# Savannah Tips



## 4x4Tahoe (Aug 5, 2007)

Howdy Georgians. I'm a pretty serious coastal fisherman in Texas. My sister goes to SCAD in Savannah and I'm going to make it up there sometime to visit and would like to wet a line too. It's my understanding that ya'll don't wade because it gets deep quick. Does that go for the bays too? I'm just looking for some general information, not trying to get your secret honey holes. Is there anywhere I can fish for specks (spotted seatrout) or reds without a boat with a good chance of success? If not, what guides are highly respected? Or can you rent a SOT kayak anywhere? I noticed you can retain specks at a minimum of 13" and the state record is only 9lbs 7oz. Do they generally run small? Thanks, and feel free to PM me or email me if you feel it is more appropriate. I'll return the favor with plenty of advice if anyone is looking for info about Texas. Two good Texas fishing message boards I frequent are www.2coolfishing.com and www.texaskayakfisherman.com 

Here's a pic of my daughter, dogs, me and a nice Galveston Bay speck.


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## Sail/Fish (Nov 23, 2006)

Hey 4x4 Tahoe, Well you got it mostly right. Our creeks do deep quick... but it's mud. Makes wading nasty. Overall from the beaches and shores, it's shallow around here. I would suggest Tybee Island for visitor wading. The beach and back river has a sand bottom. I have free lined mullet and had some succes. But another challange is our water is dirty most of the time due to the mud. So, I would highly suggest a popping or rattle cork with live shrimp, mullet, mud minnoes. There are a couple of places on Tybee that rents Yaks. I would suggest the one at Lazaretto Creek. Maybe Fatback knows the name. You will not run out of drops from there. Watch out for our tides and currents. Fast and big, but doable if you plan ahead.
Trouts are small? Maybe we need a Tex'n to show us how to fish.  Just kidding. I've watched some of the fishing shows of LA and TX area, you guys fish in an aquarium compared to GA. We just give em a sporting chance. I hope you make the trip.


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

I fished there for a couple years and I'll tell you, it's a challenge but fun none the less. Alot of the tackle and techniques you guys use in Texas will work in the Savannah area. If you want a guide, I can recommend two very highly. One is Stan Allen (Marshland Adventures) and Scott Wagner (can't remember his service's name). Both are outstanding guides and people to boot.


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## Smashed (Jul 1, 2005)

Scott's Charter service is Savannah Fly.

I also recommend Jack McGowan of Coastal River Charters.

While you won't find many Texas-sized Gator trout around here, you will find large numbers of seatrout. However, the best spots aren't accessable to non-boaters. Renting a yak is a good option.

Unfortunately, wading in the Savannah area is not advised. People have died getting stuck in the grey Savannah marsh mud. It'll suck you down to your chest and hold you there until the tide changes and drowns you. The tides here are the 2nd largest on the Atlantic coast - the average change between high and low tide is 7-8 feet. 
Most places with hard, sandy bottom have swift current and rapidly changing tides. 

So that really leaves you with 3 options- pier fishing, yak fishing, or book a charter.


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

Jack McGowan is also another great guy. When I had all my tackle stolen a couple years back, he and another guide gave me some of their equipment. As for Scott, has anyone seen the movie "Grandma's Boy"? The guy Dante reminds me ALOT of Scott, minus the whole ganja part.  

Best place for tackle and tips is River Supply. If you tell them Emanuel sent you, they might give you some pointers, right to my old honey holes.


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## 4x4Tahoe (Aug 5, 2007)

Thanks guys. Good forum here, I'm going to look into those guides. I have a couple more questions to pick ya'lls brains.

Is there a certain time of year that is best? Down here, our colder months typically produce larger pre-spawn specks, but in small numbers. The trout thin out in the summer, but numbers can be world-class especially when the wind lays down enough for the surf to turn into a pond. Just last week I limited out (10) on no more than 15 casts, however most were 15"-17" with a lot of undersized ones too.

It sounds like a guide is the way to go. Even to hire one for one day to have him teach me the area, and then I could rent a yak another day. Are most of them artificial only or do they throw live bait too? I enjoy catching fish on lures more, but also am not above throwing live shrimp under popping corks because, well, when I go fishing I like to catch fish. Do topwaters produce with the water being that deep? 

I understand the area is swampy and muddy, but is the water clarity really that bad? How does it compare to the upper Texas coast for those of you that have been down this way? The lower Texas coast is a whole other animal, with crystal clear water. They continually produce 10lb+ sows down there, in shin to knee deep water. We're not as fortunate in the Galveston Bay complex, as our waters are probably some of the muddiest in the Gulf for a couple reasons. Anyway, the rule of thumb is to throw darker baits in darker water because they produce a bigger shadow. I assume that holds true over there as well?

One more question. How is the fishing under lights at night? I don't do that too often, but a lot of people here do that almost exclusively. Since there seems to be a lot of piers, I assume a lot of them have lights set up for 24hr fishing.

Thanks again fellows. And to emanuel... normally I would comment on such a poor choice of an avatar, but you gave me some good info so I'll keep my mouth shut this time!!  I live in Clear Lake (NASA), which is Tom DeLay's old district. opcorn:


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## Sail/Fish (Nov 23, 2006)

:fishing:


4x4Tahoe said:


> Thanks guys. Good forum here, I'm going to look into those guides. I have a couple more questions to pick ya'lls brains.
> 
> Is there a certain time of year that is best? :fishing: Some of us like the fall to catch the Big Reds. :fishing:
> 
> ...


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