Coastal Georgia Offshore - Spring Time Sheepshead on the Reefs

St. Simons Island - Saltwater Fishing Reportquite challenging no matter the anglers skill level.
Georgia Saltwater Fishing Report - 03/13/2010Drop it to the bottom, game on around the Georgia
This entire month has been a battle with coldOffshore Reefs. The slightest tap of the rod tip and
weather, fresh water run-off and big tides here onyou're almost too late on the hook set. They're
the Georgia Coast. Every time it rains north of here,challenging to feel on the bite and challenging to catch
the fresh water rivers dump it all into the Atlanticas well. If you thought you felt something, that was
around Jekyll Island Georgia and St. Simons Islandhim... Sheepshead earn their stripes honestly. They're
Georgia.thieves...hence their offshore name, "Reef Bandits".
Just so happens, this is where we do all our fishing!Reef Bandits stack up heavy on the nearshore reefs
Well, first off, fresh water by the gazillions of tons isoff Coastal Georgia in 30-60 ft. of water on wrecks,
bad enough... Then, hope that fresh rain waterhard bottom outcroppings and other structure. The
warms up. Not happening any time soon, that's forlarger spawning sheepshead pile in during late March
sure. Rain water is cold, and the weather isn't warmand early April. We suggest you limit your catch, not
yet, so we're stuck with it for a couple of morecatch your limit on these big, hard fighting females.
weeks from inshore up to 10 miles offshore.They're carrying the eggs, so we like to keep only
So, we make the best of a bad situation. We goenough to eat and we send the rest back down to
offshore. Even with Red Snapper fishing closed, wefight another day.
still have a few tricks in the bag. And, I don't want toGeorgia is unique in the Sheepshead fishery. I haven't
catch small fish, so we resort to catching HUGEfished many places where the offshore reefs are
sheepshead spawning on the offshore reefs.covered with sheepies like Georgia. We are fortunate
Sheepshead eat just about as well as Snapper andto have such a good fishery off our small coast. In
the definitely fight just as good or maybe eventhe event of fresh water intruding into our normal
harder than a Snapper.fishing patterns, we can normally alternate to another
The bait used is quite different and harder to comespecies and please our customers and have a BIG
by, the fiddler crab. Most people have heard of thisTIME doing it... Fish hard, and have fun!
type of fishing, but it's mainly done on fishing piersMay the wind be at your back, and your coolers be
and the backwater with live shrimp or fresh cutfull!
shrimp.St. Simons Island Fishing Forecast:
If you have never been offshore on the reefs forAs the water temperature warms, the inshore and
Sheepshead, Georgia is the place to do it. The fishoffshore fishing will only get better into April and May
can exceed 10 pounds and on light casting tackle, it's2010.