2015 Little St. Simons Island - Surf Fishing

LSSI staffer Eric Cohen assists lady angler

With several miles of unspoiled beachfront including multiple inlets, I found out that Little St. Simons Island offers surf fishing as a regularly scheduled activity for visitors. As an experience surf angler I was the first to sign up for a chance to wet a line in the Georgia sea foam! Guests check out surf rods, tackle and even bait from the fishing center, and then place all the gear into racks on the front and back of earth cruiser bicycles. There is some physical fitness involved in getting yourself and the gear to any fishing location on the beach, but that is also part of the fun.

Catch AND Release surf fishing

With tropical rains falling along the coast in September, we knew that our window to surf fish would be brief, yet somehow we timed our expedition very well. Starting out under sunny skies, it wasn't long until a member of our party was reeling in a large redfish. The female cattle rancher from Kansas was a novice angler, but she got that fish on the beach like a champ. LSSI naturalist Eric Cohen helped her to display the fish before releasing it back into the ocean, since conservation is always in focus at Little St. Simons Island.

Even a humble blogger got in on the ACTION!

I too wet a line in the ocean after some photography duties, but by then a storm was approaching, and the tide was rising fast. The inlet we were fishing had become swollen enough that I decided to change tactics, so I turned around and cast into fast-moving inshore-bound waters. Sometimes rough seas and stormy weather can serve to turn on the fish, and that's what happened next! A shark came right down the sandy edge I was standing on, reminding me not to stand in the water. Then a Tarpon rolled within an easy casting distance of me, but alas I was baited up with a finger mullet which is too small an offering. Despite having a busted eye at the top of my fishing rod I hooked up, played and landed a fine redfish. The storm hit and we all got wet as we left the beach for safety's sake, but we were there long enough to get a taste for what I would describe as excellent surf fishing.

To view more blog entries from Little St. Simons Island click on Conservation Easement.

This sums up our fishing excursion - awesome natural setting!

To view past blog entries about surf fishing click on Bald Head Island, NC - Edisto Island, SC - Bulls Island, SC