St Simons Island, GA

Fly Fishing For Red Fish

FLY CAST CHARTERS

 

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(706) 540 – 1276

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David Edens

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Fly Fishing For Red Fish in Georgia

– St Simons Island

– Jekyll Island

– Sea Island

– The Golden Isles

4 Hours - 1 Angler

2nd Angler - $50
$500
  • $100 For Every Hour Over 4 Hours
  • Most Trips Run 4-5 Hours Because We Fish The Tide

Now, Let’s Go Fishing!

 

Imagine being poled down a low tide flat, fly fishing redfish, with so many redfish they bump the bottom of the boat.  The Capt. shows you the wake made by the ten pound red.  You cast your fly a few feet in front of him.  Capt Dave quietly says, “Strip–let it sit.  Bump it.”  You do, and a ten pound redfish explodes on your fly in ten inches of water.  Your drag screams as the big red fish takes you to your backing.  This is what fly fishing redfish is all about.

Imagine wading the flooded spartina grass flats fly fishing redfish in some of the Southeast’s most beautiful and unspoiled marshes.  You see several tailing and feeding red fish.  The Capt. puts you in the perfect position for a cast.  You choose the biggest tail, make a cast about a foot in front of him, and within seconds he grabs your black toad fly, and he is off to the races, with your drag screaming.  After a five or ten minute fight, you slide your hand under his belly, have your picture taken with him, and gently revive him, letting him swim off to fight again.  Fly fishing redfish doesn’t get any better than this.

Imagine you are in the middle of the sound, and the Capt. points to a series of ripples about 200 yards away.  You motor close to the school of Jack Crevalle and drop the trolling motor to quietly get in front of them.  You grab the 10 wt fly rod, throw a big bunker pattern in front of the school and can’t believe it as 25-35 lb Jacks fight for the fly.  One grabs it, and you are in for the fight of a lifetime.  Forty-five minutes later both you and the fish are totally exhausted as the Capt. lips the 30 lb jack and hoists him aboard for a quick photo and a satisfying release.  Fly fishing for big Jack Crevalle is like hooking a Mac truck.

This is what we do,

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Popular Red Fish Flies

  Current Conditions

Fall has turned to Winter in the Golden Isles.  September and October flood tides were off the charts when the wind was down.  If you go on the winter flood tides, you may see some floaters, but heavily tailing red fish will be few and far between.  If you see a floater,  try throwing a Gurgler or Kent Edmund’s Stealth Bomber in tan on a size 2 hook at them and catch a few on top water.  The Stealth Bomber is a great, subtle floater fly.

The red fish are in the large schools of winter.  As the water cools, it also clears. and the schools of winter get larger.  Decamber through early March can offer clear water conditions.  On the neap or quarter moon tides with low wind it is possible to see the bottom in 5′ of water.  We can also fish the “long grass” and mid-tide flats at this time of year.  The fish fattened up on shriimp all Fall and are heavy and fat. We look for Reds on the flats and in creeks this time of year.  The Prawn’s Revenge and the St. Simons Scampi are great Winter flies.  Try tying a few.

On a light wind day, you can see the schools waking from 50 yards away.  Take a look at these videos I made several years ago:  Two Guides Take a Holiday. You can see 3 huge redfish schools in the video. Or take a look at this video: Tim Into Redfish. Notice the clear water.  Fall through early Spring can be some of the best sight fishing of the year!

The best fishing for reds during the Winter is when there is a low tide in the middle of the day.  The fish are concentrated, and the sun warms the mud flats and oyster beds. As the water comes in onto the mud and oysters the water warms.  The reds come in with the tide to enjoy warmer water temperatures.  They will usually hit a well placed fly.

Speckled Trout fishing  can be OK through the winter on warm days. The trout school at creek mouths on the outgoing tide to feed on bait as it is washed out.  The trout are also bigger and fatter than at any other time of year.  If the wind is down, bring your 6 weight and throw a chartreuse and white Clouser. (I think his fly will catch fish anywhere in the world.) I also fish small Clousers as a popper/dropper combination.  The popper keeps the fly off of the oysters and the popper attracts fish.  Sometimes you will be rewarded with a smashing surface take from a trout or red fish.

Winter fishing is heavily dependent on the weather.  We hope for light winds, clear skies, warm temperatures and happy fish. I am not heavily booked at this time of the year.  If you are here a few days, I will be as flexible as I can to get you out on the best weather days.

I do not want to take anyone on just a boat ride. I will be honest about your chance of catching fish.  Check out my weekly fishing reports on Orvis.com by clicking here.

Give me a call or click the Book Now link at the bottom of the page and let’s go, “Hunting Fish in the Marshes of Glynn.”

Hunting Fish in the Marshes of Glynn“

 

I

I have started using a new fiddler crab fly: a felt crab fly.  I have used a Black Toad fly for years in the flooded grass, and when I need to get down deep, fast, this is still my go to fly.  What I like about the Felt Crab Fly is how softly it lands.  I just added a page with tying instructions.  Check it out and give it a try.  Felt Crab Fly. The red fish are also crushing this fly on the low tide.

“Hunting Fish in the Marshes of Glynn”

 

Capt. David is a Fly Fishers International Certified Fly Casting Instructor.  He is the only FFI Certified Casting Instructor in the Golden Isles.  This means correct, professional instruction and feedback on your fly casting.

Contact Capt. David about a casting lesson prior to your charter.  See the Fly Casting Instruction page for details.

What Does does being an Orvis Endorsed Guide Mean? 

It means that you can be assured of a high quality trip with a Captain that meets the high standards of Orvis.  Captain David Edens has been an Orvis endorsed guide for 15 years.  He is experienced in many fly-fishing enviorments:  Cuba, Mexico, Florida, Belize and the SE coast.  He has fished fresh water in Alaska, California, the Mountain West, the Appalachain region, the Northeast, the Great Lakes and Brazil.  He uses all of this experience to help you become a better angler.  He is the only Fly Fishers International Certified Casting Instructor in the area.  He loves to bring the Orvis Experience of Excellence to his anglers.

Lindsey with big red fish

Current Fishing Conditions

WWe are in the Winter pattern for redfish and trout.  The fish are fat for the upcoming winter.  They fed heavily last Fall on all the shrimp in the sounds, rivers and creeks.  Water temps are in the low 60’s to 50’s.  The fish are active and come into the shallows to warm up. Incoming tide can be magical for redfish.  After a warm, sunny afternoon with a mid-day low tide, the fish head for the shallow mud flats and oyster bars.  The sun warms the mud and oysters.  They warm the water as the tide comes in and the reds follow.  This is clear water sight fishing at its best!

The redfish are in the large schools of winter. The size of the schools will continue to grow as the water cools.  Winter means clear water and huge schools of reds.   Because of good spawn success the last 3 years we have a good number of reds around.  I have seen schools of 25-50 fish so far this Fall.  However, the population has not rebounded to the numbers we had 15 years ago, when I saw multiple schools of over 100 fish.  It is hard enough to keep your calm as a school of 25-50 reds come swimming down the flats or creeks toward you. If you can stay calm all you have to do is put a fly lightly in front of the school, strip it slowly and erratically.   If you do all this without spooking the school most of the time you will be rewarded with a strike.  Then strip set and hang on.  The fat fish will head for the hills!! 

Large winter schools are good and bad.  When you can find the fish, there are lot's of them, but they are not everywhere.  We must move around a good bit to find them.

The trout are still schooling and feeding heavily on oyster bars on both the incoming and outgoing tides.  Find a creek mouth with oysters on either an incoming or outgoing tide, throw a chartreuse and white Clouser enough times, and you should get a bite or two. 

Plan a trip on the quarter moon tides when the water is clear, and the fishing should be great.  We have many calm, sunny, mild days in the Winter.  Take advantage of this time of year, shoot me a text or give me a call and let's go, 

“Hunting Fish in the Marshes of Glynn.".

Check out the fishing reports on Orvis.com by clicking here

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