Savannah River Early Summer: Salt Wedge Bite and Freshwater Bass Action

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report. We’ve got a classic early‑summer pattern setting up on the Savannah between downtown, Hutchinson Island, and on up toward Port Wentworth and the lower pools below Clarks Hill. Air temps are running warm and muggy, mid 70s at first light pushing into the upper 80s by afternoon, with light southwest wind and scattered clouds. Humidity’s high, so it feels thicker than it looks. Sunrise is right around 6:15 a.m. Eastern, sunset near 8:35 p.m., giving you a long window to play the tides. Downstream near Savannah, we’re on a mid‑cycle salt wedge, so tides are running roughly 6‑7 feet. Figure a morning low around mid‑morning with the incoming topping out early afternoon, and another low late evening. The bite’s been best the last hour of the incoming and first of the outgoing, especially around creek mouths dumping into the main river. In the brackish stretches around Elba Island and up Back River, folks this week have been putting decent numbers of small speckled trout and slot reds in the boat, with a few bonus flounder. Shrimp under a popping cork has been the ticket, and when live’s hard to find, Gulp shrimp or DOA‑style plastics in new penny or white have been close enough. Near the ship channel edges, cut mullet and crab on the bottom have picked off a few bull reds and the odd black drum. Slide upriver into more freshwater and the story shifts to bass, cats, and panfish. Around Port Wentworth, Brier Creek, and the sloughs off the main river, anglers have been boating numbers of 1–3 lb largemouth with a couple 5+ fish reported the last few days, mostly at dawn. Topwater frogs and buzzbaits along grass lines at first light, then switching to green pumpkin worms, creature baits, and small crankbaits as the sun climbs, have been producing steady action. Catfish have been very cooperative on the deeper bends and outside turns, especially after dark. Cut shad, chicken liver, and shrimp on Carolina rigs are filling coolers with channel cats and the occasional blue, running from eater‑sized up into the teens. Bream and shellcracker are still active along woody banks and in backwater pockets; crickets, red worms, and small Beetle Spins or tiny rooster tails are all working fine. If you’re looking for a couple hot spots, start with: - The bends and docks around the Savannah River waterfront up to the Talmadge Bridge for mixed inshore action on the tide swings. - The mouths of creeks and backwaters near Port Wentworth and Brier Creek for bass and cats, especially early and late in the day. Overall fish activity is strong at dawn and again the last two hours of daylight. Midday gets tough unless you tuck into shade or target deeper holes. Scaling down your leader, slowing presentations, and matching the local bait — shrimp, finger mullet, and small shad — will make a big difference. That’s your Savannah River update from Artificial Lure. 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