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An Endless Red Snapper season in GA

Capt. TJ Cheek
January 16, 2009
St. Simons Island - Saltwater Fishing Report

Well, it looks as if the Snapper bite on the GA coast has no end in sight. Myself and many other fellow fishermen that have the "bottom fishing bug" have reaped the benefits of an incredible season that has been like no other.

Whether your target is big Black Sea Bass or the variety of Snapper offered on the GA coast, this winter will never be forgotten. The variety and size of the fish has made each and every trip worth the ride in calm or rough seas to the stomping grounds that lie 45 miles off the beaches of Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island Georgia.

This stretch of bottom known locals as the "40 mile bottom" or ‘The Snapper Banks" runs from Savannah to the Florida line with many areas being far more fruitful than others along this patch of live bottom and outcroppings.

We all have our favorite spots we like to fish, but I have also found fish while running from spot to spot. Some of the ledges and areas I have come across off the beaten path have turned out to be some of my best Snapper fishing areas.

The key to fishing the 40 mile and other similar areas is to have a bottom machine with a 1000 watt transducer so you're able to read/mark bottom, ledges and fish even at high speed. So many spots can be found while running that many of us dedicate part of the day to finding new spots so the heavily fished areas will remain fruitful for the remainder of the Season.

A good chart plotter/GPS is also an absolute must when bottom fishing areas, especially when a quick "save" is needed when a marking appears as you are on the run. The Plotter is also very handy when it comes to making your drifts correctly each time and being sure you cover each corner of the structure/live bottom you're fishing on.

The tell tale trails on the plotter are your true drift with the wind and the current and when you find that drift that produces the hot bite, you can duplicate that exact drift over and over again with the trail of "bread crumbs" on the plotter.

On my 27 ft. Contender, I run (2) Northstar 952-X color units and a SiTex color Bottom Machine with thru-hull 1000 watt transducer. With the Nothstar units, I can merge information from one unit to the other as well as waypoints. This way, I am sure when I save a point, It will be on both units. Although having two units is not a necessity, I like the redundancy of dual units in case one loses signal or crashes while fishing offshore. I use one strictly for backing up numbers and info and the in dash unit is my main, although they both can serve all the same purposes independently.

You will find bottom fishing is much more productive when using all your electronics to their fullest capacity. Most modern day plotters have many, many functions that will make your fishing much more productive than you would ever think when you begin to explore those options.

Here on the Georgia coast, our bottom fishing options are more plentiful than most anglers know about.

The Red Snapper and Vermilion Snapper are probably the most targeted bottom fish on the coast. Our Grouper fishery cannot match the Gulf Coast, but the Snapper fishery? Look out! The Georgia Coast is as good as any and the fish are in large numbers and average around 10-15 pounds and up. The Vermilion aka "Beeliner" Snapper average about 2-3 pounds and up.

Historically, the fish have averaged far less in size and numbers than what we have seen on the past two years, so Georgia bottom fishing anglers are having the winter of a lifetime!

We can only hope it continues through the spring. Please feel free to email me with any questions about bottom fishing on Georgia.

Good Fishing to all!

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Fish for Bull Redfish, Trout, Shark, Tarpon and more! Capt. Richie Lott now celebrates 20 years fishing experience on the Georgia Coast. Our unique area offers excellent inshore and nearshore fishing that lasts all year long and will offer a catch to satisfy novice and seasoned Anglers alike. Single person to corporate outings are welcome on our boats. The boats used are fast, late model open/center console boats built especially for fishing our area.

Contact Info:

Coastal Georgia Charter Fishing
262 Hickory Bluff Rd.
Waverly, GA 31565
Phone: 912-617-5577
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