Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report October 2013

Saltwater: Inshore: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “The month of October offers fishermen a bigger-bite scenario. Inshore fishermen get to experience the big bull redfish migration, which starts taking place this month. These monsters start their migration pattern from where they have been holding in the creeks, rivers and upper-sound areas. Once making their way to the sounds closer to the ocean, this is a fish that finds a suitable place to bulk up before making way to the beachfronts and then to the ocean. Schooling baits such as mullet and menhaden provide much feeding opportunity for these fish. Where you see any surface action, stop, wait and look for any turbulence underwater feeding or seabirds in a heavy feeding or holding pattern. Another place to look is where currents come together forming some sort of a rip. Always looks for any surface oils, sometimes referred to as cat paws. If there is any bird feeding action, always check out the size and type of the seabirds. If it’s pelicans only, what you most likely have down under is schools of menhaden. However, if you have pelicans as well as other small sea birds, then you have a possible big feeding frenzy going on down under! This would be your sign to fish here! When anchored in areas around live oyster beds, I suggest using small adjustable floats with about 12 inches of 30- to 40-lb. test fluorocarbon leader with either semi-circle or a standard 2/0 to 3/0 kahle-style hook. Best baits for this rig are going to be lip-hooked live mullet or peanut menhaden or live shrimp hooked under the horn. If live bait isn’t an option, there are plenty other baits that will work, such as old or fresh, smelly mullet cut in steaks like a loaf of bread or air-dried shrimp with heads on or off threaded onto the hook. When working rips or actual feeding schools of redfish, I suggest using diamond-shaped jigs in 1 to 3 ounces with or without red or green or yellow miniature tube lures. Jigs such as the 1- to 3-oz. Shimano Butterfly with double hooks located at the head of the lure are good to go. Please know that it has come to our attention (and also the fish’s) that most of the big and non-brand names of jigs with hook or hooks attached to the head do work! All of this boils down to location and the working of the lure used!” Capt. David Newlin reports, “On Sept. 20, the water temp in St. Catherines Sound was 80. When the water temp gets in the 70s, the fishing should be real good. As the water starts cooling, the trout will start hitting artificial baits almost as good as the real things. Live shrimp will almost always catch trout. On some days when the small fish won’t leave your bait alone, put a DOA shrimp under a cork. Pull it in jerks, and the bigger trout will find it. The Trigger X brand of artificial shrimp in green has been working good on trout and redfish. In October, fish the oyster beds and the usual spots in 3 to 8 feet of water. When the water gets in the 60s, go deeper. October is the month for the big bull redfish in the surf. The beach front of St. Catherines Island will hold hundreds of big redfish. The best bait is a fillet of fresh mullet on the bottom. I like a 4-oz. slip-sinker rig with an 8/0 circle hook. Fish in 3 to 6 feet of water just outside of the breakers on the beach. Use a real sturdy anchor to keep your boat off the beach. You can sometimes see big schools of redfish cruising the beaches. Release all the redfish longer than 23 inches. Plenty of small redfish can be caught on the oyster beds in the sounds on live shrimp. The southern migration of the big sharks is in full swing. Several days recently we have caught a lot of sharks in the 100- to 300-lb. sizes. Tiger sharks, hammerheads, blacktips, bull sharks, they have all been here. This should last until the end of October. Fish 1 to 5 miles offshore, and any fresh fish will work. Put out a good chum slick, and they will find you. Check out the back of the shrimp boats, too. Tarpon are thick right now and should last another couple of weeks.”

Offshore: Capt. Judy Helmey reports, “When it comes to offshore fishing during October, lots of different bites can happen in the most unusual places. This is the month when fish start their fall migration patterns. With moving on their minds, all fish have to bulk up as fast as they can, which boils down to major feeding times all of the time. Nearshore artificial reefs and natural live-bottom areas will holds lots of different-sized bottom and topwater fish. For those fishermen who want to get some big bottom-fish action, I suggest filling the livewell before reaching the fishing grounds. The best place to stop to load up on bait is wrecks located at the artificial reefs in 55-plus feet of water. Please know that most of the yellow buoys marking the offshore artificial reefs are gone. These buoys held the interest of all types and sizes of baitfish. So now you need to make sure that you have GPS coordinates for all structure on the artificial reef that you are going to fish. Go to http://coastalgadnr.org/node/2089 to get information about Georgia’s artificial reefs. Gold-hook sabiki bait rigs normally have six to eight small hooks meaning lots of bait each time you drop. Always make sure to have at least a dozen bait rigs in the old tackle box, because once hooked up, large fish can attack. When this starts happening, I suggest moving to another spot until the big-fish feeding frenzy stops. These rigs are made for small baits not larger fish. Best live baits are cigar minnows, Spanish mackerel, Boston mackerel and any others that are hanging with the school. However, we have been catching lots of threadfin herring (don’t last long in the livewell) and horny bellies (which isn’t the best of live baits to use). When bottom fishing, I suggest fishing 100 feet deep on the Savannah Snapper Banks to 200 feet on the edge of Gulf Stream. Fish over any broken live bottom with ledges. Drop your lipped- or dorsal-hooked bait to the bottom, and hang on for a grouper-biting affair. And that’s not all you could catch—cubera snapper, amberjack, vermilion snapper, white grunts, porgy, etc. The bottom line is it’s time to go fish! Please always check current regulations and closures before heading out. The best website for regulations is www.safmc.net. For those fishermen who prefer topwater fishing, king mackerel are being caught live-lining or trolling around Naval towers and any live-bottom areas at the snapper banks. The best old-school trolling lure for king mackerel is a silver or black 3 1/2-inch Drone spoon pulled 30 feet with 80-lb. test monofilament leader behind a No. 3 planer.”