Big Cat Outdoors Saltwater Journal

    Big Cat Outdoors Saltwater Journal

On June 18, 2013, a new adventure began in my life when I left everything and all behind, in search of peace, harmony, and a new start fishing saltwater. There was no doubt in my mind, being 55 years old, that this was going to be easy. I was so used to the usual things that is became boring. That's when I said,"its time to get on with living". Big Cat Outdoors deserved a chance to really be something. The Woody Wood Fishing Show has produced over 75 shows, so here we are on the Georgia Coast, near Savannah, Georgia, meeting a new, unique group of people, who know how to fish these waters for all species of fish. So. get ready for lots of excitement and plenty of rod bending action as we begin our adventure on the Georgia Coast with Big Cat Outdoors Saltwater Journal.

Shankin' Big Red Fish and Black Drum

The first 2 days on the coast, I visited Bull River and Hogan's Marina. I met 6 people who had experience fishing on TV. So, I began scheduling shows and trying to get out on the water as soon as possible. The first 2 times was with the "Grouper Man". On the first day out with him, we did some Shark fishing. He caught 4 small Shark and threw them back, but it was very rewarding to hear all the experiences he had fishing these waters, and what was to come on the next trip out. On July 10, our day started at Hogan's Marina at 7 am. This trip was going to be exciting. We were going to his special "honey hole", to catch giant Red Fish and Black Drum". The boat ride to this place took us through the inshore rivers, Bull and Wilmington, that connects into the Savannah River. From there, we traveled near the mouth of the open water, near Fort Pulaski. We arrived at what looked like an old bridge with no road top. There was a tugboat pushing long pipes together in a row and securing them. We successfully anchored each end of the boat to 2 concrete bridge structures.and began our first fishing show. I had heard about the 40 lb. fish he had been catching at this spot and couldn't wait to see one on the end of the line, fighting the "Grouper Man" for survival of the fittest. For bait, we used dead shrimp and live shrimp on each hook.The dead shrimp emits a scent and the live shrimp sends out vibrations in the water which both attracted the fish. After baiting 4 heavy duty rods and reels, all with wire cable for fishing line, we sat and talked about what was to come. During the first round of interviews, we talked about the area we were fishing. This structure we were fishing was a "dredging station",  which used to be the old "Customs Station", 40 years ago. Every ship had to stop here and get clearance before entering the Port of Savannah. I could also see the flag at Fort Pulaski above the tree-line flying at half staff. From there was the mouth of the entrance into the vast Atlantic Ocean. Another interesting fact of fishing was brought to my attention by the "Grouper Man", The 80-20-Rule of Fishing. He put into words like this: "You spend 80% of your time waiting for the fish to bite and 20% of the time catching fish." I agreed with his theory as we sat and waited for the first fish to bite. Shortly after that the tied began to go back out. He said to that we were about to catch a fish, and we did. Both species of fish we were fishing for bit the same way. They tugged a few times on the bait, then swallowed it. One rod began to get a bite, the camera was running as "Grouper Man" took the rod out of the holder and BAM, the fight was on. This fish was hooked and so was I on how strong these fish are and how they fight you on the other end. He fought the "Grouper Man" like a tug-o-war contest. I was amazed at how many times the the rod was almost taken out his hands. I made the comment, "that's a big fish". After fighting the fish for a few minutes, I handed him the Gaff. That's when I saw this giant Black Drum on the surface about to be gaffed and put into the boat. The first fish weighed 20 lbs. I said to myself, "if this is any indication of what our day foretells, then this is going to be a great show".  It wasn't long after that another fish bit. This time, it was a giant Red Fish. Wow! Then another of each, and all weight 20 lbs. In all, the first round produced 2 giant Black Drum and 2 Red Fish. Then we sat and did the 2nd interview, waiting on more fish to bite. I didn't plan it like that, but I took advantage of every second learning from an experienced fisherman like the the "Grouper Man". He talked about why these fish concentrate here. The "barnacles" that live on the concrete bridge structures are a main food source for these fish we were catching. So, I mentioned, "This is like a highway", and he agreed. Another rod began to get a bite, and another fish was on. Grouper Man reeled in a Black Drum, the smallest one of the day. But, he was excited just as much or more because this fish was ideal eating size. Next, another Black Drum and Red Fish, weighing close to 20 lbs. I' still amazed at how big these fish are and how many we are catching. During Round 3 interview, the "Grouper Man" explained the seasonal migration of both species we were catching. He had been fishing since March for these giants, and hadn't seem to catch many until now. Usually, September and October are the peak times for  these giants to migrate here. So the best is yet to come. On the last round here, the "Grouper Man" hooked another Red Fish weighing over 20 lbs. and successfully landed him before releasing him back into the water. We had to release all but 1 Red Fish because the length limit is 13  to 23  inches. So, we embarked to another place to catch some smaller Red Fish to take home. We arrived at a place where 2 large pipes were spilling water into the river. In the distance, I could see the Savannah Gas Company. This water spilling out was for cooling the tanks. I could see no sign of pollution anywhere. We fished with lighter tackle and a float using live shrimp for bait next to the bank. He explained to me on camera that this spot was an ideal "eddie" for holding smaller bait fish and shrimp who like to get out of the fast current of the Savannah River.The first cast was he made was up next to the bank next to the rocks and weeds. That's where the bait will hide. I took the camera off the "Grouper Man" and zoomed it toward the floating cork just in time. The fish took the bait, cork went under, and line broke or it was cut buy the fish. This didn't go over too well with with the "Grouper Man". He said, "You don't embarrass me on camera in front of my friends" . So, he was determined to get his hook back from that fish or catch his friend. "Groper Man", re-rigged his rod with another hook and baited it with a live shrimp. He casted the bait next to the rocks again and it wasn't long before he had hooked up on a really nice Red Fish. This fish was legal and fought like he was bigger. 2 more legal Red Fish were caught which totaled 3, and 4 in all for the day. For the day, we had boated a great catch; 7 Black Drum and 7 Red Fish on camera. I had a great experience with the "Grouper Man" and look forward to fishing with again. You can watched the edited TV version of the show by going to my Face Book Page, Woody Wood. The Best is Yet to Come.

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