Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report January 2014

Saltwater: Inshore: Capt. David Newlin reports, “Water temp is right around 50 degrees. The trout have moved into the deeper water, from 8 to 20 feet. This is the time of the year for the artificial-lure fishermen to catch a lot of trout. When you locate fish, there can be a lot of trout in a small area. My favorite lure is an 1/8-oz. jig with a 3-inch green curly tail with a lot of glitter. Sometimes I like to add some red or yellow color to the tail. A lot of colors will work—pink, electric chicken, blue glitter. Small bucktail jigs in yellow will work when nothing else will. Try fishing a 1/8-oz. yellow crappie jig on 6-lb. fluorocarbon when the fish get real finicky. When the water gets in the high 40s, the trout bite will be light-tackle, deep and slow. The good news about winter fishing is the sheepshead are turned on and biting. These are an excellent-eating fish and relatively easy to catch. The best bait for sheepshead is a fiddler crab. Inshore, fish around some kind of structure like tree top or dock pilings, anything that has barnacles growing on it. Anchor close to the structure and fish straight up and down on it. I like a No. 2 kahle hook. If you are catching big fish, you might go up to a 1/0 hook. Any bottom rig will work. Use as light of a sinker as possible.” Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “By the time January rolls around, the inshore fish that are migrating have left, and the ones that are staying have gone into the cold-water hibernation mode. Spotted seatrout during this time are normally wintering in deep holes in the creeks, rivers or sounds. The best way to catch spotted seatrout when in the hibernation mode is to use small freshwater jigs with curly tails or super grubs 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 and cushion it adds. However, those who prefer braided-type main line, it also will 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. The best freshwater jigs that also work in the saltwater are called Jiffy Jigs, which come in assorted sizes and colors. If these jigs aren’t available, select 1/16- to 1/24-oz. jigs dipped in red, white or black plastic. Heck, if you can’t find jigs in any of these colors, I suggest picking out the preferred by all fish, which is naked unpainted lead. For some reason, a fish can’t seem to pass up a piece of lead when something such as a screw tail—any light color as long as white is involved works­—or real shrimp is involved. The best method is to cast in the deepest part or the hole, let your lure hit the bottom, wait, reel a few times, wait and repeat. Then I suggest casting lure to the sides of the hole and repeat this sequence. The secret to catching trout during cold times is to work your lure as slow as you can while still keeping it on the bottom. There is an old saying, ‘To get a trout to bite during the cold-water times, you almost have to hit them right on the head!’ During the cold water times, spotted seatrout and redfish ‘act and eat funny.’ Here’s a list of days that could be perfect for a cold-water bite. And if you can add a bright sunny day to this combination, your bite chances will only increase. Best days in January 2014 for morning to midday incoming tide, cold-water bite is Jan. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. For those fishermen who also like that high-tide, morning-to-midday bite best days in Jan. are 6, 7, 8, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24. I suggest being at your fishing location two hours before the tide change and fish until two hours after the turn of the tide. During the higher-tide stages, sight casting for redfish in the grass can be very interesting. The best live bait is lip-hooked live finger mullet or live shrimp hooked under the horn. When it comes to dead bait, I suggest fresh or old dead smelly mullet cut like a loaf of bread also referred to as mullet steak and pieces of cut shrimp, which you have air dried. The air-drying process is a simple one. All you have to do is leave cut pieces to dry out in the air. The outer-dried area seals in the scent. Once introduced back into water, the fishy scent is secreted which in turn rings a serious dinner bell.”

Nearshore & Offshore: Capt. David Newlin reports, “The nearshore reefs will be the center of attraction for a lot of fish and fishermen during the winter. Sheepshead, sea bass, weakfish, monster redfish, black drum and sharks are just some of the fish that will be there in January. The Cat and DUA artificial reefs are the ones in my area. They are just a few miles out in 35 to 40 feet of water. Bring a box of fiddler crabs and a box of squid, and bring a lot of hooks and a good wreck anchor. You need to anchor in the reef structures. You will loose a lot of tackle in the reef. Everything will hit squid. The sheepshead prefer a fiddler crab. To catch a big redfish, rig up a bottom rig with a 10/0 circle hook and put a several big pieces of cut fish on it. Throw it out, and put it in a rod holder and wait. Check federal fishing regulations on sea bass. They can change in one day. All redfish in federal water must be released.” Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “For those fishermen who want to get their best shot at a trophy redfish, also known as ‘bull redfish,’ now is the time. Please know that the redfish when caught offshore is on the catch-and-release list only, but just think about that picture you can take! Please handle this fish with care, and release as quickly as possible. The best natural baits, believe it or not, are cut squid or fish. The best artificial baits are any sort of jigs, shinny or painted metal, with white hair or small plastic tubes attached. Once cast into the school, the redfish should hit your lure on the fall. If two of you are fishing at once, I suggest throwing the first artificial lure and then waiting about five seconds to pitch in the second. For offshore fishing and keeping, there is still some pretty good opportunity. During this time the nearshore artificial reefs are holding some pretty good table fare. You could find yourself catching sheepshead, flounder, black drum, and summer trout (weak fish). Best baits for sheepshead and black drum are going to be live or frozen fiddlers crab, raw oysters, barnacles in the shell, green mussels out of the shell, and crickets. Yes, I said ‘crickets!’ These are normally used as freshwater baits. However they offer just enough crunch appeal to make it worth giving them a try. They won’t work all of the time, but they do work some of the time. You don’t have to tell anybody that you used them! For the flounder, I suggest fishing on the outskirts of the structure with live or stripped baits. Live baits that work are jumbo mud minnows, sand perch and any other smaller fish that you might catch on a sabiki rig. As far as best stripped baits, I suggest stomach wall of any fresh caught such as a sheepshead or black drum to the fillet side of any other bottom fish. The secret to catching offshore flounder is to fish the outskirts of the structure and not on top of it. The only time flounder are in the structure is when they are situated with heads ducked in and tails out. This is not when they feed.”