Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report – June 2007

Saltwater:

Inshore: On the southern Georgia coast, Capt. Greg Hildreth reports that the seatrout fishing has been very good, as has the flounder bite. “The redfishing has also been good at the low-tide spots using topwater plugs and on the fly rod,” he said. Toward Savannah, Capt. Judy Helmey said despite fast, dirty water because of unusually high tides recently, the fish still have to eat. She said popping-cork rigs with live shrimp haven’t been producing like they normally do for seatrout and recommends fishing live shrimp without the popping cork some as well. Seatrout have been biting in the creeks and rivers as well as near the beaches. “Shrimp are in short supply. Some local bait shops are getting Florida shrimp. If you’re depending on shrimp, you better call ahead. Mud minnows are a great substitute for shrimp and usually can easily be obtained either from local bait shops or by setting a trap,” Capt. Judy reported.

Nearshore: Sight fishing for tripletail has been the hot bite on the southern Georgia coast for the past few weeks, said Capt. Greg Hildreth. “The fish are off the southern barrier islands this time of year feeding on pogies, glass minnows and shrimp. The best way I have found for taking these fish is using live shrimp under a cork rig. My leader is 20-lb. mono and a length of 12 to 20 inches. You will be able to see the fish cruising just under the surface and floating on their sides like a flounder,” Capt. Hildreth said. “The big black tip sharks have also arrived and can be taken behind the shrimp boats using live pogies. The tarpon fishing shouldn’t be very far off, with all the bait on the beach it is only a matter of days,” Capt. Hildreth said. Also, large seatrout are beginning to show up on the beaches for their spawn. Try bigger live bait when targeting these roe trout. Capt. Judy said, “There were reports of birds feeding on glass minnows. Blue fish were pushing minnows to the surface. Birds find the minnows, and fisherman find the birds. One fisherman said the blue-fish action was non-stop.”

Offshore: Good when the weather has permitted the ride out to the hard bottoms. The numbers of fish being caught have been good, and a few big snapper and grouper are being caught as well. Capt. Judy recommends “nervous baits” to catch a big red snapper or grouper. “Nervous baits are those that don’t have air bladders. The baits that fall into this category are Spanish sardines, Boston mackerel, small jacks and cigar minnows.” If trolling the blue water is on your to-do list, now’s the time to go — weather permitting. Wahoo and tuna are being caught now, and the Gulf Stream bite will only get better during the month of June.