times over that just about everything will work. March is that month in which most all size fish are traveling with their mouths open. The reason being is any feeding opportunity that arises will be taken advantage of. Well, it might as well be your baits!
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