Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report – December 2024

Saltwater: Inshore: Capt. David Newlin reports, “Winter has finally come to the coast. Water temps crashed this week. Nov. 24 temps varied from 53 way up in a couple creeks to 62 in the sound. When the water gets below 55, the fish patterns change dramatically. The redfish bite is good. In December, the weather will be a big factor with redfish. A few warm, bright, sunny days and they will be in shallow waters. In cold, cloudy weather, they will stay a little deeper, 5 feet plus. Live shrimp for bait is always good. Water temps below 60 always seems to make the redfish hit artificials better. A white Gulp! Swimming Mullet on a 1/4-oz. jig fished slow right off the bottom works good for me. December is the time to catch trout on jigs and light tackle. A shrimp under a cork will still work, but a properly fished jig can out-catch a shrimp a lot of times. Screwtails and paddletails in green, pink and clear with glitter work for me. On some days, really small ones work, and other days the 3- and 4-inch ones work. Fish a 1/8-oz. jig head in shallow water and up to 1/2-oz. in deeper water. I usually try to fish them just off the bottom real slow. One of the hottest bites the last couple of days has been the stripers, what I call a rockfish, in the Ogeechee. I have had several trips the last couple of days with 15 fish from 3 to 25 pounds. These were usually one- to two-hours trips. There’s been a lot of fish around docks with lights on them. All the fresh water has them pushed into the lower river. I have caught them on everything from live shrimp, DOA Shrimp, Rapalas and silver Rat-L-Traps. The bite has been really good just before daylight. The colder the weather, the better they bite. Rockfish should keep biting through December. Everything should keep biting unless the water gets into the low 50s. The boat rides are a little cooler, so bundle up and wear a flotation device in December. Merry Christmas, and remember Jesus is the reason for the season.”

Capt. Judy Helmey of Miss Judy Charters reports, “There is one thing that I can say about the month of December when it comes to catching fish, and that is that it can happen! During this time, all fish, from spotted seatrout to flounder to redfish, are doing what they do best, and that’s bulking up for those unpredictable but fast-on-the-way, cold-weather patterns. It’s also a great time to be a weather watcher. Normally the inshore bite will turn on big time when there is an approaching cold front. The fish usually feed hard 18 to 24 hours before the weather changes. The best natural bait is going to be live shrimp, and the best artificial baits are those that imitate them. Live shrimp will work under popping or traditional adjustable corks or just plain naked, meaning using a hook only. Most spotted seatrout, redfish and flounder will take a chance on a shrimp, even if it does look a little fishy. From a fish’s point of view, the shrimp is easy to catch, easy to eat and easy on the stomach. And once you get the bite going on the live or fresh dead shrimp, it’s easy to change to artificial, such as a DOA. When it comes to getting the redfish to bite, I suggest pitching copper penny, baby bass or ice flukes made by Strike King (ZTOO) rigged weedless and cast right into the grass. When using artificial baits during cooler-water times, please remember to work your lure slower than normal. The reason being is everything is moving a bit slower, and this includes the bait and those that eat them. When you can’t purchase or catch your own live shrimp, there is another bait to consider. The old standby mud minnow is easy to catch, and it’s a hardy bait. It does come in second on the best-bait-to-use scale. But I can guarantee you that nine times out of 10 if you can’t find shrimp, neither can the fish. A single mud minnow works great and is usually good several times even after hits, misses or catches. If one minnow lipped hooked either under a popping or adjustable cork doesn’t work, I suggest adding another one. Using double-up baits can turn an unlikely bite on. My father always told me that after the old mud minnow catches you a fish to release it back to the wild. I guess you could call this paying it forward to the fishes. When the water gets cooler, it is much clearer. This means you can see the fish, but it most likely can see you, too. When approaching your fishing spot, do so slowly. I suggest offering the least amount of noise and impact. Once arriving, slowly drop your anchor quietly as possible. For those fishermen who prefer darkness over daylight fishing, this is the perfect time of the year to give it a try. Most all isolated dock lights will hold the interest of some sort of bait, which in turn brings on one heck of a topwater bite. Best baits are DOA’s artificial shrimp patterns rigged on 1/8- to 1/4-oz. jig heads and small Rapala Pinns floating/diving lures. For fishermen who prefer the live bait, such as shrimp or mud minnows, these baits will also work. The best procedures for working a dock light can to pitch and retrieve lures in different directions or placing a bait rigged under a cork up current of the light. Bites should be consistent for about 15 to 20 minutes, and then it will be time to move on or take a break to give the fish time to re-group uninterrupted. I have started trying to add an old-school tip each month that worked way back when and would still work now. The Christmas Tree lure was the best inshore trigger-the-bite lure that I have ever seen, and it worked especially well during the holiday season. There’s a picture of a new-style rendition of the old-time Christmas lure on this page. It almost looks the same, and in most cases works as well as the old-time wooden lures did. It is an old-school suggestion, but if you can find this copy-cat lure, I suggest giving it a try. By the way, the old Christmas lure works during the daylight hours and at nighttime around dock lights. Back in the old days, we didn’t have a lot of lures to choose from, and it really didn’t seem to matter too much to the fish. The Christmas Tree Lure had two small thin-tinned, very sharp treble hooks hanging on the belly, and the body was painted white with a red head. Then it had some sort of Christmas tree colored glitter design on the white part of the lure. There was also a molded plastic Christmas lure. As I can remember back in the old days, these baits mostly were made with screwtails. The best news is the fish thought they were the real deal!”

Capt. Judy’s Old-School Tip Of The Month: This lure looks much like a lure from years ago that would catch inshore saltwater fish during the winter months. Coincidentally, it’s in Christmas colors and has earned the name the “The Christmas Lure.”

Georgia Saltwater Fishing Page

Offshore Artificial Reefs: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “December is a grand month for those fishermen who love a light-tackle offshore fishing experience. Artificial reefs are holding sheepshead, black drum, trophy redfish, flounder and cold-water sharks. Fish put these areas on their list of places to school up to bulk up for winter migrations. The best baits for sheepshead, black drum and trophy redfish are going to be the purple-back fiddler, juvenile rock crabs and green mussels. Small pieces of shrimp will also work. These fish love anything wrapped in a shell or the meat that is removed from them. Flounder are known for situating themselves on the outskirts of the structure while waiting for that perfect meal. The best baits for the flounder are jumbo mud minnows or small sand perch placed on a Carolina-style bottom rig. Placement of this bait is simple. Cast to the outskirts of the structure, set drag to medium and place rod in holder. Another baiting-up method for flounder is to take a 3-oz. jig head, bait it with live finger mullet, or any live bait that is about the size of a cigar, and put it on the bottom. Or you can butterfly a small fish. When introduced back into the water, it offers up two working, flowing tails. The best thing about jig-head fishing is that you can move your bait along the bottom, and it imitates a small fish. When a small fish is skirting close to the bottom, it forms somewhat of a sandstorm. A large fish knows this because they have had plenty of success eating small fish or crabs that are making these sort of moves near the bottom. When you get a hit, don’t try to set your hook. Flounder are known for being slow bait takers. In other words, give them time to eat. Old-time fishermen used to say that before you set the hook, count like this: 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, and then set the hook. If you miss the set, I suggest quickly dropping your bait back and letting it just sit on the bottom. It is going to be a waiting game to see if the fish will give it another try. If sharking is on your mind and if you are looking for an unbelievable fight of grand portions, I suggest bringing along some squid or cut up some freshly caught fish. Another great bait when targeting shark is going to be belly strip cut from a sheepshead. All you need to do is cut the belly out of the fish, leaving you the best part to eat. Then, hook it up and put it on the bottom. Removing the belly from this fish still allows the sheepshead to be intact, meaning tail and head are still allowing for any official measuring. It’s best to try to place this bait as far on the outskirts of the structure as possible. In other words, cast your bait as far as you can from where you are anchored. Please always check state and federal regulations for any closers and size limits. During a normal winter season, all sizes of black fish make way to most artificial reefs in search of a colder water hold up. This is the best time to find large schools of these fish schooling around all types of structure from the lower relief to wrecks. The reason being is when there is a feeding possibility, they will stay until this event changes. Large summer trout can also be found schooling on the artificial reefs, and some of these fish are in the 20-inch-plus size range. The best bait is going to be small pieces of cut fish, squid and cigar minnows. Gag grouper 2024 season is closed at this time and won’t open until May 2025. However, you can still practice catch and release. And when catching these fish in shallower water, their chances for survival once released are much better. Large gags are known for migrating into shallower water during this time of the year. Artificial reefs located in 35 to 65 feet of water are stopping-off staging places for large gags. The best places to fish on the artificial reefs are the places where you have wrecks, such as barges, battle tanks, subway cars, ships, tugs and dredges. These fish prefer these areas because they can move in and out of the structure feeding on those smaller fish that feel safe inside. Grouper is known for not only taking advantage of its camouflage of blending in but also its ability to maneuver in and out of tight spots. I always suggest using the preferred live baits, such as pinfish, ruby red lips, sand perch and rock bass when targeting grouper. Believe me, no respectable large fish, at least most of the time, is going to leave an already target-rich feeding environment for the likes of something that may or may not be worth its travels. These live baits normally offer up a grand feeding incentive for a grouper to make a serious move to the outside of the wreck zone.”

Savannah Snapper Banks: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “Bottom fishing in 90 to 100 feet of water can be very interesting at this time because you never know what you might catch. The best bottom-fishing baits are going to be small pieces of squid, cut fish and fresh or frozen cigar minnows. If you happen up on a school of baits, meaning schooling cigar minnows or Spanish sardines, I suggest getting out a sabiki bait rig and give it a try. These baits are known for schooling over and around ledges in the upper water column, which means you should hook up way before you hit the bottom. These types of baits are known for triggering a fish bite that might not have existed in the first place. Believe me, fresh of dead halves of minnows in most cases work great, but the live ones are the ticket to this fish-catching ride. Cigar minnows and Spanish sardines are also called nervous baits because they are movers and shakers. These baits bring on the attentions of black sea bass, vermilion snapper, white grunts, porgy, triggerfish and other colorful bottom biters. When targeting the much larger fish, I suggest dropping a lip-hooked ruby red lip, sand perch, vermilion or rock bass down to the bottom. These baits attract amberjack, grouper and red snapper, which come in extra-large sizes. Before heading out, I always suggest checking with http://www.safmc.net for current offshore regulations.”

Blue Water: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “This is one of those fishing opportunities that most fishermen don’t even think about. Heck, with the holiday season in ‘full throttle,’ it’s understandable. However, if you get the chance and want to make the run to the blue water off the Georgia coast, this would be a great time to find yourself involved in a strong line-stretching ordeal. Our blackfin tuna run off the coast of Georgia normally is on the wide-open side. This is one fish that can offer you a strong fight. You can find these fish holding over the ledges in 180 to 250 feet of water or you might just happen to find a school holding in the upper water column that has rounded up a school of bait. The best lures that fit into what is called old school are cedar plugs pre-soaked in menhaden oil. I am not talking about colored cedar plugs. I am suggesting the actual plug that is made with cedar showing and not the ones that are painted. These plugs absorb the menhaden oil while holding it longer when trolling and produces lots of happy fishy trails. It is a known fact that menhaden oil attracts the attention of fish. I call it the ‘there is always a bigger fish in the sea effect.’ The reason being is smaller fish are attracted by the oil, as well as the larger ones. For those fishermen who want to troll with real bait, I suggest Ilander Trackers rigged with dink ballyhoo baits. The trick here is to rig the Ilander Trackers with 60-lb. test fluorocarbon and small, short-shank, extra strong 4/0 to 5/0 hooks. This style of rig works well when rigging with dink ballyhoo. For those fishermen who love to do a little jigging, once you find the tuna, drop your lure to this depth and work it. The best deep-water jigs are butterfly-type designs from 6 to 8 ounces. For the best jigging results, I suggest using braid as the main line and a fluorocarbon leader above the jig. It’s time to go because now you know. Next month is blue-water yahoo wahoo time!”

2025 Captain Judy’s Inshore Fishing Clinics: Captain Judy is offering fishing/learning inshore trips. You will go fishing and learn while you fish. If you catch legal-sized fish, your captain will clean them. Tip and fish cleaning is not included in the price. Please bring your own food and drink. Each fisherman will receive a signed copy of Captain Judy’s Inshore Fishing Techniques, as well as other information ($25 value). The dates are Feb. 22, 2025 and Feb. 23, 2025. On inshore boats in the water $200 per person and runs from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.