Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report – February 2025

Saltwater: Inshore: Capt. David Newlin reports, “January has been one of the coolest in a long time. We have had snow on the dock for five days. I have never seen that before. The stripers and redfish bite has been really good in the Ogeechee. I have been catching most of my fish on the bottom with live mullet and shrimp in 15 to 20 feet of water. The fish seem to be in slow-motion biting mode with the cold water temps. Next month if we can get some warm, sunny days, the redfish can be found in shallow water. The bright sunny days are what you want. They will move shallow to get warm in the sunshine. A live shrimp or pollywog minnow will work. Be as stealthy as possible. Smaller floats and lighter rigs will help. A white Gulp Swimming Mullet on a 1/8-oz. jig head fished very slowly works good for me at times. Trout will be in deeper places. They will hit really small artificials when they get in deep winter mode. If the water gets up to the low 50s, they will start eating shrimp again. Fish your lures really slow just off the bottom. A lot of your crappie jigs will work. Small screw tails in green, white or pink work well. Sheepshead can be caught fairly well in coastal waters in February. Fish around structure with a fiddler crab. The stripers in the Ogeechee can be caught all February. I like fishing on the bottom with a small live mullet or shrimp. Some redfish can be mixed up with them. A white bucktail jig and bright-colored Rapalas can work a lot of times. Try creek mouths and deep curves in the creeks. The catfish up the river can save your day when nothing else bites in the winter. Put a dead shrimp on the bottom and be patient. Everything will depend on the water temps the next few weeks. Hopefully we will have some warmer weather.”

Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “Inshore fishing in February can be very good for redfish, but you need to keep in mind that the water is a lot clearer, causing the fish to be a bit more skittish. Pick areas in the sounds where sloughs flow onto bars or flats. The best fishing spots should have at least 6 inches of water at mean low tide. The best days are going to be those that have a midday low tide stage with sunny conditions. I like to fish at the bottom of the low tide stage until the water floods the grass. I like to fish low to high tide because the water under your boat gets deeper not shallower. No one wants to spend the day high and dry on a sand bar. Due to the last couple of hurricanes, lots of changes in the sand bars have taken place. And, with more water, we have stronger currents, which is the reason that our sand bars are re-situated so often. As far as baits when it comes to the natural stuff, I suggest last year’s frozen, smelly shrimp, and/or whole mullet cut into pieces like a loaf of bread. I always suggest cutting the mullet up in 1-inch steaks before heading out. As far as large prawn shrimp, leave them whole. The best place to put your now ready bait is out in the air and sun. This dries the bait, sealing in the fish juices that rings the dinner bell for a redfish once it is placed back in the water. It also makes bait tougher, which allows it to stay and look better on the hook. When using natural baits, all you need is 12 to 15 inches of 15- to-20-lb. test fluorocarbon leader tied to a small extra sharp circle hook. Cast into the area, let the bait fall to the bottom and wait for a hit. Please keep in mind before setting the hook to give them time to eat. Slowly raising the rod with limited turns on your reel may be your best way to get better cold-water reds hook up. For those fishermen who prefer pitching artificial baits during the cold-water bite, I suggest Berkley jerkbaits or Strike King soft bait flukes rigged on 1/4-oz. jig heads. Please remember white is the right color for this time of the year. White with specks, glitter, two-tone or more of a white background is preferred. 

Nearshore: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “Nearshore artificial reefs located in 45 to 50 feet of water are holding the winter migration of large sheepshead. Normally the reefs offering the best vertical structure are the ones that hold the attentions of the most sheepshead and black drum. The best bait is going to be the purple or black back fiddler. I suggest anchoring so that you can fish directly over and around the wreck. These fish are known for biting furiously and then stopping. Your best stance to take when this happens is to keep fishing and not moving from this spot. This is a fish that is known for feeding vertically while circling around the wreck at a slow pace, which means the school is going to be making continuous passes. The artificial reefs located in more than 50 feet of water are holding black sea bass. Normally this is a fish that loves to school up in low-relief areas and feeds near the bottom. During this time, large schools of black fish can be found schooling around the structure. All structures have potential, but you will most likely find them held in only a few spots. If your plan is to drift fish, you are only going to get a few drifts over the holding area before the bite thins. If anchored, the bite will be about the same way, which means lots of bites, then no action, and after a short while, the bite normally starts back. It seems during cold-water times that these fish are more quickly spooked and once released don’t seem to swim back to where they were caught. The best bait is going to be cut squid and fish.

Georgia Saltwater Fishing Page

Savannah Snapper Banks: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “For those of you who want to take a longer ride, there are always the live-bottom areas of the Savannah Snapper Banks. During this time, the bottom bite for large black sea bass, trigger fish, vermilion snapper, white grunt, white bone porgy, red porgy and knobbed porgy is very good. Also, African pompano can be found schooling around the naval towers. As far as the best bait to use, squid is universal, meaning all fish will eat this stuff. When the water temp is on the colder side, most fish are not as picky due to the fact their realm of feeding opportunities are limited.”

Blue Water: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “The blue waters of the Stream, especially during this time of year, are located way offshore. I suggest giving the South Ledge, the Triple Ledge or the Deli Ledge a try. It is a known fact that the South Ledge has proven many times over these past years to hold the attentions of blackfin tuna and an occasional yahoo wahoo! Those fishers traveling from the north should always stop and give the closer ledges a try. As far as best methods for catching, I suggest trolling small, rigged dink baits or jigging proper sized deep-water jigs. If you are marking tuna, I consider using a high visibility jig that is 3 to 4 inches long or less. In other words, match the hatch.”

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.