Savannah River Fishing Report - Trout, Reds, and Winter Patterns

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report. We’re riding a classic winter pattern on the lower river and sounds. Tides4Fishing shows a strong morning high around daybreak and a good evening push, with a solid 7–8 foot swing, so there’s plenty of current pumping bait around the grass edges and shell bars. Sunrise is right about 7:10 a.m., sunset near 5:20 p.m., so your best light is short and sweet. Pat Prokop’s Savannah forecast has us cool and dry with north to northeast winds and highs in the upper 60s to near 70, dropping into the 50s overnight. The National Weather Service marine forecast out of Charleston calls for 10 to 15 knots of north wind on the sounds with 3–5 foot seas outside, so inshore and up the river is the safe and comfortable play. SolunarForecast’s tables for Savannah rate today as a “better” day, with major feeding windows mid‑afternoon and decent minor activity around mid‑morning. That lines up nicely with the falling tide late morning and the first part of the flood mid‑afternoon. Inshore trout and reds have been the main story. Local chatter from the Savannah River and Wilmington/Tybee side has keeper speckled trout coming off deeper bends and creek mouths, 6–12 feet, especially where that greenish river water meets a little clearer incoming tide. Folks are boxing 6–15 trout a trip, plus a few bonus reds and slot black drum. Up toward Port Wentworth and Houlihan, the river has kicked out some chunky blue catfish and the odd striped bass around the pilings and eddies. Best baits right now: - For trout and reds: live shrimp under a popping cork, or a 1/8–1/4 oz jig with a white or glow paddle tail. Chartreuse tail is still king in that slightly stained river water. - For drum and cats: fresh cut mullet, shrimp, or chicken livers on a Carolina rig near bottom. - For striper: 4–5 inch soft jerkbaits, small swimbaits, or live mullet worked around current breaks. If you’re slinging artificials, lean on: - 3–4 inch paddle tails in pearl, opening night, or new penny. - MirrOlure style suspending plugs over shell and along the grass on the first of the flood. - For cats and stripers up‑river, heavy jigheads with soft plastics or bucktails bounced deep along the channel edge. A couple of hot spots to circle: - The mouths of Lazaretto Creek and the Back River cuts near Highway 17: good mixing water, bait, and current for trout and reds on both sides of the tide. - The bridges and pilings around Houlihan Boat Ramp and upstream bends toward Augusta Road: solid for blue catfish and a shot at winter stripers when the current’s rolling. Work the last of the falling tide for trout on deeper drops, then slide up onto the flooded shell and grass with the incoming for reds. Slow your presentation down; that cooler water has them chewing, but they won’t chase far. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a river update. This has been a quiet please production, for more c This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.