It's a real winter for northeast FL and extreme Southeast GA this year with water temps dipping in the low 50's as of this report date. We normally see 50's, but quickly recover to 58-60 degree wateer temps by the end of February. Not the case this season.. Coupled with a battle against string NW and NE winds, making a trip offshore takes very careful timing unless you're just OK with the punishment of 5ft seas all day.
My crew and I prefer calm seas, especially when fishing for convicts (Sheepshead) in 35 ft of water. Tey can be tricky, even when seas are calm. Now, add in cold ater temps and you'll find the fish are there, but the bite is quite lethargic feeling. With Sheepshead, you all likely know what this means. It means there is no bite felt by the angler. If you atctually feel a bite, it's no Sheepshead. It's most iikely a Sea Bass or a Red Snapper.
With Sea Bass and Sheepshead inhabiting the SE Georgia offshore reefs and rocks this time of year, it's wirth the trip. With the Red Snapper closure, we're constantly dealing with releasing the Reds, but it's all fun just the same. The bite is actually excellent for the three species mentioned in this article.
For a light tackle enthusiast, it's hard to beat 10 pound tackle on a beast Sheepshead, Sea Bass or even an aggravating Red Snapper. The Sheepshead are the target for myself and my crew. We enjoy the fight and the challenge and I'm constantly looking for a state record size fish, and Georgia definitely houses 12 plus poud Sheepies. The monster size Sheepshead are a coupld of weeks away, but 5-7 pounders (average size) like the one shown in the pic below are plentiful right now. Around the next full moon, things will get a little better and bigger, although we'll release the large female fish, the size below are good to eat and often Males until the next full moon when the giant female convicts arrive on the Reefs.
The Black Sea Bass have been biting well since January and there's still quite a few around to be caught. Wenever use bait for Bass or Snapper. We opt for 3 oz slow pitch jigs with no added weight. we also fish the bottom with DOA CAL Shad jigs rigged witha 3-oz egg weight carolina stylke with aroujnd 4 ft of flurocarbon leader and a large hook jig head. The DOA CAL will outfish squid or any other cut bait you can think of once you peg the proper jig color to match what the fish want. Usually darker colors with glitter and a paddle tail work best, whicj is why we choose the DOA CAL Shad Jig for this assignment. Thise big bass and Snapper will rip a curly tail jig to shreds before you can catch 2-3 fish.
I recommend hopping out to the nearshore reefs in coastal Georgia and NE Florida ASAP. The fish are there for sure. We have around 5 more weeks of "good" Sheepshead fishing on the reefs before they head back inshore. There's always a few on the reefs year round, but right now, they start getting thick and they're ripe for the bite! Round up a few fiddler crabs on a Sunny calm day and you're all set for some good nearshore reef fun..
Good Luck and tight lines!
Capt. Richie Lott - Georgia Sport Fishing Charters (Est. 1991)
https://georgiasportfishing.com