St Simons Island, GA
Fly Fishing For Red Fish
FLY CAST CHARTERS
Call or Text
(706) 540 – 1276
Captain
David Edens
is Endorsed by Orvis as
Fly Cast Charters and Outfitters
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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- $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,
Current Conditions
Spring has turned to summer in the Golden Isles of Georgia. Water temperature is in the 80’s. This means that the migrating fish are here. Recently we have seen Tarpon in the ocean busting bait balls as well as rolling in the backcountry. As a bonus multiple schools of smaller Jack Crevalle have been seen right off the beaches. The Jacks are usually easier to catch than the snooty Tarpon. See my page on Tarpon Fishing, Inshore shrimping starts June 18, which means we can chase some monster sharks close to shore behind the shrimpers if you are up to it. Hundred pound Spinner Sharks jump and run like you wouldn’t believe.
The red fish are moving out of the creeks where they spend the winter and onto the low tide flats. If we have an early morning low tide, we can usually find good numbers of fish moving around and feeding in inches of water. The first few days of July offer tides high enough to fish for tailing fish in the grass. This is what most people think of when thinking of fly fishing for red fish. The fish are in the grass and will normally eat a Black Toad Fly or a Felt Crab Fly if you can place the fly in front of them. See my flies page for tying instructions. Casts are not long, but they must be accurate.
The triple tail are still floating in front of Jekyll. In the Golden Isles, we have a unique fishery for free floating triple tail. To learn more, check out my blog on Triple Tail Fishing on the Capt’s Musings page. If the weather is conducive, I like to combine fly fishing for red fish and fly fishing for triple tail. Effective flies are smaller, lightly weighted and lighter colored flies that imitate small shrimp patterns. Try the Prawn’s Revenge and the St. Simons Scampi (Tying instructions on my Flies Page) as well as the tried and true Kwan fly.
If early morning tides are not right for redfish, we can target Speckled Sea Trout and Flounder by blind casting to Oyster bars. At first light, we may can fish for Trout on the surface with Gurglers and Stealth Bombers. This is an exciting way to start the day waiting for the tide to come down before fishing for reds.
- The weather in the summer is usually predictable. Early morning calm winds with temps in the 70’s reaching the 90’s by midafternoon. Many times, after noon a strong sea breeze starts blowing. I do my best to get you out of the wind by running farther inland and fishing creeks that hold some reds. But wind is always a factor in Saltwater Fly Fishing.
I do I donot 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“
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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.
- Send me a note through my contact page
- Email to flycastcharters@gmail.com
- Call or send a text to 706-540-1276 (cell, best) or 912-289-1061 (home),
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.
