Saint Simons and Jekyll Island winter fishing update 2018
Sight Fishing Redfish
Cumberland Island redfish on a toasty winter afternoon
After a frigid and blustery January, February is shaping up to be more of a typical winter weather month here in Coastal Georgia. Favorable tides, light winds, and sunny skies are the 3 main ingredients for a great day of Saint Simons and Jekyll Island winter fishing. Mild temperatures are back in our forecast, and the days between the frontal systems will provide us with excellent sight fishing conditions. Happy groups of redfish in really shallow, clear water is to be expected on these types of days. A well placed fly, or lightweight artificial lure is all that is needed to get connected to a shallow water “belly crawler” in the 7-15# range.
Excellent tides for this type of winter fishing start this week and will continue for the rest of the month. Scroll through some short Jekyll Island winter fishing videos under our Captains Journal tab or Click Here for a taste of shallow water fishing during this season.
Gorgeous coastal Georgia tailing redfish on fly
Speckled Sea Trout
Healthy Georgia seatrout coaxed out of a deep pocket
Trout don’t bite in the winter…..I hear it all the time. It is not true. When the water temps are really cold like they were last month, they get very lethargic and the feeding window is small. If you are in the right place and you fish very slow and thorough you can find some quality fish in the coldest of winter months. Trout will appreciate the rising water temps this month, become more active, and that feeding window will get longer. I expect to continue to find them way back in small creek systems in deeper pockets until we experience a significant warm up.
Nearshore Reefs
Rubble pile Bull Reds offshore
For fast and furious winter fishing action, head out to the nearshore reefs (8-15) miles out for a wide array of targets. Black Sea Bass, Giant Bull Redfish, Weakfish, Sand Tiger Sharks, Blues and more will be eating everything in sight from now through April. Towards the end of February we should start to see large spawning sheepshead and black drum on hard bottom in these same areas as well. Remember spring is coming and football is over, it’s time to get outside and enjoy some good times on the water.
-Capt. Rob