Savannah River Summer: Tide the Trout and Reds from Dawn to Dusk

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Savannah River fishing report, coming to you like a local on the dock with a coffee in one hand and a cast net in the other. We’re working a **waning moon** and a **morning falling tide** on the lower Savannah River. Around Savannah and Port Wentworth, the tide’s dropping through mid‑morning, bottoming late morning and turning to a strong incoming through the afternoon. That means classic play: fish the creek mouths and points on the **outgoing**, then slide up onto shell, grass edges, and dock lines as that water rushes back in. Weather’s stable and summer‑muggy: warm overnight, climbing fast after sunrise with light southwest breeze early, ticking up by midday. Humidity’s high, so expect that hazy river glass at first light, then a little chop as the heat builds. We’ve got **sunrise right around 6:20 AM** and **sunset close to 8:30 PM**, giving a long window; best bites have been **first two hours after sunrise** and **last couple before dark**, especially tied to that tide swing. **Fish activity:** – **Speckled trout** have been solid on the lower river and sounds, especially where clearer water pushes in on the incoming. Anglers are picking up mixed sizes, with 12–18 inch keepers common, plus a few bigger fish near the jetties and channel edges. – **Redfish** (spottails) are hanging along shell bars, grass edges, and deeper dock pilings. Plenty of rat reds with some slot fish mixed in, especially where you’ve got current sweeping past structure. – **Flounder** are starting to show along sandy drops and around rip‑rapped banks, picking off bait pushed out of the grass. – Upriver, around Augusta and the freshwater stretches, folks are reporting **striped bass**, **largemouth**, and good **catfish** action at night and early morning along ledges and outside bends. **What’s been chewing:** – Inshore, folks have been putting **dozens of trout and smaller reds** in the box on good days, with better crews reporting limits of trout when they time the tides right and follow the cleaner water. – Catfish guys upriver have been seeing **steady 5–15 pound blues and channels**, with the occasional bigger blue mixed in on fresh cut bait. – Striper catches are spottier now with warmer water, but early risers tossing topwater or live bait at first light around current breaks are still picking off a few nice fish. **Best lures and baits:** – For trout and reds in the lower river: • **Paddle‑tail or jerk‑shad soft plastics** on 1/8–1/4 oz jig heads in natural or morning‑glory colors. • **Suspending hard baits and twitch baits** over shell and along drops on the incoming. • Early and late, **topwater walkers** in bone or mullet patterns can draw some explosive trout and redfish strikes. – Live bait: • **Live shrimp** under a popping cork is still king around the Savannah River mouth, grass edges, and rock piles. • **Mud minnows** and small **finger mullet** on a Carolina rig shine for reds and flounder around docks and rock. • Upriver cats: **fresh cut shad, bream, or mullet** on bottom rigs along deep bends and holes is the ticket. **Hot spots to try:** – **Old Fort Jackson to Elba Island Cut**: Work the grass points, creek mouths, and shell bars on the last of the outgoing and first of the incoming. Great mix of trout, reds, and the odd flounder. – **Around the Cockspur Island / jetties area** near the river mouth: cleaner water on the incoming, good current breaks, and a shot at better‑grade trout and reds. Mind the ship traffic and currents. Farther upriver, **around Augusta’s river shoals and bridge pilings**, focus on early‑morning stripers and bass with topwater and swimbaits before the sun gets high, then slide deeper for cats once it brightens up. That’s your on‑the‑water rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the next 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