Here’s to hoping this forecast is slightly better than the weatherman’s. After digging into the log books, one thing usually stands out going into spring…water temperature. It seems like 68-72 degrees is a fairly magic number. Trout spawn, redfish tail, flounder file in, triple tail start to show, sharks are on the prowl, baitfish are abundant and those white shrimp start to grow and move.
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”.
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.