Posts by Capt. Spud Woodward
Pelagic Magic On Georgia Offshore Reefs
Summer is prime time for fishing Georgia’s coastal waters. Sea conditions allow for safe and comfortable trips into the Atlantic. Bait is plentiful. Gamefish diversity and abundance, particularly in the case of the migratory pelagics, is at maximum. Best of all, these fish are hungry. But, the Atlantic Ocean is a big place, and there’s…
Read MoreGeorgia Blue Water Fishing Adventure To The Gulf Stream
Traveling offshore of Georgia in search of world-class gamefish is not the average angling experience. After all, an average person wouldn’t leave the bed at 2 a.m. just to cross 90 miles of open Atlantic Ocean in the darkness so he or she can be on the fishing grounds at sunrise. A blue-water trip means…
Read MoreGeorgia Considers Redfish Stocking Program
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources wants to make sure that red drum fishing continues to be an important part of the social, economic, and ecological fabric of the coast. Should the release of hatchery-reared redfish into tidal rivers and creeks be part of the long-range plan? Many of Georgia’s saltwater anglers think so because…
Read MoreGobbling Dynamics
Our early morning attempts to locate a roosted bird had failed. After some walking and calling, Terry Adkins and I moved to a rye strip between two stands of planted pines. It looked like a perfect strutting spot, and we had seen some turkeys in the vicinity just the afternoon before. We staked out my…
Read MoreShrimp Boat Sharks
For millions of years, sharks roamed the worldʼs oceans and were the undisputed kings — the grizzly bears of the sea. That is, until man came on the scene. Well-meaning folks in natural-resource management labeled sharks an underutilized species, stimulating the development of large-scale commercial fisheries. The novel and movie, “Jaws,” drove us out of…
Read MoreTidal Rip Redfish
In the late 1990s, fishing guides targeting sharks and tarpon during the early autumn started catching redfish in the waters off the southern end of St. Simons Island — big redfish, some of which pushed record size. These anglers were working the area between Gouldʼs Inlet and the shipping channel leading into the St. Simons…
Read MoreFishing Georgia Nearshore Reefs
The bright yellow buoys that mark Georgia’s offshore artificial reefs are a familiar and welcome sight to anglers who venture into the wide expanse of the open Atlantic Ocean. Despite the confidence we place in our GPS, there is something comforting about seeing a buoy right where your navigation electronics said it would be. Not…
Read MoreFun With Barracuda Using Spanish For Bait
Next to the shark, few denizens of the deep inspire as much fear and loathing as do barracuda. Like sharks, they have done little to deserve their reputation. Looking like a freshwater pike on steroids, the barracuda can make short work of other fishes, particularly those struggling on a hook. It’s this nasty habit of…
Read MoreKing Mackerel Dead Bait Option
Another hot Saturday in July and the Constant Threat was anchored near the wreck of a shrimp boat just a few miles east of the Fernandina Jetties at the Georgia-Florida border. Onboard with Gordon Rogers and I was Shelby Childers of St. Simons Island. We had departed from our normal slow-trolling strategy in favor of…
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