Caught my first red drum a few weeks ago on, or near Lazaretto Creek...

[Poo Bear]

Yeah, I caught my first red fish and I was really pumped but after a late start we had to leave due to a falling tide. Little did we know how far down the water was until it was too late. My buddy, who's boat we were on ain't what you would call a seasoned captain in that area and he was taking a little creek he wasn't sure of. Next thing you know we are in less that a foot of water and then we were stuck. It seemed like 10-15 minutes later we were high and dry on a big mud flat.

We were resigned to waiting until the tide turned and we had enough water to drive out. By the grace of God, a nice young man on a jet ski came by and offered to pull us down to the little bit of water that was left in the deepest part of the creek. I didn't think there was any way he could pull a boat with 3 adults off the mud but he did it! I don't know the young man's name was but he restored my faith in the younger generation. I hope he is blessed many times over for his kindness.

Anyway, I don't have any pictures of my red fish because we did not know what the slot limits were so I released it. I am getting kind of long in the tooth but I have a hankering to get back down to Tybee to catch more fish. My buddy that lives down there is about to begin a battle with esophageal cancer so hopefully he'll be ready to get out and fish by spring.

By the way, I heard that inshore fishing pretty much shuts down around December when the water gets too cold to catch anything. Is that right?

 

[MajorMaes]

Depends on what you are targeting inshore but I think some of the best fishing is October through March for reds, black drum, and trout.

 

[boatbuilder]

Inshore is good all winter imo. You just have to adjust

 

[Poo Bear]

Depends on what you are targeting inshore but I think some of the best fishing is October through March for reds, black drum, and trout.

Thanks, friend. I live up in Atlanta and I don't get down to the coast nearly as much as I'd like. I watch a LOT of YouTube videos but it is hard to pick up the nuances of fishing doing so. Any info you can share on winter time adjustments will be appreciated. The species you mentioned are pretty much my targets year round, though I would love to catch some pompano too. Do pomps even get up to Georgia?

 

[NCHillbilly]

Nothing pulls like a red.

 

[WalkinDead]

Oh, I don't know about that. I spent 2 1/2 hours to land a 150+ lb. sting ray about 4 years ago. I've never spent more than 5 or 6 minutes to land a bull red.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Oh, I don't know about that. I spent 2 1/2 hours to land a 150+ lb. sting ray about 4 years ago. I've never spent more than 5 or 6 minutes to land a bull red.

Yeah, I made the mistake of fighting one about the size of a car hood until I landed it. Once. Now, I'll just cut the line. They do more laying on the bottom than pulling. You have to fight their weight. I'm talking about just reel-smoking runs and strength for the size of the fish. A 28" redfish on a light freshwater spinning rig with 6 lb test will get you a heckuva fight.

 

[Tideup]

Yeah, I made the mistake of fighting one about the size of a car hood until I landed it. Once. Now, I'll just cut the line. They do more laying on the bottom than pulling. You have to fight their weight. I'm talking about just reel-smoking runs and strength for the size of the fish. A 28" redfish on a light freshwater spinning rig with 6 lb test will get you a heckuva fight.

I agree Hillbilly , they are my favorite fish to catch!!!

 

[WalkinDead]

Agreed, and it's the reason why my wife and I chase them, for the fight they provide. It is the one fish which every angler, whether from a boat, pier, or beach, has ready access to in this state which provides more bang for the buck with availability year round.
She wouldn't go fishing with me when I was chasing striped bass on Lanier, or yellow fin on charters, or bass fishing, or crappie fishing, or bream fishing; after catching her first bull red she was hooked. Now she wants to go every time I do and sometimes even when I don't. I now have a willing fishing partner anytime we want to go. She even puts up with the sharks. I'd call that a win.

 

[Poo Bear]

She wouldn't go fishing with me when I was chasing striped bass on Lanier

I feel your wife's pain. My son and I have been chasing stripers on Lanier too. Results have been disappointing. I am ready to take his bass boat down to Lazaretto Creek and get after some reds, trout and black drum. We just have to figure out how to navigate the tidal creeks using his Hummingbird electronics.

 

[WalkinDead]

Used to slay them at night on Lanier using Bomber Long A's on long sloping points holding shad in the Flat Creek area during the cold months. Caught my biggest one there, 32 lbs on 10 lb test. A 45 min fight on a cold December night. Might explain why she didn't want to tag along!

 

[Poo Bear]

Thirty+ lbs is rare if not impossible these days. There are lots of small ones but the bigguns are gone for now. Gill maggots seem to have really cut down the population. I am going to keep trying but I am not a fan of really cold weather when the fish aren't biting.