Nearshore March Grab-bag

So what if March isn't the easiest time to get offshore? Strong cold fronts pushing through the area bring high winds and muddy the water. A steady northwest gale brings big swells down the coast and makes it hard for even 30+ foot boats to make it to the nearshore reefs. However, if you can catch the high pressure between fronts, warmer and calmer seas await.

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.

Slow Fishing on the Saltwater Side

It's been awhile since my last post, but things have been busy, and until recently, the fishing had been good. However since Tropical Storm Barry blew through things have been quite rough. The large roe seatrout have been spotty at best, and the odd redfish might only be found on a high tide in the grass. Heavy rain, though a blessing for farmers and landscapers alike, has made the water quite muddy. Even offshore, the greenwater extends out almost to the Navy towers.

Captain Johnny of Amick's Deep Sea Charters said that this is one of the toughest years they have ever had bottom fishing. The big red snapper and grouper are few and far between, and it is a struggle to limit out on even beeliners. They have had very consistent bites, though, from amberjack and dolphin. Mike Argenta, Assistant Store Manager at Bass Pro Shops, was fishing in 300 feet of water Sunday and caught a surprising amount of kings for that depth. The dolphin bite was hot, too, and they broke off a decent tuna. Cobia fishing in the Broad River and offshore continues to be good as well. A couple of reports of tarpon have been filtering in from the Brunswick area as the tarpon season gets a good jumpstart. Hopefully this year will be much better than last year's lackluster performance from the silver kings.

Surf fishing has been hit-and-miss. Whiting and bluefish are biting well, and those who fish a live whiting or blue on a wire fishfinder rig might get to tangle with a big blacktip or sand tiger shark. Good seatrout catches have been reported on the beaches using live mud minnows.

Fishing Outlook

Cobia Main Event
The annual run of cobia in the Broad River/Port Royal Sound has begun, as reports of lings ranging from 30 to 80 pounds have been coming in. The action will be centered around the Beaufort area, but thats not the only place you''l find them. They should be fairly easy to find in the Georgia sounds and nearshore wrecks, and are moving their way up the Carolina coastline towards Charleston as we speak.

When fishing inshore for these big suckers, fishing on bottom in deep holes that run out into deeper channels is a good bet. Use live or fresh-dead menhaden or eels with a "fishfinder" (i.e. slipsinker) rig. However, if you want the action of sight fishing, search channel markers, bridge pilings, sea turtles, big rays, etc. If you see one, try casting a big tube or artificial worm (a 10 or 12 inch worm works great as an eel imitation), or also a bucktail jig. Try to anticipate where he's going when you make your cast, as you want to bring the bait a few feet in front of his nose.

Inshore Outlook
The tides aren't very big for the next few days, so the water will be a little sluggish and that tends to make inshore fish on the Low Country coast a little skittish. Your best bet will be to find a river inlet or slough that has some brisk current to keep the baitfish, and the predators, active. Sunday and Monday will bring some thunderstorms as a light front moves through, that the chance of storms increases again on Wednesday and Thursday. Fishin just before and after a storm comes through is usually hot, but be cautious when dealing with lightning.

Offshore Forecast
Winds and seas will remain quite moderate until late next week, though conditions will get rough in and around thunderstorms.
Steve Rashke of Bass Pro Savannah reported trolling the R6 tower on Thursday and landing 14 kings, including one 25 pounder. The water temperatures are just about reaching the point where the kingfish will really start to invade area waters.
Bottom fishing is still getting into high gear with quite a few more reports of big snapper and a few grouper coming in. As the weeks progress, expect more brown color to be added to the red hue of the bttom fishing reports.
The GulfStream wahoo action has been very hot lately, too, with several reports of trashed tackle due to these violent rig-choppers.