Fishing Offshore Georgia Coast

Video from July 21st offshore fishing trip.  We rigged up for Barracuda and had a fantastic time.  I'm videotaping friend Bob McSherry and my Dad catching a couple of good sized fish.  Aboard the Liquid Assets at the R5 Navy Tower - 38 miles East of St. Simons Island.   Capt. Larry Swicegood's website is www.liquidassetfishing.com.  Look him up and go fishing!.

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates

jeffwilliams2007@gmail.com
www.jeffwilliamscoastalhomes.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams

Fall Fishing - Saint Simons Island Style

Fishing is about to get a whole lot better along the Golden Isles of Georgia.  We recently capped off the Summer with the Golden Isles Kingfish Classic held just a couple of weeks ago.  The Classic has been a tournament staple for decades on St. Simons Island and the last few years held out of Gascoigne Bluff Park.  This year, there were close to 100 boats competing for a $15,000 grand price.  My Dad and I along with my former neighbor Leland Ring were fortunate enough to catch the winning king mackerel in 2005.  We caught a 47.6 lb king mackerel and won a brand new Contender fishing boat.

My fishing exploits have been a bit more low key than 2005.  Everyone knows I love to fish the inshore waters from Cumberland Island to Saint Simons for Redfish, Seatrout, Flounder and everything in-between.  I have a 19 ft center console fishing boat that manages to get me just about anyplace I need to go to catch fish and during the months of September, October and November, my boat sees a lot of time on the water.

Just this Labor Day weekend, I got out on the water with my Dad going after some Reds and Seatrout.  We mostly did catch and release with my Dad keeping a string of Seatrout for dinner.  We also got into a great school of Ladyfish.  Ladyfish are pretty much an inedible fish but are a whole heck of a lot of fun to catch.  They are long and slender, about 18-20 inches, and very powerful fish that when hooked speed through the water with leaps into the air as they try to throw the hook.  I love catching these fish as they are spectacular to watch and fun to hook.  But the fish I just love to catch are Redfish.  Redfish have a slot limit in Georgia and anything above 23 inches, you have to release.  Those fish over 23 inches grow into the breeding fish and can get upwards of 30-40 lbs.  Hooking a 27 inch redfish in shallow water and fighting to the boat is one of my favorite things to do.  I also participate in the Coastal Resource Division’s tagging program.  I have fish tags on the boat and when I catch a fish I know I’m going to release, I insert a tag, fill out the form and drop it in the mail.  A great way to participate in Georgia Conservation.

I get asked a lot about where I fish and what type of bait I use.  While I have a few spots that are ‘secret’, usually I am more than happy to recommend a location.  I have many spots loaded into my GPS and try and move around.  A very important factor on where I go is the tide for that day.  We have a 7+ tide shift from low to high and knowing which spot works best during which tide is key.  I also love to use live bait which mostly consists of shrimp under a popping cork.  In my opinion, my buddy Capt. Mark Noble makes the best popping cork around.  He calls it the Thunder Chicken.  It really gets the job done on just about anything from sharks to tarpon to redfish and everything in-between.  Give Mark a call or an email and he can tell you where to get one or in my case – where to buy them by the dozen!  http://www.georgiafishing.net

So this Labor Day weekend, with hot temps and no wind, my Dad and I managed to get into some fish and have a great day on the water.  I particularly enjoy the time out with my Dad and love watching him catch fish.  Knowing he enjoyed those seatrout later on that night was just a bonus.  Ninety percent of the places I fish around the Golden Isles are within 30 minutes of St. Simons Boating and Fishing Club Marina and that’s just fine with me.  So if you love to fish, come down to the Golden Isles of Georgia.  I have fished many years in many places and consider this area the best fishing anywhere!

Saint Simons Sound view of Sydney Lanier Bridge

Glassy smooth Labor Day Weekend 2012

My buddy Chad with a 24 inch Speckled Seatrout

Released!

My fiance Mindy with a beautiful Redfish!

Leland Ring, Jeff Williams, Sr and me

with our 2005 winning King Mackeral!

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates
912-270-0032

www.jeffwilliamscoastalhomes.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams

Loggerhead nests in Georgia top 2,000

There is some excellent news from the Georgia DNR regarding Loggerhead turtles along the Georgia Coast - From the GA DNR:


Summer 2012 has been a blockbuster for loggerheads in Georgia.

After recording the second-earliest nesting start on record, these large sea turtles listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act recently passed the 2,000 nests mark, the most since comprehensive surveys began in 1989. The count as of July 30 was 2,045.

The federal recovery target for Georgia’s primary sea turtle is 2,800 nests a year, said DNR Sea Turtle Program Coordinator Mark Dodd. But 2K is a benchmark, particularly when coupled with last year’s 1,992 nests – the previous record – and a longer-term trend of nesting increases that suggests the species is recovering.

“It’s significant in that for the last 25 years loggerheads have averaged around 1,000 nests a year (in Georgia),” said Dodd, a senior wildlife biologist with DNR’s Nongame Conservation Section. “To be at 2,000 two years in a row is pretty exciting.”

 Loggerheads began nesting in late April and will continue into mid-August. Females are laying eggs at the base of barrier island sand dunes even as hatchlings dig out of older nests and scramble for the surf (update below).

Dodd said the rise in nests is likely due to many factors, including fewer turtle deaths as a commercial fisheries bycatch on the high seas; the required use of turtle excluder devices for shrimp trawling; limits on beach lighting that can disorient hatchling turtles; and, the Sea Turtle Cooperative’s 24/7 work to increase hatch success by protecting nests and controlling predators.

Before comprehensive protection began, “some beaches lost 90 percent of nests to hogs and raccoons,” Dodd said. (Read more about threats to sea turtles.)

The scope of conserving the turtles ranges deep and wide, and involves many partners. In this, Dodd sees a lesson: 

If species like loggerheads – long-lived, delayed sexual maturity, less ability to rebound quickly – reach a point of critical imperilment, recovery takes a lot of effort, time and money.

Yet, with long-term commitment, recovery is possible.

For the sea turtles named for their big heads, the combination is apparently working. Dodd will have a better idea how well once he has all nesting data for the season.

The summer’s first loggerhead hatchlings were reported July 8 on both Sea and Cumberland islands. Dodd said previous cool, rainy weather delayed hatching. The first hatchlings emerged in 74 to 75 days, and most were males (sand temperatures determine the sex of hatchlings).  With the recent return of hotter, drier weather, nest incubation periods are nearing the expected average of 60 days.   Hatching season runs from July through mid-September in Georgia.

I read an about an interesting fact from a book by Georgia author Pamela Mueller, "Splendid Isolation: The Jekyll Island Millionaires' Club 1888 - 1942"  She relates that Loggerhead turtle eggs were a frequent meal at the Jekyll Island Club back in the early days.  At one point, an employee of the Club was murdered after he encountered a poacher on the island who pulled a gun and shot him dead.  The alleged poacher was eventually acquitted by a Brunswick jury.  Most recently in June, a convicted felon, with a gun, was captured by Georgia DNR after raiding turtle nests and trying to escape with 156 sea turtle eggs from Sapelo Island.  Sea turtle eggs are prized by some as a purported aphrodisiac and a food delicacy. But loggerheads in Georgia are a threatened species, protected as are all sea turtle species by both state law and the federal Endangered Species Act. Potential penalties for a person possessing their eggs include up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. 

If you are interested in reading any of Pamela's books, here is a link to her website.  I've met her on several occasions and she is a delightful person and loves talking about her books.

http://www.kiskalore.com/books.html

Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Center:  www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates
912-270-0032

jeffwilliams2007@gmail.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams

Georgia Seatrout PSA "Release Over 18"

Jeff Williams (yes that's me) and Capt. Wendell Harper discuss Georgia's conservationists launch of Operation ROE (Release Over Eighteen)

Operation ROE was a put together by a coalition of angler-supported conservation groups, including Coastal Conservation Association Georgia, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Satilla Riverkeeper, Georgia Kayak Fishing, Ogeechee Riverkeeper and Savannah Riverkeeper, is calling on Georgias fishermen to ensure the future of one of their favorite catches  the spotted seatrout. The groups are asking their members and the angling public to voluntarily release spotted seatrout over 18 inches long.

DNR studies show that approximately 94 percent of trout more than 18 inches in length are females, so it is not surprising that many anglers refer to all larger fish as roe (egg) trout. Research has shown that larger, older females produce many more eggs than smaller individuals. An 18-inch female seatrout has the potential to produce almost 18 million eggs during the six-month spawning season  almost five times the egg production of a 14-inch trout. Plus, older fish have survival traits valuable in the gene pool.
The voluntary release of larger trout is a great way for the average angler to directly participate in conservation while helping to ensure therell be more fish to catch in following years.






Regardless of whether or not you hunt and fish, we should all be good stewards of the environment and the resources available to all of us through a healthy environment.  Living in such a beautiful place has its own responsibilities and ensuring our environment is healthy and enjoyable is just such a responsibility.

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates
912-270-0032

jeffwilliams2007@gmail.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams

Offshore charter fishing St. Simons Island Georgia

Some days are just born to be awesome.  Many of those days find their start with a few simple words such as "wonder if the fish are biting offshore".  That was the case on Saturday July 21 when we headed offshore to celebrate the birthday of a friend and neighbor of my Dad.  Bob McSherry and his brother Jim wanted to go offshore to celebrate and my Dad and I were invited along.  Since none of us have an offshore boat, I called Capt. Larry Swicegood of Liquid Assets Charters to get us out to the blue water.  Capt. Larry is a longtime friend and a very good charter captain and better than that, he has a 27 foot long Contender offshore boat!  Contender's are the Cadillac of the offshore boating fleet.  They are built for fishing and built to get you to where the fish are.
http://contenderoffshore.com/

We all met up at the Gascoigne Bluff fishing pier and were met by Capt. Larry.  Boat loaded we were off to the races at the very very early time of 8am.  Now that's my kind of fishing!  The weather forecast was calling for 1 foot seas but some wind around 11 knots and temps in the mid 90s.  A bit warm but a breeze would help.  I must confess that it was a bit rough getting out the 40 miles to the R5 Navy Tower and took a little more than an hour.  But once out to the tower the seas seemed to calm down.  We decided to drop to the bottom along the tower.  Great plan except the fish didn't seem interested in cooperating.  After about 30 minutes, we were getting a bit worried when Capt. Larry told us to pull up our lines we were going to troll a bit and see what kind of trouble we could hook up.  Well we managed some trouble that's for sure.

We set up a 3 rod spread on a medium trolling speed using brightly colored plastic tubing on a three treble hook setup.  We hadn't had the bait in the water for 5 minutes before we started to see the water boil around the tubes (topwater lure) and the rod getting bent over.  It was like that for a couple of hours with one after the other of super fun sized barracudas hitting hard.  We had a couple small ones at first in the 5-9 pound range before we really started hooking up some huge fish.  Before long, we had 6 barracudas in the boat that ranged from 25-35 pounds.  I had a particularly good time on big 30 pound barracuda.  The fish was determined not to get a free ride in that Contender boat and coupled with the fact that I had the fish hooked on fairly light tackle - I did have a challenge on hand.  the fish ran line for a hundred yards or so before I got it turned.  Three times I had the fish at the boat ready to be gaffed when it took off screaming line.  This barracuda also was a jumper.  It made several complete out of the water jumps seeming to dance on the water with its tail!  And each time I dropped that rod tip down and reeled like crazy.  Almost could have mistaken that fish for a tarpon!  We finally got it to the side, worn out, gaffed and into the locker.  Just more fun than you can imagine!

We all hooked up on large barracudas with my Dad landing a very large one on the same small tackle rod and reel I was using.  The fish was so large he could barely lift it after the fight.  Bob had some bad luck in the beginning**** first losing a fish at the side of the boat, getting tangled up on another very large barracuda and then getting his reel spooled by an even larger barracuda.  The one that spooled his reel made a single jump off in the distance and we could all see it was in the mid 30 pound range.  His luck changed though and he landed a nice fish probably around 25 pounds.  After a few hours and after everyone had a chance to pull on a big fish, we headed off to another artificial reef to try for some black seabass.  We had ok luck on the seabass with only a few keeper sized fish.  Later while fishing over the Liberty Ship, my favorite dive site, Bob hooked a nice black seabass that was chomped on and swallowed whole by a HUGE barracuda right at the boat.  The fish then dived and it was about 15 minutes before Bob was able to get the fish back to the boat.  We dropped that fish in the box and had had enough!

You might be scratching your head as to why we were putting barracuda in the fish box.  Most places where barracuda are caught are above live coral formations.  Small fish feed on the coral and they go up the food chain until you have a barracuda.  By that point, barracuda can be dangerous to eat.  But in Georgia, we catch them above mostly artificial reefs and out by the Navy Towers where the local barracuda are topping a relatively safe food chain.  They are safe to eat and they are good to eat.  Filleted out and next to a Kingfish fillet, I believe most would have a hard time telling the difference.

We had such an easy time during the hour long ride back that I sat down in one of Capt. Larry's beanbags and went to sleep waking up just as we were passing the St. Simons Island Lighthouse.  We unloaded the fish and spent the next hour or so cleaning the fish, icing them down and heading home for a cold shower.  I truly believe that anytime you leave the dock and come back safe you've had a great day on the water.  When you factor in about 50 pounds of fish fillets, you can truly count yourself lucky to live on the Georgia Coast and have such great friends and great opportunities.

Capt. Larry Swicegood is a very patient and competent charter captain.  He has a terrific boat and the best equipment.  If you are looking to go offshore or even near shore, Larry is your guy. A full day offshore with 4 people cost us $775.00 and was well worth it. 

Here is a link to his website: www.liquidassetfishing.com

If you give Larry a call, make sure you tell him Jeff Williams sent you, he'll appreciate knowing I recommended him.

Jeff Williams Sr with large barracuda

Bob McSherry on the fish!

R5 Navy Tower - 40 miles offshore

Capt. Larry Swicegood on the left, my Dad in

the middle and Bob McSherry on the right.

As always, I am more than happy to help you find a great place to live right here on the Coast of Georgia and you can also enjoy all that St. Simons Island, Brunswick and Jekyll Island have to offer.  As we exited St. Simons Sound with the St. Simons Island on the left - people already walking the beach and the peaceful Jekyll Island on the right - I turned to my Dad and said, "we really are lucky to live here."  My Dad just shook his head in agreement.

****  For those who don't know, a Banana is considered bad luck on a fishing trip.  As we left the dock, I noticed Bob pull out a banana and start to eat it.  I immediately intervened and convinced him to toss it over board along with the spare he had in his bag but not before he had managed to take a bite.  After all of us had caught fish EXCEPT for Bob who had had several mysterious mishaps - I suggested Bob eat one of my Dad's Snicker Bars because we all know that a Snicker Bar can bust a Banana curse every time.  It did the trick and Bob was back in the game and right on the fish.  Moral of the story - DON'T EVER TAKE A BANANA FISHING - Seriously just don't do it!

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates
912-270-0032
jeffwilliams2007@gmail.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams

Nazzaro's Italian Restaurant Review St. Simons Island

Whether you live in the Golden Isles permanently or you're visiting, an authentic Italian Restaurant will probably one that you'll keep your eye out for.  On St. Simons Island, Georgia, you needn't look any further than Nazzaro's Italian Restaurant located in Retreat Village across the street from the airport or what we locals call - the Winn Dixie Shopping center.

Nazzaro's was easy to make a reservation at, which again are highly recommended, and out table was ready when we showed up just after 6pm on a Saturday night.  There were already a few tables full of patrons when Mindy and I arrived and the empty ones quickly filled up as the time got closer to 7pm.  By the time we left around 7:30, most of the tables were full.

I was pleasantly surprised to bump into a friend on hostess duty for the evening.  Lynn Nazzaro was handling the front of the house.  Lynn is another local Realtor who I see from time to time at Golden Isles Association of Realtors events.  Nazzaro's is a family owned and operated restaurant so you can rest assured that time and effort is part of the well thought out menu and wine list.  Nazzaro's is beautifully decorated and well proportioned although it is intimate it its size.  There are about 15 maybe 16 tables.   

Cracking open the menu you'll find most of the usual Italian fare of pastas, raviolis, chicken dishes, veal, seafood dishes such as clams and several including shrimp and a couple of steak entrees.  There are several typical desserts including one that caught my eye called Banana Caramel Zango which is a dish of banana caramel cheesecake wrapped in a flour tortilla and lightly fried. Served with vanilla ice cream.  I was however a bit surprised that manicotti was not on the menu although our server advised that they can special order it to the kitchen.  One of my favorite dishes is manicotti with fresh Italian sausage cooked into the marinara.  I eventually decided against a special order.

Mindy and I did begin our meal with the Antipasto Plate which included salami, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, mozzarella cheese, green and red olives, pepperchini and roasted red peppers. ($10.95).  There are generous portions of each and a plate is perfect for two.  I particularly enjoy olives and Nazzaro's were very good.  The mozzarella was Mindy's favorite and I really enjoyed the artichoke hearts.

WINE:  We complimented our meal with a white wine from Italy. Antinori Santa Cristina Orvieto Classico Campogrande 2010 from Antinori Santa Cristina Orvieto.  However, I did make a mistake when I selected our wine.  The wine was tucked into the Pino Grigio section and I assumed it was one.  Our server caught my mistake and returned to the table to advise me that my selection was not a Pinot Grigio but that the Campogrande was an Italian white wine.  Darrell then produced a wine glass with a sample for me to give it a go.  Mindy and I decided the wine was really good and ordered a bottle.  It is a blend of Procanico 40% Grechetto 27% Verdello 15% Drupeggio & Malvasia 3% Chardonnay 15% .  I checked the winery out and they are fairly new with their first wines being produced in 1990.  The winery harvests their grapes at advanced maturation and wines are released only after March 1st.  The Castello della Sala estate is located 11 miles from the town of Orvieto . The castle is an outstanding example of medieval military architecture, and its extensive vineyards enjoy an ideal micro-climate for the production of cooler weather wines such as whites and Pinot Noir.  Regardless, I enjoy blends and I can highly recommend this wine so add it to your list. ($25)

Mindy and I really chose Nazzaro's for one reason, we both had been talking about lasagna and where could we find it.  Nazzaro's, on their menu, says their Lasagna is a family recipe - layers of pasta topped with their house sauce, ground beef, sweet sausage, onion, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese, baked to perfection - which it was.

Nazzaro's Lasagna - $15.95

Our lasagna came to the table piping hot and over the time it took to eat the whole thing it stayed nice and warm.  Lots of cheese and lots of sauce - the perfect combination.  There really is not a lot to say when talking about lasagna at a family owned restaurant except to say they are doing their family recipe proud.  It was very flavorful and filling.  Lasagna is not something I usually order at a restaurant but I can say Nazzaro's is about as good as it gets.

Mindy and I very much enjoyed our dinner which with an appetizer, salad, entree and a bottle of wine, came to $75.10 not including gratuity.  Sadly, we were much too full to take advantage of the dessert menu.  But that is really the true test of any lasagna - it's so good you don't have room for anything else!

Tucked away in a corner of the Winn Dixie shopping center, next to Bonefish - Nazzaro's is easy to get to and once there, you'll find a family owned restaurant offering traditional Italian food at a great price and happy to have your business.  Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

http://nazzarositalian.com/

912-634-6161

196 Retreat Village

St. Simons Island, Georgia 31522

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates
912-270-0032
jeffwilliams2007@gmail.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams

Shark fishing off St. Simons Island Georgia

I have always enjoyed photography - owning a variety of cameras at a very young age.  In high school, I was on the school newspaper and learned to develop my own prints in the dark room.  In my advertising work, I bought some video equipment back around 1999.  My goal was to learn to make television commercials for my advertising clients.  I began to video and edit commercials learning on my own and taking a few classes.  I then branched out into a few corporate videos and developed a thriving wedding videography business.  In 2004, I sat in on a class at a local sporting goods store taught by Captain Mark Noble on techniques for catching seatrout and redfish.  I was really impressed with Mark and approached him about the possibility of developing a local hunting and fishing series with Mark as the host and myself doing the video and editing.

The series, Capt. Mark Noble's Outdoor Journal, was very popular and ran for 3 years on the Fox Network out of Savannah.  We had Bass Pro Shops, Mako and Wellcraft as our primary sponsors.  Since the vast majority of the episodes were shot in and around St. Simons Island, Georgia - I will be adding them to my blog.  These videos give you a good taste of the fishing that is available around the Golden Isles.  Plus you can see alot of our beautiful area in the background.

This particular episode features some of the shark fishing that is available offshore of St. Simons and Jekyll Island.  The technique is to get in behind the shrimp boats and cast live bait into the 'trail'.  Most of the sharks are in the 75-100 lbs range and are of the black tip variety.  For the record, we are several miles offshore.

Jeff Williams, Realtor
Coastal Georgia Real Estate Associates
912-270-0032
jeffwilliams2007@gmail.com
http://kimtag.com/jeffwilliams