Savannah River Fishing Report: Reds, Trout, and Catfish Abound as Tides Shift

Artificial Lure here with your Wednesday morning Savannah River fishing report, straight out of Georgia–South Carolina low country. The sky’s just beginning to lighten as the sun rises about 7:13 am, and anglers can expect sunset tonight around 7:20 pm. It’s autumn on the river—morning temps hover in the low 70s, afternoon highs push mid-80s, and humidity is just enough to keep sweat beads rolling beneath your cap. According to the National Weather Service, we’re looking at a mix of northeast and north winds today, clocking in at 10 knots early and easing by midday. Expect seas in the 2 to 3 foot range if you’re out around the mouth; inside the bends, things are calmer but a stiff breeze could be pushing bait up against points and structure. Tide is king on the Savannah, and today we’ve got a low around 8:05 am falling to just over half a foot, then a robust high tide swings through at 2:26 pm topping out close to 8 feet. You’ll want to be set up ahead of those changes—redfish and seatrout love a moving tide, and near the jetties, the bite’s been best an hour before and after high slack[1]. Reports from local guides say the past few days have seen solid catches of **red drum**, with slot fish pushing up into the grass edges and oyster bars as water rushes in. There’s always good numbers of **spotted seatrout** right now—shrimp imitations and live finger mullet have put over a dozen keeper-sized trout in several boats just yesterday. Flounder are popping up as bycatch near the mouth and on sandy drop-offs—the biggest last weekend weighed a little shy of three pounds. **Catfish** have been consistent upriver, with several blues and channel cats coming on chicken livers and stinkbait just below the I-95 bridge piles. Over in the brackish reach, **largemouth bass** are feeding aggressively at first light. Jigs and noisy topwaters worked over submerged timber are drawing strikes. Best lures for salt: - **Soft plastic paddle tails** in opening night or electric chicken have been the ticket for both trout and reds. - Gold spoons and spinnerbaits get strikes on the outgoing. - For topwater, a Zara Spook or Pop-R in bone is seeing explosive action in shadier pockets. If you’re fishing bait, nothing beats **live shrimp** or finger mullet under a popping cork. Fresh cut mullet has been scoring bull reds as well. A couple hot spots worth checking: - **Elba Island Cut:** Reds and trout stacking in on the rising tide, especially as bait flushes over shell piles. - **Houlihan Bridge:** Blue catfish running strong beneath the pilings late afternoons, with some largemouth hugging the structure at dawn. Local tackle shops report a run on popping corks and soft plastics—Cabela’s Savannah is stocked if you need to restock. Be sure to mind your charts and markers if navigating downstream; recent Notices to Mariners posted on Cruisers’ Net warn of several off-station and missing daybeacons in ICW-adjacent areas, so keep a sharp eye. As fall comes on, fish a This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.