Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report – May 2009

Saltwater: Inshore: From the Richmond Hill area, Capt. David Newlin reports, “The water temp is right at 68 to 69 degrees in the river. The redfish and trout have been doing pretty good. We’ve had a lot of freshwater coming out of the Ogeechee, so the trout are out in the sound, and they’re catching them on live-shrimp rigs. We’ve been catching some redfish up in the grass on a New Penny Gulp Shrimp, rigging with a weedless hook. Fish it on high tide. The sharks have shown up. Big sharks will be getting thicker, showing up in big numbers this month. The flounder should start biting when the water temperature gets to 70 degrees.” Capt. Bob Barnette reports, “The waters around Savannah have been a bit muddy with all the freshwater being dumped into the Atlantic from all the rain in the last several weeks. Even with that, the fishing has not been bad, as the water temps break the 68-degree mark and the fish start their move to the sounds, the action should pick up. The fish will be moving to the beaches on the full moon to spawn. The roe shrimp will also be moving offshore. For those who want to try your hand at cobia, they will be here this month. Some are already showing in the Broad River. The whiting bite is still going on — just find an area with a combination of sand and muddy bottom, put your bait on the bottom, and it should not be long. For those who want to target the trout, live bait is still available, both shrimp and mud minnows, Kilkenny Marina has both and Fort McAllister Marina has mud minnows.”

Offshore: Excellent. Capt. David Newlin reports, “The offshore fishing is as good as I’ve ever seen it. We’re catching as many sea bass and snapper as I’ve ever seen, using the usual bottom-rig stuff. Cut squid and cigar minnows have been working. For legal fish, they’re on the reefs 50 feet and out.”