Early June Savannah River: Trout and Reds Heating Up on the Lower River

This is Artificial Lure with your Savannah River fishing report. We’ve got a classic early‑June pattern setting up on the Savannah around Savannah, Port Wentworth, and up toward Augusta. Around the lower river and sounds, the morning tide is a strong incoming, with a high around mid‑morning and a solid outgoing through early afternoon. Evening brings another push of water right before dark. Light winds, mostly under 10 knots, and muggy temps in the upper 80s to low 90s this afternoon, cooling into the 70s overnight. Skies are partly cloudy, with a slight chance of a pop‑up shower inland. Sunrise comes early and sunset lands late enough to give you a good evening bite window. Water clarity on the main river is typical Savannah: stained to muddy in the main channel, a little cleaner in the back creeks and rice canals. Salinity is pushing upriver on these stronger tides, so you can find a brackish mix a bit farther inland than you might in spring. Recent trips and local chatter say inshore trout and redfish are finally waking up on the lower Savannah and the mouths of the creeks off the ICW. Folks working the shell bars and current seams near Elba Island and Hog Marsh have been picking up speckled trout in the 14–18 inch range with a few keepers over that. Redfish are mixed sizes, from underslot rats to mid‑slot fish, with just enough drag‑pullers to keep things interesting. Top producers have been **live shrimp under a popping cork** on the edges of the grass at mid‑tide, especially where you’ve got a little shell or a feeder creek draining. If you’re throwing hardware, go with **soft plastic paddle tails** in natural or new penny on a 1/8‑ounce jighead, and **chartreuse/white swim baits** when the water muddies up. A small gold spoon will still call up a red on the flats when the sun gets higher. Up the river around Port Wentworth and into the fresher stretches, the **catfish** bite remains steady, with blues and channels coming off deeper bends and outside turns. Cut shad, shrimp, and chicken liver on a slip sinker rig have been putting fish in the cooler. If you sit on a hole more than 20 minutes with no love, slide to the next bend. Largemouth bass action is decent in the oxbows and backwaters off the main river. Think shady wood, laydowns, and any lingering pad fields. Texas‑rigged worms in junebug or black, plus small squarebill crankbaits banging off timber, are good bets early and late. Midday, slow down with a worm or jig on deeper wood. Striped bass are more scattered now, but you can still run into a few around current breaks below the lock and dam areas and bridge pilings. Try medium swimbaits, bucktail jigs, or live shrimp if you’re in the brackish zone. A couple of hot spots to keep on your radar: - The shell bars and creek mouths around **Elba Island and the lower Savannah** for trout and reds on the last of the incoming and first of the outgoing. - The deeper outside bends north of **Port Wentworth** for blue cats using cut bait, especially on the outgoing tide when the current’s pushing hard. That’s the word from the river. 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