March is a transition month, so you really never know what you may find on some of the wrecks and reefs. Sheepshead and black sea bass are the best bet, but there also might be some big red drum hanging around still before making the run back inshore. Amberjack, aka reef donkeys, will start to move in as the water warms into the middle sixties. Cut bait fished on a bottom rig is still the best way to rig up, but towards the end of the month you might try live-lining a pogy or cigar minnow as the prospects that cobia and schoolie king mackerel showing up improve.
A lot of folks on the Georgia coast are starting to try their hand at artificial baits. Many are finding out just how productive (and convenient) this method is. Not having to fool with catching, thawing, and preparing live or cut bait means a lot more time with a line in the water. Working with the newer metal jigs like the Shimano Butterfly Jig or the Offshore Angler Freestyle Jig is proving to be a quick, easy way to catch big black sea bass and other bottom dwellers. High-speed reels spooled with Spectra braided line on lightweight, heavy-action jigging rods are quickly becoming the must-have setup on every bottom fisherman's boat.
If you like fishing the more traditional way, try substituting your normal cut bait with an artificial. Without overstatement, the Berkley Gulp! baits have been a revolution in fishing. A few local anglers visiting the CCA reef recently found out that the new Gulp Alive pogy baits are another great way to fish with artificials. With a two-drop bottom rig, they would bait one hook with cut or live bait and the other with a Gulp pogy. They quickly caught a limit of black sea bass, with the artificial baits outfishing cut bait three-to-one.
