Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report – January 2023

Saltwater: Inshore: Capt. David Newlin reports, “December has been a good month of fish catching. Warm weather has kept the fish biting. Water temps were still in the high 50s on Dec. 18. That may change in the next few weeks. As long as it stays above 50, the fish will keep biting. Redfish have been real good. A lot of fish have been up the rivers. A live or dead shrimp on or near the bottom has been working. They have been from 14 to 40 inches, all mixed up in the same places. They should bite through January. Trout have been from the sounds to way up the rivers and creeks. Look in the deep curves in creeks. Lures, jigs and live shrimp have been working. I caught some big trout on a red-and-white MirrOlure fished real slow in 20 feet of water last week in a small creek. As long as the water stays above 50, the trout bite should be good through January. The one fish that bites all winter are the saltwater stripers, what I call a rockfish. Look for them up the Ogeechee and Savannah rivers from the sound to the I-95 bridge. Throw Rapalas and jigs around creek mouths. Slow troll the deep river banks with Rapalas. When you catch one, fish the area hard. There should be more in the area. If the weather will cooperate, there should be good January fishing. Call me to book your 2023 trip while the best tide days are still available.”

Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “By the time the month of January rolls around, the inshore fish that are migrating have left and the ones that are staying have gone into the hibernation mode. So far as I am writing this report, we have been experiencing normal to warmer temps. What does this boil down to? If strong winter conditions don’t arrive, our inshore bite will continue to be very good in January 2023, as it was in December 2022. Spotted seatrout during this time are normally wintering in deep holes in the rivers or sounds. The best way to catch spotted seatrout when in the semi-hibernation mode is to use small saltwater or freshwater jigs with curly or paddletails while using 4- to 6-lb. test main line. As far as main line, I am from the old school and like monofilament because of the extra-stretch cushion it adds. Those who prefer braided-type main line, it will also work. However, you need to make sure the drag set matches the main line used. Spotted seatrout have soft mouths and a hook can easily be pulled free. There are many freshwater and saltwater jigs out there on the tackle shelves. I suggest finding one that suits you and the fish that you are targeting! The bottom line when targeting saltwater fish in colder-water conditions is to go with a lure that is smaller but still gets their attention when worked. There are hundreds of soft lures to choose from, and since the invention of the web, you can surf first and get a better chance of catching fish later. The secret is that they have to be small and worked very slow. This slow action will still do the job of imitating live bait. Why? When the water is cold, everything is moving slowly, even us fishermen!  I like to use 1/16- and 1/24-oz. jig heads with assorted colors of curly and paddletails. My favorite jig-color combinations are a white head with white tail and a red head with chartreuse flake tail. Another favorite is a white head or a plain lead head rigged with your favorite yellow/white/chartreuse tail. The secret when using any kind of soft bait in cold water is that it should be smaller and worked slower than usual. The best method when fishing a deep hole is to cast into the deepest part and let your lure hit the bottom. Then, wait, reel a few times, wait and repeat. Then I suggest casting the lure to the sides of the hole so as to work this area. The secret to getting solid hits during cold-water times is to work your lure as slow as you can, while still keeping it near or right on the bottom. To get a trout’s attention when in the hibernating mode, you almost have to hit them right on the head with the lure. For those inshore fishermen who want to go the traditional route, I suggest using live shrimp or mud minnows rigged on a traditional adjustable float. This style of float allows you to easily fish different depths with just a simple slide of the cork. Normally during cold-water times, spotted seatrout are known for staying close to the bottom. This rig will allow you to cover a lot of bottom while zeroing in on the perfect cold-water bite zone. The inshore redfish bite can be very good, but you got to know the rules. During cold-water times, the redfish senses are better tuned, meaning they can see and hear better. This fish stays in high-alert mode because of their two main predators, which are the dolphin (porpoises) and the fishermen. They definitely fear the dolphin more than man. Dolphin are very diligent in knowing where to wait and how long in order to get a quick meal. Where you have dolphins staging, you most likely have redfish schooling toward the inshore. The best artificial baits are going to be flukes rigged weedless. Fish Strike King Z-Too salt impregnated, slow-sinking, 5-inch Zoom flukes. Some proven colors are blue and gray glimmer, ice, Arkansas shiner, pearl and smokey shad. Don’t be afraid to lay a bead of some sort of fish sauce into the grove of this bait. Berkley Gulp Alive baits also offer up that favorite scent for getting a cold-water fish to eat. Fresh frozen pawn shrimp pieces and mullet steaks will also work. Adding, dipping and soaking your bait, whether it is real or not, is going to only entice the bite. And whatever you do, when you do get a bite, give them time to eat. Please always check regulations before heading out.”

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Artificial Reefs: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “The artificial reefs located in less than 50 feet of water are holding the winter migration of sheepshead. These fish are going to be staging on the wrecks that offer the most vertical feeding opportunity. Before heading out, make sure you know the coordinates for the wrecks in the areas that you are going to fish. In other words, make a plan and try to stick to it. The best baits for this fish is going to be anything wrapped in a shell, such as a purple back fiddlers, black back fiddlers, barnacles, green mussels, oysters, sand fleas and shrimp. Sand fleas can make a great alternative bait for sheepshead, also known as convict fish. These baits can be purchased frozen and already packaged. I have been purchasing the packages that come with about 24 fleas per bag. You can purchase sand fleas that are blanched or not. The blanched fleas are pink in color, and those that are not are still sporting the original, light-gray, live-like colors. Fleas that are blanched seem to stay on the hook longer. However, I kind of like to take both types just in case I am dealing with fish that are not so color blind. The secret to using this bait is to keep it frozen as long as you can. So if you can’t purchase or catch your own fiddlers, this would be your go-to bait. Does it work? Yes it does! Is it the best bait?  No. However, when dealing with a fish that mainly wants to crush its meal up before eating it, sand fleas will definitely work as a perfect stand-by bait.  Your best plan is to anchor over a wreck, drop a Carolina-style rig to the bottom, and then reel up about 1 foot off the bottom. Once you have either had a bite or caught a sheepshead, I suggest staying where you are. Sheepshead bites can come in flurries and then stop completely. When the bite stops, don’t relocate, but re-situate your bait. Then I suggest waiting until the school makes its way back around to the wreck area that you are fishing over. For those fishermen who don’t want to have an offshore artificial reef fishing experience, I suggest giving any rocks, downed trees hanging in the water or nearshore wrecks a try. These areas are definitely feeding places of interest for sheepshead, black drum, summer trout and flounder. Any surfaces that provide area for marine growth are potential feeding spot for these fish. Please remember the old sheepshead loves to eat anything that comes wrapped in a shell.”

Trophy Redfish: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “Trophy redfish migrate to the offshore water during the cold-water times. They can be found schooling near the beachfronts, around offshore sandbars and on the artificial reefs. These fish are normally schooling and feeding on something that they have corralled. I have caught them on 4-oz. single-tube diamond jigs. While ordering jigs, I suggest ordering some of the Cobia Candy white eels. These eels work when threaded on the jigs, as well as other tackle combinations. Best colors for the diamond jig tubes have been red, yellow and green, and the best color for the jig hair combinations have been blue/white and chartreuse/white. For those fishermen who prefer using real bait, I suggest squid and shrimp laced onto 4/0 j or circle hooks fished directly on the bottom or suspended in the mid-water column. Make sure your drag is set light to medium and not locked down. For those offshore fishermen who want to troll for redfish, I suggest pulling a 31/2-inch Drone spoon (silver or black with chartreuse flash) 20 feet behind a No. 3 planer or an 8-oz. trolling sinkers. When trolling around diving/sitting birds, I suggest taking the boat in and out of gear, allowing the lure used to fall to different depths of the water column. Or if you don’t like using planers, tie on a 100-lb. snap swivel to your main line, attach a 3 1/2-inch Drone spoon and let it out about 75 to 100 feet from the boat. Pull the spoon over where you think you have fish, pull the boat out of gear and simply let the spoon sink. After half a minute or so, bump the engine in gear, speed up a bit, and then take it out of gear. If the reds are there, you will know it. The best way to find an offshore redfish is to keep an eye to the sky. If the reds are feeding, the seabirds are diving. The best news is that any and all-sized sea birds will follow and feed on the surfaced leftovers. So if you see gannets (also known sea turkeys), cormorants, (also known as fish birds) loons (also known as on Golden pond birds) and any-sized sea birds diving or sitting on the water, there is a good chance that trophy redfish have been feeding. This boils down to they will most likely do so again and shortly.  Don’t stray, but stay in this area. Please remember that any size redfish caught in federal waters (ocean) are protected and have to be released. During this time, some of these trophy redfish being caught have been up to 48 inches long. Please handle with care. However, plenty of pictures can be taken!”

Savannah Snapper Banks: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “The bottom fishing in this area is always very good, especially when you bait your hooks with cut squid. If using live bait, I suggest lip hooking sand perch, rock bass, juvenile vermilion and tomtates. Grouper season is closed and will not open until May 1, 2023. Red snapper is closed, and no season opening dates posted yet. Please go to http://safmc.net to get all of the updated regulations, and always check before heading out. The naval towers located at the Savannah Snapper banks are R7 (3149.000/8016.500), which I call the north banks, M2R6 (3132.000/8014.000), which I call the middle banks and R2 (3122.500/8034.000), which I call south banks. These towers sometimes hold the interest of African pompano, especially during these cold-water times. Although this is not a fish that we normally catch in this area, this is the time we see them. The best bait is going to be the live ones, such as a tomtate, menhaden, horny belly or lookdowns. The best presentation is either going to be rigging bait under some sort of offshore traditional adjustable depth cork or basic freelining. We normally try both methods. Targeting African pompano can be a little challenging because sometimes you can see them swimming on the surface right in the center of the tower. Once you see them, you most likely can get them to eat, but it is best to try to get them to the outside of the tower legs. Hooking them up and losing them due to getting broken off on the tower’s legs is only going to spook them. I suggest placing baits under floats or freelining on the outskirt and down current of the tower leg. In some cases, also dropping a bottom rig, hooking up and reeling in a live fish will spark their interest. Once outside of the legs, this fish is most likely going to feed. So be ready. Don’t forget your gaff and your camera.”

Blue Water: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “This is the time of the year to make a blue-water run. However, please always factor in the weather predictions. Trolling for wahoo, king mackerel and blackfin tuna can offer one heck of a catching affair. Dolphin (mahi mahi) are few and far between during this time, but hook-ups are still possible. Finding a well-defined edge at the Stream during this time of the year can be done, but there is not that many large fish or schools of bait lining it. Your best bet is to know the coordinates of all ledges, holes and live-bottoms areas where you intend on fishing. When departing Savannah, I suggest always heading to the South Ledge area (3106.416/7955.300). This ledge has always held the interest of topwater fish, as well as bait during this time of the year. Best rigged baits are going to be chin-weighted dink ballyhoo pulled naked and medium/large ballyhoo on black or black/red Ilanders. I suggest rigging small dinks baits with 60-lb. test fluorocarbon and medium/large ballyhoo with 80- to 100-lb. test wire leader. When it comes to pulling the artificial stuff, I always suggest not forgetting cedar plugs soaked in menhaden. Old school blue-water fishermen are still using chum bags. For those who are making their own homemade chum, I always suggest adding some gold/silver glitter and lots of menhaden oil. The addition of glitter, especially when sunshine is added, makes for an interesting 3-D fish attractant. Every time you throw a top or bottom fish in your cooler, I suggest checking for glitter in the box. If glitter is in your fish box, that is your sign that it is working. Back in the old days, I used glitter all of the time. Believe me, it is worth the time/money spent using it. The payoff comes in serious fish caught! I always suggest pulling a couple of birds in your trolling spread. I pull No Alibi Dolphin Delights about 5 feet behind by birds. My preferred combination colors are pink/white and blue/white. If your trolling spread doesn’t produce, then I suggest dropping to the bottom. Best bait is going to be cut ballyhoo, squid and cut fish. Or I suggest giving deep-water jigging a try. The best news for you is that I have tried all of these suggestions, and they have worked.”

2023 Captain Judy’s Inshore/Offshore Fishing Clinics: Feb. 24-26, 2023. Inshore/offshore boats in the water. $195 per person for inshore; $195 per person for offshore. Trips 8 a.m. until 12 p.m. Miss Judy Charters dock, 202 Wilmington Island Road, Savannah, Ga. 31410. Call 912.897.4921 for more details. We will be offering classes on the water in the boats. Proven inshore light-tackle techniques revealed for getting your best chance at catching redfish, spotted seatrout and flounder. You also get a signed copy of Captain Judy’s Inshore Fishing Techniques Presenting Old School Tools! All you will need to bring is food and drink!”