February was an absolute wild ride with ice storms, wind, and even record heat. Water temps plummeted and rose drastically in a matter of days. But the trout bite earlier this month was very strong, much like the previous month. The key for us on most trips was to work the deeper areas in 10-20 ft. Clay bottom seemed to be a common factor, and the forage was glass minnows. We mimicked the minnows on light jigheads paired with 3-4” swimbaits in neutral colors.
I definitely would like to thank all the anglers who fished with us these past few weeks, making it our busiest January ever. Many savvy SE Georgia anglers know that the winter months, although cold at times, offers some of the best fishing of the year for trout and red fish. We got a fairly good dose of cold weather, including snow, in many parts of Georgia. Many folks were concerned with the health of trout and shrimp, as water temps dipped below 45 degrees. Thankfully we were very fortunate as our population of shrimp and trout appeared not to sustain any discernable damage. In fact, we had one of our very best months for both reds and trout, following the freezes. Reports from Darien, Richmond Hill, and Savannah confirmed this as well.
A plastic shrimp. Never work. That’s what I thought until I met Mark Nichols about 20 years ago at the old Pine Island Fish Camp in St. Augustine. Mark explained the key to this bait, was nothing. Do nothing. I didn’t completely understand that at the time, but over the years I’ve figured it out. Mark had explained that a shrimp actually moves forward at a slow and meticulous pace. That is the real magic of probably the best shrimp imitating lure on the market. I guess the “do nothing philosophy” probably needs to be explained. This bait needs to do nothing but look natural. It is the angler’s mission to keep this imitation crustacean looking “au natural”.
I have been fortunate to have received many new hard and soft baits to try in the marsh. I haven’t got to all of them but did bring some Trout Tricks along last Tues in a brutal fog. I started out a little greedy with one of my old favorites, the 52M from Mirrolure. I wanted to see if I could find a big one in some new stuff. I probably stayed with it too long, with only 2 taps, lost a small one at the boat, and pulled the hooks on what felt like a decent trout. I moved up river to some flooded mud and grass flats I had been wanting to fish. I started with the DOA clear w/red flake and got into the dinks pretty good. Finally caught a solid keeper after 12 shorts…very short. The bite quit and with time running out, switched over to the Trout Tricks. I ran to a small creek that I knew had a deep drop 2 bends back. The Trout Trick did the trick. The next 6 fish were all solid trout in the 15-17” range. I used a slow lift and drop retrieve and would just shake it now and then. Water was fairly cloudy all day but I fished the cleanest stuff I could find. Water temps were around 59 degrees and for most of the morning the fog was very thick. Definitely going to add the “tricks” to the team.
Most savvy fishermen know that docks hold fish. The problem is that with literally hundreds of thousands of docks to choose from, it’s hard to decide which one to fish. While docks may look very similar in appearance, there are very unique characteristics to each and every one. Hopefully I can offer some insight into what I look for when dock fishing.
Some features that give a dock good fishing characteristics are obvious. I am automatically drawn to older docks–the older the better. These docks have had a longer time to develop marine habitat underneath them, which in turn will draw the predators. If a dock is actually broken, I’ll fish it even harder. Broken docks often leave their skeletal remains just below the surface, which obviously is even more structure. Couple that with the absence of foot traffic to spook the fish, and you have the makings for a “fishy” dock.