Savannah River Early Summer: Reds, Trout, and Topwater at Dawn

This is Artificial Lure with your Savannah River fishing report for the Savannah, Georgia and South Carolina side. We’re sitting on a warm, muggy early-summer pattern. Overnight lows stayed in the low 70s, and this afternoon will push upper 80s to near 90 with high humidity and a light south to southeast breeze around 5–10 knots. Skies are partly cloudy, with a good chance of a pop-up thunderstorm inland by late afternoon, so keep one eye on the sky. On the coast near Savannah, sunrise is right around 6:20 a.m., with sunset close to 8:30 p.m. That gives you long, workable low-light windows at dawn and again the last hour before dark, which have been the most productive times. Tide-wise in the Savannah River and nearby sounds, we’re on a typical semi-diurnal pattern with just under a 7-foot swing. Expect a strong incoming push mid-morning and another around late evening, with the lower water and start of the flood being the key feeding periods. The best bite has been from the first of the incoming through about mid-tide, when current is moving but not ripping. In the brackish stretches near Port Wentworth down toward Elba Island, anglers have been picking up a mixed bag: good numbers of slot **redfish**, scattered **speckled trout**, some decent **flounder**, and plenty of short **black drum**. Upstream toward Augusta, the freshwater reach has given up solid **largemouth bass**, **stripers** staging near current breaks, **catfish**, and a few **crappie** hanging tight to structure. Recent catch reports from local marinas and bait shops around Savannah and Thunderbolt say most inshore redfish are in the 16–22 inch range with a few overslot fish roaming the marsh edges. Trout have been running 14–18 inches on moving water around creek mouths and shell points. Flounder are still a bit scattered but folks are quietly putting limits together around docks and rock piles on the lower river. Catfish catches upriver include plenty of 2–5 pound channel and blue cats, with the odd bigger blue showing after dark. For lures, keep it simple and local: - Inshore, a 1/8–1/4 oz jighead with a 3–4 inch paddle tail in natural mullet or shrimp colors has been the workhorse. Chartreuse tails are getting extra bites in that tannic Savannah water. - Topwater walkers and poppers at first light over shallow mud flats and grass edges have produced some explosive trout and redfish strikes. - Around structure, a slow-rolled spinnerbait, squarebill crank, or soft plastic worm will tempt largemouth and the river stripers. Best baits: - Live **shrimp** under a popping cork is still king for trout and slot reds. - **Mud minnows** and **finger mullet** on a Carolina rig or jighead around docks and rock piles are taking flounder and redfish. - Upriver, cut **shad** or **bream** on the bottom is the ticket for blue cats, while live shiners or small bream around current seams will draw striper bites. A couple of local hot spots to keep in mind: - The mouth of **Wassaw Sound up into the lower Savannah River cuts** has been steady for trout and reds on the incoming tide, especially around shell bars and creek mouths. - The stretch around the **Talmadge Memorial Bridge down to Hutchinson Island** has produced mixed inshore action on the Georgia side and some good catfish and the occasional striper on the South Carolina side, particularly where there’s riprap, eddies, and deeper bends. Remember, that current can rip on the Savannah, especially on the lower river, so fish the edges of the flow, not the middle of it, and mind the big-ship traffic in the shipping channel. This is Artificial Lure, thanking you for tuning in—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