Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report – April 2009

Saltwater: Inshore: From the Richmond Hill area, Capt. David Newlin reports, “The water temperature in St. Catherine’s Sound was 64 degrees on March 21. Trout are starting to pick up. McQueens Inlet has produced some pretty good fish. Some trout have been caught all over the sounds. Live shrimp or live polywogs are the best bets. I have caught some pretty good trout with shrimp on the bottom. The big news inside has been the spottail bass, or redfish, bite. Fish from 14 inches to 20 pounds have been caught. Redfish are hitting way up in the shallow grass flats and out in the deeper water. Live shrimp, dead shrimp, and artificals have been working. Fish shallow flats on high tide and small creek channels on low tide. The whiting bite is about to get in full swing. They can be caught almost anywhere in the sounds on a small piece of shrimp or squid on the bottom.” From the Golden Isles area, Capt. Greg Hildreth reports, “The trout that have been taken in the past few days have been coming on live shrimp in water depths of 5 to 12 feet using slip-sinker floats. Most of the trout are still coming from the creeks right now but should be in the sound areas in a few weeks. The nearshore fishing for sheepshead has been very good the past few weeks and will continue until late April. I have been getting these fish on the nearshore reefs in 20 to 45 feet of water. The bait of choice is live fiddler crabs fished on the bottom. The weak fish have also be biting very good, as well as a few of the big bull reds. The water temp has been in the 57- to 59-degree range for the past few days, and when we hit that 68-degree mark, the tripletail should be starting to show.” Capt. Bob Barnette reports, “The seatrout are once again biting. The redfish are still in small schools but will start to spread out with the warming water. Look for the seatrout to move into the shallows as the water temp starts upward. Your best bet will be live shrimp and mud minnows. This time of year, the mouths of the creeks closer to the ocean and in the Intercoastal Waterway will be the place to start, also the shell mounds. You will find the redfish holding in still water pockets, shallow oyster beds and grass flats.”

Offshore: Capt Newlin reports, “The offshore bottom fishing bite is turning on real good. This week I caught a lot of big sea bass, red porgies, some vermillion snapper and a couple big red snapper. I have fished from 60 to 125 feet of water. The bottom bite should really turn on shortly.”