Spring Fishing Guide for St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island Fishing Charters
Now that Spring is springing, we are starting to see some cool stuff happening. The water temps are rising and what is hopefully the last real cold snap is about to pass through. If I have my way, this will be the last of the cold weather and the water temps can get into the 60s and stay there.
So what does this mean for you as a customer? More opportunities.
Right now I am focusing on two things; reef fishing and inshore fishing. On the reefs we have been catching Sea Bass, Bull Redfish, and Sheepshead as well as some bonus Snapper and Flounder. This is a great trip for families when you consider the sheer number of fish that we are catching.
At the closest reefs the size of the Sea Bass isn’t much to get excited about but you can catch literally 100s of these little suckers while you are waiting to find some big Redfish or Sheepshead. Not really a bad deal overall.
On days when we are able to get out a little further the quality of the fish is substantially better. We’ve been able to limit out on nice Sea Bass and still have plenty of fun with the Bull Redfish.
Bull Redfish at St. Simons Island
Inshore we are catching Trout and Sheepshead with some Redfish in the mix. It’s not easy to do so I have been picking my days around the best tides to make sure that we can be successful when we go that route.
Nice Sheepshead Caught Inshore in Georgia
Now, being that the water is warming and March is almost over, we can expect to add a few more options to the table as we move further into Spring.
Whiting are already here, and while I haven’t been offering these trips as option up until now, I took a few minutes the other day to confirm their presence and I am confident that we can make it happen if we decide to fish for these tasty little guys.
Whiting Fishing is Great for Families!
What I am expecting to see any day now is some solid bait fish activity which will signal Bull Redfish time close to shore. Once this happens we can target the big Redfish and fish for Whiting while we wait for the big bite.
Whiting are great to eat, commonly caught in large numbers, and pretty easy to find. I was doing pretty well with them while I was waiting for my customers to meet me at the dock recently!
A lot of families with young children have a good time catching whiting as well as small sharks and Redfish, but adult groups looking to get steady action and some great eating fish can take advantage of this opportunity as well.
In the coming weeks we will see a few more options show up. One of the are my favorite fish to catch; Tripletail. These fish are staging in north east Florida right now and it will only take a small uptick in the water temperature for them to start pouring over the border to their Spring and Summer home here at St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island.
We’ll target these fish by sight fishing, which means that we will hunt, spot, and cast to the fish. This isn’t a “sit and wait” style of fishing and the excitement that you experience when you spot the fish can be greater than the excitement of actually catching the fish if you are anything like me.
Toward the end of April and first of May I will also start targeting Black Tip and Spinner Sharks in the 100 pound range. These sharks will definitely test your stamina and are a real blast to do battle with. It is not uncommon to see the Sharks before they zero in on the bait. The anticipation of the impending chaos is definitely something everyone should experience.
A Nice Black Tip Shark
I often combine Shark fishing with other targets just to get that “big fish excitement” while not wearing you out with an entire trip dedicated purely to shark fishing.
As always, if you are coming to St. Simons or Jekyll Island and you want to book a fishing trip, but you aren’t sure about what to target, don’t worry. You can book a “best bite” trip and we will target what gives us the best chance of success.
You can leave it totally up to me, or you can just let me know a little bit about the kind of experience you would like to have and I will tailor the trip around your goals. All you have to say is “I just want to catch big fish” or “We really want to catch something we can have for dinner” or “We want a little of both”. I’ll figure it out from there, or if I don’t think there is a way to make your goals happen I will let you know and offer some other options.
If you aren’t coming in the next few weeks and you plan to be here later in the Summer season, you are in luck as there will be even more options on the menu like Tarpon, Cobia, Amberjack, Jack Crevalle, as well as just about everything that we are catching now.
Like I said, just give me a call or email me, let me know a little about your group, and I will do my best to offer suggestions that will give you the best chance at getting everything you want out of your fishing charter.
If you really want to make the best out of it, consider booking more than one day. Sometimes the weather doesn’t let us fish on the day you book and there is no availability on short notice to get you out on the water on a different day. If you are coming to the Golden Isles just to fish, it might just be worth it to make sure you get out there. If you’re coming here to enjoy the beaches and golf, and fishing is just a sideline event, you probably won’t be that concerned about it.
Here’s to warmer weather and more opportunities!
Tight lines!
Capt. TJ Cheek
Full time fishing guide serving St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island, and Brunswick, GA.