Friday, February 1, 2013

This blog has been moved.

This blog has been moved to my charter fishing website www.charterfish.com . Please feel free to visit there and learn more about fishing in coastal Georgia.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Fishing with Kids - Just have FUN!

Fishing with kids is a hot topic throughout the fishing world, and has been for some time. Kids are the future of the sport and the emphasis on taking them fishing is always present. We should definitely do our part to take them out there and show them how much fun fishing can be. The joy of seeing a child catch her first fish is priceless.

I'm sure that you have heard people say that you should take kids fishing for fish that are easy to target to keep the action steady so they don't lose interest. This is absolutely true, but there is more to the story and that is what I want to emphasize now.

It's not all about fishing. What? Yep.

I have been blessed with the best job in the history of the universe. I get to take people from all walks of life to my favorite fishing holes and catch fish and teach them new techniques. Each person is different, and each child is different.

Some kids are content to chase fish all day, but some get bored after just a couple of fish. This is where some people will try to coax them into fishing a little longer and teaching them the time honored fishing value of patience. Not me.

When a kid gets bored on the boat, or on the edge of the water, he will typically find something else that he wants to do. It might be chasing crickets on the bank, playing with the bait in the livewell, or trying to catch passing jelly fish with the dip net.

Let them do it! If they want to spray down the boat with the wash down hose, let them! They are HAVING FUN!!!

When they get home and they have had a full day of driving the boat while sitting on your knees, spraying their siblings with the washdown hose, catching minnows with the bait net, and tossing left over sandwich parts to the seagulls, they will be chomping at the bit to go FISHING again.

Does it matter how much time they actually spent fishing? If you ask them what they did all day they will still say "I was fishing!".

Keep those kids on the water and as they get older, they will want to spend more and more time chasing fish, and less time playing with the stuff in the boat. You'll cherish the moments that you spent just playing around on the water and your kids will remember how much fun fishing was.

Tight lines!

Capt. TJ Cheek - Professional Fishing Guide - St. Simons Island

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Fishing has been great! The weather at St. Simons didn't get the memo...

We have been enjoying some excellent fishing for Trout  and Redfish around St. Simons Island, but this weekend it seems that the weather is going to get the better of us. It hasn't stopped the fish from biting but it is making it quite uncomfortable to be on the water.

The water is muddy but if you can find a small patch of clean water you should be able to get on some fish. St. Simons Island is experiencing some extremely high tides right now and the one good thing about that is the opportunity to catch tailing Redfish in the flooded marsh grass. This is a fun combination of hunting and fishing as you stalk the fish down and carefully place a bait in its face.

These are also some great tides for marsh hen hunting. Marsh hens are small brown birds that live in the thich marsh grass. As far as table fare... well... they taste like mud, but they are fun to shoot and there are always some locals that are willing to take them off of your hands.

When the weather clears, the fishing at St. Simons Island will be in it's prime for Fall inshore fishing. The tides should return to normal and the water should cool right down to the perfect range to allow for some great days of fishing.

If you need information about fishing at St. Simons Island whether it is shore fishing, fishing from a boat, or charter fishing, give me a call and I'll be happy to help you out.

Tight lines!

Capt. TJ Cheek
http://www.stsimonsfishing.com/
912-617-5577

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Fall Fishing Report for St. Simons Island

This fishing report for St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island is an easy one. The inshore fishing is just plain awesome. The Trout and Redfish are stacked up and hungry.
Bull Redfish are here and biting on cut mullet, pogies, and crabs. There have been some 20 fish days recently and if you've ever caught a Bull Redfish, you know that is a back breaking day!

The Trout and Redfish have been really chewing. Live shrimp, Gulp baits, DOAs, and a laundry list of hardbaits have been very effective. The Trout have been nailing the baits so hard that they almost take the rod out of your hands before you can react.
I've had my best luck on the higher tides, last of incoming and first of outgoing.

St. Simons Island Fishing Forecast:


The inshore fishing is only goint to get better and more reliable. As the water temperature settles into the mid to upper sixties, the fish will get into a pretty predictable pattern and you will likely find the fish is the same honey hole trip after trip. The Bull Redfish will be leaving soon, so get after them while you can.

Tight lines!

Capt. TJ Cheek
http://www.stsimonsfishing.com/
912-230-7429

Hot Temps and a Hot Bite!

Hot Summer temps usually mean an ice cold bite, but lately we have seen an exception. The Trout, Redfish, and Flounder have been pretty easy to find and willing to eat.
We finally have some local bait at the marinas, so the high priced Florida bait is gone until next year. It seems that our local bait is either extremely big or extremely small though.
We have mostly targeted Trout with some great success. We have had days where we caught close to 40 keeper Trout and some days with a 16 inch average.
One day that stands out is June 29th. We had 10 year old Talon Mann on board and he boated a 24 1/2 inch Trout! That is a great trophy for a 10 year old.
The Shark fishing at St. Simons Island has been stellar. Fishing behind the shrimp boats with cut Bonito or Ladyfish seems to be the key. We typically fish with live Pogies but this seems to be the year of the cut bait. We have had some Black Tips and Spinners in the 100 to 120 lb. range on most trips.
Don't let the heat keep you from enjoying fishing in GA, and especially fishing in St. Simons Island, GA!

Cheers from Coastal Georgia Charter Fishing!

Capt. TJ Cheek
http://www.stsimonsfishing.com/

Back in Black! Sea Bass Fishing is back on!

Back in Black! Sea Bass Fishing is ON!

Finally, Finally, we can keep Sea Bass again. We have been battling through them trying to get to the other species but man, these Blackfish are THICK!
The Amberjack bite has been Stellar, the Cobia are still straggling around, we've had some monster Spadefish on light tackle, and all of that combined with a nice box of Sea Bass, and you have yourself a pretty fine day of fishing coastal Georgia.
While I'm at it I might as well mention that the inshore bite has been pretty reliable. There seems to be a "here or zero" thing going around, but the hero days make it worth your time to get out there.
The Shark bite has been pretty good too. We fish behind the shrimp boats and get some fat sharks in the 100 pound range. It's hard to beat catching a lot of big fish that fight hard in a 4 hour trip near land. You can see the St. Simons lighthouse and all of Jekyll Island from where we catch these fish.
The Tarpon have shown up and are getting to be steady enough to fish for. I'm not quite ready to go park on the breakers and spend a lot of time on it, but it is getting close.
In summary, the fishing at St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island is SOLID.

Tight lines!

Capt. TJ Cheek
http://www.stsimonsfishing.com/

St. Simons Fishing Report

It's finally nice and warm and the fish are firing up!
On the reefs from 20 miles and beyond, Snapper, Grouper, Bee liners, and Amberjack are being caught regularly.
Cobia and Spanish Mackerel have shown up in force as close in as 5 miles. The Cobia have been wary of most baits but can't resist eels or live crabs. In some cases when we didn't have either, we stunned a Pogy or Cigar Minnow and teased the fish until he ate it.
The Tripletail are on the beach and there are some BIG ONES out there. More and more people are fishing for them, and the fish are getting more spooky. The key is to stay as far away from the fish as you can once you have sighted it. Only get as close as you have to to make an accurate cast.
The Trout are finally back on the menu, at least for now. We have had some great days inshore with our average Trout measuring around 17 inches. The Reds are strong right now and the Flounder are getting in the mix as well.
It's a great time to fish St. Simons, Jekyll Island, Sea Island, and Cumberland Island.

Tight lines!

Capt. TJ Cheek
Costa Del Mar Pro Guide
St. Simons Charter Fishing