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St. Simon's Island Fishing Report Updated November 17, 2008

Georgia Inshore Fishing"

Once again, Inshore Trout and Red fishing continues to be excellent for most all anglers and all the Inshore fisherman know it will be hitting prime very soon. The water temperature is falling pretty quick, now. We are now in the high 60's and the Trout bite is FIERCE. This sharp decline has, and will continue to promote a good fish bite in the rivers from Fernandina Beach FL. up to Sapelo Island and beyond. The reports I have heard and read are ALL GOOD for Inshore with limits of Tout and Reds in most places.

We deep floated shrimp and bull minnows during a local Trout Tournament last weekend and caught excellent numbers of Trout, but werent lucky enough to get close to a win, but we had some really nice, solid, thick back Trout. We also fished bottom (carolina) rigs and fared very well in most every spot we fished, especially in the Little Satilla River here in coastal Georgia. Also, a small island (Colonels Island) proved to be especially good on either side. Google search these areas to see exactly where they are.

"Georgia Offshore Fishing"

The Georgia Offshore Fishing Report

Offshore bottom fishing has been absolutely incredible. With a drop in water temperature and a few weeks of north east wind, I figured it would be good. First of all, the live bottoms and reefs were un- touched after that long blow. Not a fisherman around could get to the reefs, let alone bottom fish, so the bite has been insane.

Our Red Snapper fishery has grown into one that would make the rest of the country Envious. Even parts of the Gulf don't produce the quality size fish we're catching right now. It's nearly unbeatable, especially for here in old murky water Georgia. The last few years it has increasingly grown better and better and the fish seem to be larger as the seasons pass. I hope it holds... I am sure this fishery will continue to be under Scrutiny by NMFS. We have heard there are new Red Snapper rules to possibly be imposed for our area.

Unlike the Gulf Coast, our Red Snapper have to be 20 inches to take. That is a nice Snapper in anyone’s book. What NMFS knows is this; Most all of the Reds Snapper being caught are legal and above. Again, these are NICE size fish.

NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) will want to protect this fishery for Georgia Anglers and use the catch information from it to incorporate other places, so we're all awaiting a phone call or "official" meeting about new Red Snapper regulations. As I mentioned in earlier articles, this is all rumor until some one pulls a trigger, which has not happened as of yet.

At any rate, Georgia Anglers are seriously enjoying a premier season for Red Snapper and other bottom fish as well.

GO FISH!




10/25/08

The Bull Redfish bite near shore off the GA coast has been simply incredible. After last years hero or zero season, we started the first week of October with an amazing 71 fish as of yesterday, landed and released.

The Reds have been ranging from 20 pounds to over 40 pounds, with 30-32 being the average. All nice fish in my book....

These Spawning females come to the same places each year to spawn like clockwork and we are extremely fortunate to have this fishery. There are not very many places in the world that offer this type of fishing with reds in this size range and best if all, the bite is dependable.

If you have never caught a Bull Redfish, NOW is the time to fish for them on the GA coast. The bigger fish have been down in my neck of the woods. St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island, just off the beaches in very particular areas. These spots are traditional guide spots for Reds and are somewhat secluded/not fished areas where we're catching the fish over 35 pounds. The key to finding these fish is finding bait. No Secrets, that's the key. Period.

As far as finding new spots where there is likely to be Reds without hunting bait schools, the best thing you can do is seek breaking water on a sandbar with deep water nearby and fish the breakers and on the ledge where the breakers drop off into the channel next to them. If there are baitfish around (and there should be near the breakers), there should be Bull Reds.

It's a fun game and the fish make some great photos. Pretty much anything will work for bait, but it needs to be fresh. It's hard to beat a fresh menhaden, live or dead fished right on the bottom...! See photos and video of these fish @ www.charterfish.com.

Happy Fishing!

"40 Mile Reds. Georgia Style!"
By: Capt. Richie Lott

Bottom fishing is simply my destiny, whether we target Trout and Red fish Inshore, or Pompano 60 miles Offshore at the R4 Navy Tower in 160+ ft. of water. I can't tolerate a day on the boat without fishing on the bottom.

We all have that tendency to whine a little when someone says, "It's a 40 mile run, but the fish ought to be there". Well, let me take all the doubts out of making that long run decision. If bottom fishing is your game, the Red Snapper are biting as good as last year, if not a little better.

The opportunity arose for me to make the long run in comfort to do some bottom fishing. So, I decided to load up on the "Hoss Fly", a 30-ft. Topaz Captained by Rick Stallard. Once again, I was off to the 40-mile ledges Southeast of the Georgia Coast. My favorite place to fish on our small, but fertile 100 - mile coastline.

A pleasant surprise awaited us in 70 ft. of water on the journey East. From the tower of the "Hoss Fly", we watched birds swoop and dive at the water from a mile away. When we got close, the answer was clear. The bait marked up in textbook form on the CVS 106 bottom machine. We knew the bait was not going to be a problem after that marking! Goggle Eyes by the thousands swarmed the structure along with sardines the length of an unsharpened pencil.

We heard tale of some very large Boston Mackerel in the area, but our Sabiki's boasted only Goggles and Sardines. I didn't see that as a problem. The size of the baits we caught were plenty big enough to get my adrenaline pumping, and after about 60 baits were in the well, we headed east another 20 miles.


As we approached the holy numbers, we talked of how good the fishing has been, and how good it BETTER be today! Capt. Matt Amie and I retired our beanbags and began making bottom rigs. Within a few short minutes, we had 6 rigs ready to send down as we idled slowly up to the number I had programmed in the GPS. We were ready. We all stared at the CVS 106 waiting for the bottom to blow up on the screen.

Finally, after several passes, there she was. That beautiful, bright colored marking rising high off the bottom and pointing sharply into the current. Rick screamed for the crew to "Send 'em!" I just watched on the first go-round to see the brutal "butt whippin'" get put on some of our crew members who had never caught a Red Snapper. I watched eagerly as the 16 ounce weight peeled line off the Tidewater GOLD 30 Reels as they carried the live Sardines to the bottom.

Finally. Touchdown. The crew quicky slammed the levers on the reels to strike, and I instructed them to make 3 full reels off the bottom to prevent any hang up on the structure. It was about 5 seconds, and the screaming and feet shuffling began! There's nothing quite like hearing the screams of a happy Angler hooked up with a BIG fish and the Captain on the Radio in the background telling his partners "We're Tripled Up!"

After a brutal battle with NO drag, Sean Parks and Chip Neal boated their first ever Red Snapper. What a feeling that is to see their faces when they have accomplished something they have never done. As I photographed the action, my partner, Matt Amie was still hooked up with a fish LONG after the Camera was put away. He asked me what I thought it could be. I had no answer. I just looked into his eyes and then down at the reel as line poured off about four times our drift speed.

Ten minutes went by, and we finally could see some color. It was a nice Cobia! What a bonus! He made the first boat side appearance and then made a dashing run to the bottom again. Matt finally pulled the fish to the Gaff, but it took all he had left. I have never seen Matt hand off a Rod, but I believe he was ready to. He may kill me for writing that! I swiped him in the head and we threw him in the box. High five's and Screams engulfed the cockpit as we eased back to the marking. The Cobia had pulled us 200 yards from our initial hook up spot, so the crew had a chance to talk of how great the fish pulled and begged me to get those pictures developed quick!

Drift after drift produced fish, until finally, we had our limit of Red
Snapper in the box, and the boys were beat down very much bad. We lost several NICE fish that our tackle simply couldn't handle, and we fish pretty darn heavy, too. They may have been big Amberjack or Gag Grouper, but who knows. Usually, we can turn just about any bottom fish with the rigs we use, but the terminal tackle wouldn't hold up to the test on a few of those fish.

Another day well noted for the 40 mile ledges. There are no secrets to this type of fishing. You simply need the ride to get there, and you'll catch fish. There are about 30 published numbers on this patch of live bottom that can be picked up at the DNR office in Brunswick. Get your live bait at one of the artificial reefs on the way out, and the rest is just fishin'!

To book a trip with Capt. Richie Lott and Capt. Matt Amie, visit our office at Golden Isles Marina or visit us on the web  www.charterfish.com.  May the seas be calm, and your coolers be full.

Capt. Richie Lott
912-617-1177