Savannah River Georgia/South Carolina Fishing Report Today

Savannah River Morning Bite: Reds, Trout, and Stripers on the Incoming Tide

This is Artificial Lure with your Savannah River fishing report, coming to you like a local standing on the dock at first light. Around Savannah and Port Wentworth this morning, we’ve got a warm, muggy start, light southwest breeze, and highs pushing upper 80s to low 90s by afternoon. Skies are partly cloudy with the usual chance of a pop-up thunderstorm after lunch, so keep an eye on the horizon and have rain gear stashed. On the coast side near Fort Pulaski and Tybee, first light is just before sunrise, with sunrise right around 6:20 a.m. Sunset is just after 8:30 p.m., giving you a long window to work both the early and late bites. Tides on the lower Savannah are running their typical 6–8 foot swing. Expect a strong morning incoming, topping out mid-morning, then a falling tide through the afternoon, bottoming out late day. That rising water pushes bait up on the grass edges and creek mouths; the falling tide pulls it right back off the flats, concentrating fish along drops, dock lines, and channel edges. Inshore and brackish stretches from Elba Island up past Houlihan Bridge have been steady. Local anglers report good numbers of **redfish**, **speckled trout**, and a mix of **flounder** and **black drum**, with the occasional **sheepshead** off structure. Upstream toward Augusta and Clarks Hill tailrace, folks have been boating **striped bass**, **hybrid bass**, **catfish**, and some chunky **bream** and **crappie** around brush and blowdowns. Best bite windows: - Redfish and trout: first two hours of the incoming and the first of the falling. - Stripers and hybrids: low-light periods, especially dawn, working current seams. - Catfish: all day if you sit on them, but strongest at night and during good current. Recent catches: in the lower river, slot reds and keeper trout have come in decent numbers, with a handful of upper-slot and over-slot reds pulled off shell bars at daybreak. A few doormat flounder have been caught at creek mouths near Wilmington River access and around the marsh drains on the South Carolina side. Upriver, catfish limits haven’t been hard to come by when soaking cut bait, with a few double-digit blues reported below the dams. Best lures right now: - For reds and trout: 1/4 oz jigheads with 3–4 inch paddletails in natural mullet or shrimp colors, and a white or bone topwater plug at first light. - For stripers: medium diving crankbaits in shad patterns, bucktail jigs with a soft trailer, and silver spoons worked through the current. - For flounder: Gulp-style scented jerk shads or shrimp bounced slow along the bottom. Best bait: - Live shrimp under a popping cork for everything inshore. - Mud minnows and small finger mullet on a Carolina rig for reds and flounder. - Fresh cut shad, mullet, or bluegill for catfish. - Live herring or shad on free-lines or light sinkers for stripers and hybrids below the dams. A couple of local hot spots to circle: - The **Elba Island cuts and surrounding marsh drains** on the Georgia side: great current, shell, and ambush points for reds and trout on the turn of the tide. - The **Houlihan Bridge area and nearby deep bends**: solid for mixed inshore species, plus a shot at bigger cats and the occasional stray striper in the brackish stretch. If you’re more upriver, the **Savannah Rapids Pavilion and Clarks Hill tailrace** are worth a dawn trip for stripers, hybrids, and bream along the rocks and eddies. Work the current edges, let your bait sweep naturally, and keep your presentation slow and close to the structure; the fish are there, but they’re making you earn it as the water warms up. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Savannah River Early Summer: Cats, Reds, and Stripers in the Heat

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report, talking both the Georgia and South Carolina side. We’re sitting on a warm, muggy early‑summer pattern. Overnight lows hugging the low 70s, climbing into the mid to upper 80s by afternoon, with that classic coastal humidity and a light southwest breeze most of the day. Skies are partly cloudy, with a chance of a pop‑up shower inland late in the afternoon. Sunrise comes early over the marsh, sunset lands late enough to give you a solid evening bite window. Tides around Savannah and up the river are running a typical semi‑diurnal cycle – good water movement on both morning and evening turns. Expect a solid incoming tide to push clean, slightly cooler water upriver, and a fairly strong outgoing to pull bait off the flats and edges. Current is your friend here: fish the first couple of hours of either side of the tide change for the best action. Slack water has been slow. Water is stained to muddy in the main river with better clarity on feeder creeks, rice canals, and backwater bends. Surface temps are running warm, pushing fish to shade, current seams, and deeper ledges by mid‑day. Early and late, you’ll still see some surface life along grass lines and around wood. Recent reports along the Savannah, from Port Wentworth down toward Elba Island and up toward New Savannah Bluff, have been solid for a mixed bag. Anglers are picking up good numbers of channel and blue catfish on cut shad, cut mullet, and chicken liver on the deeper bends and outside turns. A few flatheads are showing up on live bream fished tight to heavy structure. Striped bass and hybrid action is spotty but steady enough if you put in the time near current breaks, the training walls, and bridge pylons. Smaller fish are more common, but there have been some better linesides caught at first light on swimbaits and bucktail jigs worked just under the surface. In the brackish stretches and side creeks, folks are tangling with redfish, speckled trout, and the occasional flounder. Reds have been cruising the grass edges on the flooding tide; trout are hanging on shell bars and deeper cuts where cooler water lays in. Bream and crappie action is decent in the quieter oxbows and backwaters, especially around laydowns and old pilings. Best lures right now: Soft plastics on 1/8–1/4 oz jig heads in natural baitfish colors, particularly paddle‑tails and flukes, are putting trout and schoolie stripers in the boat. Gold and silver spoons are still a Savannah River staple for reds and stripers in the stained water. Medium‑diving crankbaits in shad and craw patterns are producing largemouth and spots in the upper, more freshwater stretches. For topwater, early and late try walk‑the‑dog plugs and poppers along grass lines and seawalls. Best bait: Cut shad, mullet, or menhaden for cats and bigger stripers. Live shrimp or mud minnows under a cork in the brackish zone for trout, reds, and flounder. Nightcrawlers and crickets for panfish around woody cover. If you can get fresh local bait, it will out‑produce frozen most days. A couple of hot spots to keep in mind: First, the area around the Talmadge Memorial Bridge and downstream toward the harbor training walls. Those current seams and eddies hold stripers, hybrids, and good cats when the tide is moving. Work jigs, spoons, or live bait tight to the structure, but mind the ship traffic and swirling current. Second, the bends and deeper outside turns up near the New Savannah Bluff area and adjacent backwater cuts. Catfish stack on those ledges, and the quieter pockets nearby can be sneaky good for bass and bream. Anchor upstream, fan‑cast cut bait, and let the scent work. In short, focus on moving water, fish early and late to beat the heat, and match your offerings to the stained conditions – lots of vibration, strong scent, and profiles that stand out. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Early Summer Savannah River: Bass, Cats & Current Seams—Fish the Tides Right

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report for the Georgia–South Carolina line. We’re riding a classic early‑summer pattern. Skies are starting mostly clear with a light southwest breeze, warming quick into the upper 80s this afternoon, humidity thick, and the chance of a pop‑up thunderstorm late day. Morning starts comfortable, but it’ll turn steamy by lunch, so plan those longer runs early or late. On the coast side feeding this system, NOAA’s tide tables for Savannah show a predawn low and a strong incoming through the morning, peaking mid‑day, then falling hard late afternoon into the evening. That translates upriver to a nice push of cleaner water on the mid‑tide, then good current seams on the outgoing around the main bends and creek mouths. Sunrise hits just after six local time and sunset just after eight‑thirty, giving a long low‑light window. First light to about 9 a.m. and then the last two hours before dark are your money times. Fish activity has been solid all week. Local tackle shops and dock talk up and down from Port Wentworth to Augusta report: - Largemouth bass and shoal bass chewing around current breaks, riprap, and laydowns. - Good numbers of eating‑size blue catfish and some bigger flatheads pulled from deeper bends. - Striped bass and hybrids popping up below the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam and around any cooler inflow. - Bream and redbreast sunfish stacked on woody cover along the edges. Bass catches have been 10–20 fish mornings for folks who stick with it, with the better largemouth in the 3–5 lb range and shoal bass commonly 1–3 lbs. Cat guys soaking baits after dark are boating 10‑plus fish nights, with a few fish pushing 20–30 lbs reported along deep ledges. Panfish anglers filling half to full coolers when they find the right brush. Best artificial lures right now: - For bass: **green pumpkin or junebug Texas‑rig worms**, 3/8 oz **black‑blue jigs**, and **white or shad‑pattern spinnerbaits** slow‑rolled through current breaks. Topwater walkers and poppers at daybreak along grass edges and riprap are getting crushed. - For stripes and hybrids below the dams: **1/2–3/4 oz swimbaits**, soft plastics on jigheads, and silver spoons worked through current. - For bream: small **beetle spins**, tiny grubs, or crickets under a cork tight to wood. Best natural bait: - **Cut shad** and **live bream** for big cats on the deep outside bends, especially at dusk and after dark. - **Nightcrawlers** and **red wigglers** for mixed bream and small cats along the banks. - **Live shiners** around timber and rock for largemouth when the sun gets high. Couple of hot spots to circle on your map: - The stretch **below the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam**: great current, oxygen, and a mix of bass, cats, and linesides. Target eddies behind big rocks and the first deep drops. - The bends and creek mouths **around Port Wentworth and up toward Houlihan Bridge**: solid catfish and bass on the ledges and around old timber, especially on that outgoing tide. Water’s a typical river stain, clearing a touch on the incoming. Downsizing line a bit and sticking with natural colors in the clearer stretches will help. Play the current, fish that moving water, and don’t be afraid to hop if a spot doesn’t show life in 15–20 minutes. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Savannah River Fishing Report: Tide Strategy and Evening Topwater Bite for Mixed Bag Success

Good morning, anglers—this is **Artificial Lure** with your Savannah River fishing report for today, tuned for the Georgia and South Carolina stretch from the tidewater up through the backwaters. The **tides** are the story right now: plan around the moving water, because bait and fish stack hard on the push and pull in this system. For the most useful tide call, check your local tide station before you launch, but the general rule here is simple—fish the first and last hour of moving tide, especially around creek mouths, dock lights, and current breaks. The **weather** is shaping up like a classic June morning: warm, bright, and already pushing toward a hot, muggy day. That means fish will be most active at daybreak, then again late in the evening and through low-light periods. If we get cloud cover, an incoming breeze, or a little stain in the water, that can improve the bite. **Sunrise** has already passed, and **sunset** is your next major window, with that last hour of light likely to be the best topwater opportunity of the day. As for **fish activity**, the Savannah River and nearby marshes have been prime for mixed action. Anglers have been catching **redfish, speckled trout, flounder, striped bass, catfish, and white perch**, with the most consistent bite coming around structure, creek drains, and deeper bends. Lighter tackle has been doing the damage when the fish are feeding shallow, while deeper holes and current seams have been producing when the sun gets higher. For **recent catch numbers**, local reports have been strongest on steady mixed bags rather than giant single-species hauls. The better mornings have been giving up several trout and reds per boat, with flounder showing on bottom rigs and catfish still active in the deeper, slower water. In plain local terms: it’s not a banner-blowup every cast kind of week, but it is a good “put a fish in the boat” week if you fish smart. The **best lures** right now: - Soft plastic paddletails on a light jighead - Gold spoons for redfish in stained water - Topwater plugs at dawn and dusk - MirrOlure-style suspending baits for trout along the edges - Small curly-tail grubs or crankbaits for perch and mixed creek action The **best bait**: - Live shrimp - Mud minnows - Cut bait for catfish and bottom feeders - Small live menhaden or finger mullet where legal and available A couple **hot spots** to keep on the short list: - The mouths of tidal creeks feeding the Savannah River marshes - Deep bends, shell banks, and current seams below bridge and dock structure - The lower river around brackish transition water, especially where bait stacks on the tide If you want it local and practical: fish the moving tide, stay near bait, and don’t ignore the shady side of structure once the sun gets up. Early and late are your money windows, and if the water’s dirty, go louder and brighter. Thanks for tuning in—**subscribe** for the next fishing report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

Savannah River Late Spring: Trout, Reds, and Cats on the Bite

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report. We’re sitting on a muggy late‑spring pattern. Around Savannah, inland temps are running upper 80s to low 90s by afternoon with light south to southeast breeze and scattered afternoon storms in the mix. Early mornings are calm and sticky, perfect for topwater. Sunrise is right around 6:15 a.m., sunset just after 8:30 p.m., so you’ve got a long twilight on both ends to work with. Down at the mouth, the tide’s on its typical semi‑diurnal cycle – two highs, two lows. You’ll want to key on that first couple hours of incoming for trout and reds, and the last of the outgoing for cats upriver. Fish are most active on moving water; slack tide has been slow. Salt side first: from Elba Island down toward Tybee, speckled trout and redfish have been chewing along shell bars and creek mouths dumping into the main river. Folks have been picking up mixed bags of trout, slot reds, and the occasional flounder, most of them school‑size but steady numbers when you stay on the bait. Best producers have been **live shrimp** under a popping cork, **mud minnows** on light jigheads, and artificial-wise, **3–4 inch paddletail swimbaits** in natural or new penny colors, plus small **topwater walkers** at first light. That early walk‑the‑dog bite around current seams and grass edges has been strong. Inshore around Savannah NWR and up toward Port Wentworth, the freshwater mix has turned on. The river is holding a healthy population of **blue catfish**, **channel cats**, and some flatheads, with reports of multiple 5–15 pound cats in a night plus a few bigger blues. Best baits have been **cut shad**, **cut mullet**, and **chicken liver** on the smaller side, fished on Carolina rigs right on the bottom near channel edges and outside bends. Night and low‑light hours around moving current are producing the most consistent action. Bass anglers working the backwaters and oxbows are seeing good numbers of **largemouth** in the 1–3 pound class with the occasional kicker. Soft plastics like **green pumpkin worms**, **black/blue creature baits**, and **white or shad‑pattern spinnerbaits** slow‑rolled along laydowns are doing work. When the river slicks off early or late, a **buzzbait** or **hollow‑body frog** over pads and grass is drawing explosive strikes. Couple of local hot spots to circle: - **Hutchinson Island / Houlihan Bridge area**: solid catfish and bass along the channel edge and around timber; work cut bait deep and plastics tight to cover. - **Elba Island to the jetties**: trout and redfish on oyster points, grasslines, and creek mouths; focus on that moving tide with shrimp or paddletails under a cork. Water clarity has been typical Savannah – a bit stained – so lean on darker profiles and lures with some thump. Fluorocarbon leaders in the 15–20 lb range help around shell and structure on the salt side; a simple 12–15 lb mono or fluoro setup is plenty upriver for most cats and bass unless you’re strictly trophy hunting. Plan your trip around the cooler ends of the day, watch those afternoon storms building, and remember the bite’s been best when you match what’s plentiful: shrimp and small baitfish near the mouth, shad and bream scents upriver. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn