Capt. Rick Davidson, Editor (grassflats2@yahoo.com)
Fishing Report AUGUST 2020
We dodged the hurricane, and in spite of some rain this month, scallop season is still going full blast at the Sea Hag Marina. With rising water temperatures, the redfish bite has kept up and trout are being caught easily if you know where to look. Offshore, the red snapper season closed after an amazing few weeks of full boards. Below are some pictures from this month’s catches.
September 2020 Fishing Forecast
Scallop season will remain open until Labor Day in our area (September 7). Hopefully the water will remain clear, but as of this week I’ve seen lots of limits brought in by our guides. Hot spots are both north and south of the river, so explore and look for the fleet. Remember to run your boat at idle speed anywhere near any other boats. If you haven’t been this year, time’s running out, so call for a rental boat or accommodations if you need them.
On the fishing front, gag grouper and amberjack seasons are open, so offshore is a good place to go this month. Inshore, as per usual this time of year, redfish are eating very close to shore on flood tides, or near the mouths of marshlines and grassy creeks when you can get in. If the floating grass isn’t too bad, fish suspending lures or Texas rigged soft baits close to the grass, and if the grass is really absent, there’s nothing like a redfish blowup on a topwater plug. In heavy grass, weedless spoons are a great option. Larger trout can be found in the same areas but early in the morning is much better as they will retreat to deeper water as the sun comes up. Schooling keeper trout are in deeper water; inside of Little Bank has been one area that has been holding both speckled and sand trout. Another area to try is a half-mile directly west of the Bird Rack. Fish jigs with Gulp baits near the bottom in four to five feet of water while drifting; when you catch fish, stop your drift. If you’d rather fish live shrimp under corks, we have plenty of them at the Marina.
By the end of the month, we’ll be seeing some dropping water temperatures in preparation for October, which should be a fantastic month for fishing.
There are two tournaments this month; the Lady Raiders Inshore Slam fishing tournament is on September 12th. For more information go to this link: https://www.ladyraiderinshoreslam.com/?fbclid=IwAR2no1bo3nhMJzhcw41Z9Fd2XNqhwSfZ4RZDH-bTaghGMGtwaxQ2IyyHSSA
The surprising catch of the month was Trey Killingsworth’s sailfish, taken in 80 feet of water. 
http://seahag.com/august-2020-fishing-report-and-september-forecast/ 
Nick George and Jeff Peters found these nice cobia on some offshore structure. 
Nick Smicklas and his wife Leslie came up from Vero Beach to get their scallop limits near Big Grass Island. 
Kitty McCaulley with a great redfish, and she caught a nice snook this month too. 
Kelli Spivey with a nice flats trout. 
Kaitelyn Dix and Taylor Halsema enjoyed finding their limit of scallops. 
Jalie Montgomery with a massive amberjack. 
BJ Robertson and his crew rented a Sea Hag boat and were rewarded with this scallop limit 
Dave Watson and Michelle Hudson caught this redfish near the grassline north of the channel. 
The Garret Girls with their scallop limits. 
Another surprising catch: Graham Zipper with a blackfin tuna. 
Greyson got an offshore trip on his birthday and scored with gag grouper and yellowtail snapper. 
Heather and Leeann Bailey with a great looking gator trout. 
The Humbles family with their scallop limit. 
Jimmy Maples from Valdosta with a cobia set for the dinner table. 
Jason Bray went offshore to catch this giant mangrove snapper. 
Austin Osborne found this overslot redfish on a beautiful day. 
Andy Phillips took his grandson nearshore on a flood tide to find this beautiful redfish. 
Abigail and Robert Tomlinson with their scallop limit.
