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Savannah River Winter Fishing Report: Tides, Lures, and Hot Spots for Reds, Trout, and Stripers
Published 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report.
We’ve got a big winter tide swing on the Savannah this morning. NOAA’s Bull Street station on the Savannah River shows a strong high around the middle of the day with a solid fall this evening, so expect **heavy current on the turns**. According to Tides4Fishing for Savannah, we’re working with over 8 feet of range today, which makes those two hours around each tide change prime time.
FishingReminder’s Port Wentworth tables line up with that: an early morning low, a stout early‑afternoon high, then another drop after dark, with a high tidal coefficient pushing current hard through the bends and creek mouths. That kind of flow stacks fish on the **current breaks**, especially around pilings, rock, and the edges of the main channel.
Weather‑wise, the National Weather Service marine forecast for the Savannah to Altamaha stretch is calling for **cool winter air, north to northwest breeze, and choppy conditions out in the sound**, better as you tuck back up the river. Air temps are sitting cool but not brutal; layer up, because that wind off the water will cut you. Skies are partly cloudy, and we’re sitting around a **waxing moon**, which FishingReminder tags with decent solunar activity through late afternoon.
Sunrise in this stretch of the Georgia–South Carolina line is right around **7:30 in the morning**, with sunset close to **5:40 in the evening**, so the best bet is to work the **first light outgoing** and the **late‑day push into dusk**.
Recent reports from local charter listings out of Savannah on Captain Experiences show anglers still finding **redfish, speckled trout, stripers, and some flounder** inshore, with river stripers getting more attention up toward the city and below the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam. Winter schools of **slot reds** have been holding tight in deeper creek bends off the main river and around warm outflows when you can find ’em.
For **lures**, go slow and subtle:
- For **redfish and trout**:
1/4‑ounce jigheads with **3–4 inch paddle‑tail plastics** in new penny, opening night, or dark green. Add Pro‑Cure or similar scent; cold‑water fish want an easy meal.
MirrOlure or Rapala **suspending twitch baits** in natural baitfish patterns along shell and rock edges on the last of the outgoing.
- For **Savannah River stripers** around bridges and deep turns:
Heavy **bucktail jigs** with a white trailer, or 1/2‑ to 3/4‑ounce soft swimbaits in silver/white. Let ’em sink, then slow‑roll just off bottom in that ripping current.
- For **flounder** hanging on drops and pilings:
Same jigheads, but tip with **mud minnows** or strips of fresh shrimp and crawl it along bottom.
Best **bait** right now:
- Live **shrimp** if you can get it; fish them on a Carolina rig or cork in the creeks.
- **Mud minnows** and small **finger mullet** for reds and flounder.
- **Cut mullet or menhaden** on the bottom by channel edges for big reds and the occasional blue cat upriver.
A couple of **hot spots** to try:
- **Fields Cut and the mouths of New and Wright rivers**: strong tide, deep edges, and winter schools of reds and trout stacking on shell and mud breaks.
- **Downtown Savannah River bridge pilings and nearby bends**: classic winter striper water; bounce bucktails and big plastics through the eddies just off the main sweep.
If you’re farther upriver toward Augusta, FishingReminder’s Augusta forecast points to good bite windows around sunrise and late afternoon near places like **Phinizy Swamp and the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam**, where current pinches down and stripers, cats, and hybrids like to lurk this time of year.
Keep your retrieve slow, hit those tide changes, and let that big Savannah current work for you instead of ag
We’ve got a big winter tide swing on the Savannah this morning. NOAA’s Bull Street station on the Savannah River shows a strong high around the middle of the day with a solid fall this evening, so expect **heavy current on the turns**. According to Tides4Fishing for Savannah, we’re working with over 8 feet of range today, which makes those two hours around each tide change prime time.
FishingReminder’s Port Wentworth tables line up with that: an early morning low, a stout early‑afternoon high, then another drop after dark, with a high tidal coefficient pushing current hard through the bends and creek mouths. That kind of flow stacks fish on the **current breaks**, especially around pilings, rock, and the edges of the main channel.
Weather‑wise, the National Weather Service marine forecast for the Savannah to Altamaha stretch is calling for **cool winter air, north to northwest breeze, and choppy conditions out in the sound**, better as you tuck back up the river. Air temps are sitting cool but not brutal; layer up, because that wind off the water will cut you. Skies are partly cloudy, and we’re sitting around a **waxing moon**, which FishingReminder tags with decent solunar activity through late afternoon.
Sunrise in this stretch of the Georgia–South Carolina line is right around **7:30 in the morning**, with sunset close to **5:40 in the evening**, so the best bet is to work the **first light outgoing** and the **late‑day push into dusk**.
Recent reports from local charter listings out of Savannah on Captain Experiences show anglers still finding **redfish, speckled trout, stripers, and some flounder** inshore, with river stripers getting more attention up toward the city and below the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam. Winter schools of **slot reds** have been holding tight in deeper creek bends off the main river and around warm outflows when you can find ’em.
For **lures**, go slow and subtle:
- For **redfish and trout**:
1/4‑ounce jigheads with **3–4 inch paddle‑tail plastics** in new penny, opening night, or dark green. Add Pro‑Cure or similar scent; cold‑water fish want an easy meal.
MirrOlure or Rapala **suspending twitch baits** in natural baitfish patterns along shell and rock edges on the last of the outgoing.
- For **Savannah River stripers** around bridges and deep turns:
Heavy **bucktail jigs** with a white trailer, or 1/2‑ to 3/4‑ounce soft swimbaits in silver/white. Let ’em sink, then slow‑roll just off bottom in that ripping current.
- For **flounder** hanging on drops and pilings:
Same jigheads, but tip with **mud minnows** or strips of fresh shrimp and crawl it along bottom.
Best **bait** right now:
- Live **shrimp** if you can get it; fish them on a Carolina rig or cork in the creeks.
- **Mud minnows** and small **finger mullet** for reds and flounder.
- **Cut mullet or menhaden** on the bottom by channel edges for big reds and the occasional blue cat upriver.
A couple of **hot spots** to try:
- **Fields Cut and the mouths of New and Wright rivers**: strong tide, deep edges, and winter schools of reds and trout stacking on shell and mud breaks.
- **Downtown Savannah River bridge pilings and nearby bends**: classic winter striper water; bounce bucktails and big plastics through the eddies just off the main sweep.
If you’re farther upriver toward Augusta, FishingReminder’s Augusta forecast points to good bite windows around sunrise and late afternoon near places like **Phinizy Swamp and the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam**, where current pinches down and stripers, cats, and hybrids like to lurk this time of year.
Keep your retrieve slow, hit those tide changes, and let that big Savannah current work for you instead of ag