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By:
Penn Reels Pro Fishing Guide - Capt. Richie Lott
Georgia
Fishing Report - Georgia Saltwater Fishing for Sheepshead
If you can’t
stand the cold, you may want to bundle up, grin and bear
it and slip on a pair of Gloves. It’s cold, but the
fish are biting within 10 Miles of the Beach during late
February and into March and April. And, the best part
of the deal? You can make the ride in less than ideal
conditions when fishing close to shore on certain bottom
structure.
Crabs on the
Hook!
Using small
fiddler crabs as bait can be a task if you don’t
know where to pick them up or purchase them. Lucky for
us that day, our local source had plenty of the pinching
devils. At a cost of five bucks per hundred, I stocked
up and bought 400 crabs. Beats digging all day with a
shovel in the mud. However, the extreme cold will send
these critters DEEP into the ground, and no one will be
able to find them without using a BackHoe!
Even the commercial
vendors will have problems and they know all the tricks
on the book. The crabs you do have on hand should be cherished
and keeping them alive for extended periods is not a big
chore. Just keep them out of the cold as much as possible.
Mine stay in my office for the short life they have in
their new heated condo with a lid. I use a 48-quart cooler
with just a thin layer of dirt in the bottom, and give
them a light mist of water with a spray bottle twice a
day. Feed them grits, keep their new home clean and they’ll
live for weeks.
I never go
Nearshore charter fishing and wreck fishing in Winter
or Spring without taking along a minimum of 200 crabs,
especially when the fishing charter anglers on board are
not used to this sport. You can be robbed of your bait
without a nibble, and most people new to using crabs for
bait find it quite frustrating until a FEEL is acquired.
For those
fishermen who don’t know how to thread one on the
hook, I’ll explain it. Very gently drive the barb
of the hook through the bottom of the crab until the point
comes through the top of the shell. Then, you’re
all set.
Short Run…..
Quality Charter Fishing!
After a short
30 - minute run from Golden Isles Marina on St. Simons
Island Georgia, we crept up to our structure in 40 ft.
and tossed out the wreck marker on the down current side
of the structure. As I made passes to determine which
marking looked best, I noticed TONS of fish on the East
End of the structure consistently. So, we anchored directly
over it.
There wasn’t
a rig tied on or a leader made, so we spent 15 minutes
of quality fishing time making rigs. When fishing shallow
water wrecks with light tackle, I prefer a certain rig.
I like a 3 oz. Weight on the main line, a swivel and 2-ft.
of 20-pound leader with a 1/0 short shank live bait hook.
This is the easiest rig to make on a charter fishing trip
and it works perfectly for Sheepshead.
As the last
rig was tied, I looked once again at the marking on the
bottom machine to be sure we were still on the mark to
prevent an unproductive drop. I liked what I saw, so,
"Drop ‘em, Boys" I said.
It was only
seconds passed when everyone in the fishing charter party
was hooked up with good fish. I breathed a sigh of relief,
looked up at that Full Moon in the sky, and said thank
you! We had prepared too much for this trip for ANYTHING
to go wrong, including the fish NOT biting... We give
all the credit to the good lord above, I can assure you.
The first
three fish into our charter boat were impressive. Two
nice TriggerFish and a nice Sheepshead, or "Reef
Bandit " as we call them. Believe me, they wear their
stripes well, as they are notorious bait thieves.
Each drop
produced more nice fish. It was a premier day on the water
nearshore georgia once again. Our final tally went something
like this. After 90 Sheepshead were caught and released,
I lost count of them. We were on the fish another hour
after that, so I would guess around 40 more. We ended
up fairing well on the TriggerFish, too. A total of 12
Triggers caught and released were more than ample for
the crew and myself. Triggerfish are always fun to catch
with light tackle. One thing many charter fishing anglers
don't know... Trigger fish, although hard to clean, are
very good to eat.
A few of the
Sheepshead were QUALITY size fish on this charter fishing
trip. We had to get the net out on several occasions due
to the size of some of them. These guys fight extremely
dirty and they don’t give up. In fact, a large fish
fooled me that afternoon. I had hooked the fish, and figured
he was a decent fish, but not too big. As I tossed my
cigar into the trash bucket, I held the rod in one hand
for a split second. Huge mistake! Oddly, at that exact
moment, the BIG Sheepshead bulldogged back toward the
bottom pulling the rod from my hand. As I fell to my knees,
video tape captured the rod bouncing off the gunwale cap,
into the air and… SAVED by my right hand as it headed
over the side! I have never seen a Sheepie jacked up like
that. The fish was a respectable 8 Pounder, but initially
pulled like a 2 pounder. The point being, never under
estimate a Sheepshead. Pound for pound, they just may
be one of the hardest pulling fish on the bottom.
We ended up
keeping 5 fish for the grill, and released the other 100+
fish to fight again. No need to keep that many fish. Don’t
forget there are new Georgia Fishing State Laws on Sheepshead.
The fish must be 10 inches, and you can only posses 15
per person. Take a look regularly at your georgia fishing
state laws on bottom fish before you head out.
The DNR of
Georgia has received some Federal Funding, and they will
be checking boats at offshore areas and boats coming in
form an offshore direction. You will be boarded, and your
fish will be measured, counted and all information will
be logged on a form and kept on file for Fish Management
purposes. So, be aware and have all of your safety equipment
and boat registration correct.
Sheepshead
Fishing - Shallow Water Anchoring - Georgia Fishing Charter
Techniques
My charter
fishing wreck marker is somewhat "unique". You
ought to see this thing! Over 100 ft. of ¼ inch rope tied
to a pair of 5 - pound Olympic dumbbells for weight. For
a marker float, I use an average size boat fender. Most
people wonder why we use such a bulky set up. Well, I
will sum it up right here, so read on and learn why…
The weight
does not concern me a whole lot as far as what it is constructed
of. In fact, I used old rusted iron pieces forever, but
I have been cultured since. So, now I use a weight WITHOUT
corners after losing my marker weight MANY times. The
dumbbells rarely get snagged in the structure due to the
fact they are ROUND. Most times, I will try to get my
marker set up just off the structure so the weight rests
in the sand to avoid a snag. But, when I mark up a good
reading on the bottom machine, the weight is going down
right then and there, regardless of structure.
The reason
behind the ¼ inch rope is simple. It won’t hurt those
cold hands as bad as crab line or other small diameter
rope when the time comes to reposition or head to the
barn. The float is key. An oblong bulky object, like a
boat fender, will aid tremendously in anchoring your boat
properly over the designated area. Once the marker is
out, I come back to it and beam up beside it. Watching
the compass, I remember the heading that the FENDER and
ME are facing. Find the best marking and run that compass
heading off the marking just enough to allow the scope
needed to hang anchor. Now, you’re set!
May your coolers
be full and your rods stay bent!
Capt. Richie
Lott
For up to date info:
www.charterfish.com
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