by Keith Lozott, Contributing Writer
The Humbled Skunk!!!
The skunk was is in full force on the latest “Fan-man-tastic” fishing trip to coastal Georgia. Now please keep in mind that I’m not bashing the local fishery in Georgia, I’m just letting the reading audience know what we experienced fishing the technical shallows of the Golden Isles. First and foremost we booked a guided pre-trip just to learn the area and get some pointers for what to do and what to look out for when we arrived with our boats and gear. The guided trip was great, we caught almost 30 reds in creeks using soft plastics and Berkley Gulp Shrimp. By the end of the trip we thought we had a solid plan for success for the upcoming trip two weeks later. How far off were we putting that plan into effect is simple math! My partner and I caught zero fish for 3.5 days, boat 2 caught zero for 3 days (they left a half day early) and the winners were the guys in the aluminum jon boat with 5 reds on one day of 3.5.
The lesson learned was fishing isn’t as easy as they make it look on T.V. but it sure is fun trying to make it happen on your own. We did the research, put the plan into motion, executed the game plan and came up really short to say the least. Luckily we had plenty of adult beverages to ease the pain, meat on hand to grill and keep us loose minded and light hearted. The old adage that “a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work” really revealed itself this time.
I did come to the conclusion that having a nicely appointed Jon Boat with some of the features of a flats boat isn’t a bad option at all in areas that are loaded with oysters and super shallow water. Vance and his buddy Jason were able to get in waters that my flats boat only dreams about getting into and my boat drafts 8” of water. They live in Tallahassee and fish the St. Marks area regularly which is loaded with oyster bars and rocks. Vance says it isn’t an option to fish a fiberglass boat as you will go broke fixing glass work. On the day they hooked up five nice fish they were in a few inches of water surrounded by mud and oysters which seemed to be the pattern for the fish. I did see one nice red moving into the back waters as the 5 foot tide swing rushed in at Mach speed. I made a good cast at it but no dice….
I know this article may make you think twice about heading to GA but don’t let it discourage you as the place is one of the most picturesque, beautiful places I’ve fished in my life. The lack of ambient light makes the night skies light up incredible with stars, which is a must see. I’m sure the weather was off with the giant front that came over us as we arrived and the fish used their tails to go where they are comfortable, away from our hooks. We’ll get’em back one day; now get out there and explore.
Keith Lozott
The Fishing and Real Estate Guy!