With winter wrapping up and the vernal equinox fast approaching, the spring “transition” will be in full swing. March brought the usual suspects with fluctuating temperatures and lots of wind. Unlike February and January where many trout and redfish were schooled tight, March has the fish scattered a tad. The good news is that with warming water temps, we get an influx of more species. Sheepshead, black drum, whiting and flounder have all been showing up!
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.