East Coast Migration

As the summer  season came to an end I found myself making long distance trips to get last minute shots on migrating fish.  The fishing was off the hook down in the Long Island Sound; lots of boats and lots of fish. Gradually the fish faded and after the first snow touched down in New England I panicked, grabbed my boat, and headed for Morehead City, NC in search of "Albie Mecca"....

Although the fishing was slow in contrast to the epic feeds off of Montauk, it proved to be a valuable route and scout mission for future trips.  The trip takes about 15 hrs. (20+ if you are trailering a boat) and there are a plethora of free boat ramps and good places to eat.

After a three day stop in NC, with only 3 albies hooked/lost, 1 Weakfish, 100+ baby bluefish, and one small redfish to hand, I decided to head to St. Simons, GA to check out one more fishery and put my boat to bed for the winter.

St. Simons Island is plagued with an abundance of freshwater drainages which makes sight fishing to Speckled Trout & Redfish nearly impossible.  The water is always turbid because of clay based estuaries and the 10 ft tide swings don't help things either.  Having said that, it is also an excellent area for fish to forage on shrimp and other small baits.  They are protected from open water predators in the estuary and can evade air assaults from Terns, Pelicans, and "Dump Ducks" because of the limited visibility.