Summer issues in migrating tarpon.

In the early 1900’s, Yankee business barons discovered a special region of coastal South Georgia. Families including the Rockefellers, Pulitzers, Goulds and their posh pals flocked to a group of isolated, beautiful barrier islands just off the southeast coast of Georgia. Playing recreation host to yesteryear’s American aristocracy lent a name to the area—the Golden Isles.

These unique and remarkable Isles include Sea, St. Simons, Little St. Simons and Jekyll islands, located just east of the city of Brunswick. And today, thanks to farsighted development restrictions and coastal habitat protection measures, fishing around the Golden Isles is much like it was when ol’ John D. Rockefeller was around. From tarpon to seatrout, flounder to whiting, the Golden Isles of Georgia offer fast, year-round angling action for a wide variety of shallow-water marine sportfish. Surf, sound and nearshore ocean fishing is great, with easy access from several sounds and inlets. Inshore, creeks and rivers abound. And the Intracoastal Waterway courses between the islands and the mainland, which provides even more inshore fishing opportunities, as well as easy access for anglers bringing their own boats.

June through September is tops for everything from tarpon to trout to sheepshead to sharks. Surprised to see tarpon listed here? Well, Golden Isles tarpon can be abundant, and big.

If You Go Because the tidal range is as much as eight feet in the Golden Isles, boaters should use caution and follow charts and channel markers carefully. Sounds and broad inlets can be especially tricky because of shifting sandbars. Georgia coastal water is very dark in color. Go slow, use charts and markers, and watch that fathometer. Golden Isles boat ramps are a bit scarce, and sometimes launching even a small skiff is challenging due to tide. But most fishing camps and marinas have boat hoists with lift straps that can handle even large trailerable boats. Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources Coastal Resources Division in Brunswick (912) 264-7218, keeps current listings of marinas and their services and also has the names and telephone numbers of saltwater fishing guides. Three good charter captains in the Golden Isles area are Mark Noble (912) 634-1219, Greg Hildreth (912) 261-1763 and Scott Owens (912) 270-7300. Excellent accommodations and great restaurants abound throughout this coastal playground. The Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce (912) 265-0620; www.brunswick-georgia.com/chamber/ offers plenty of information on the region. For internet users, get great leads on the area by going to www.discoverourtown.com, then hit the links to Georgia and St. Simons Island. Good places for Golden Isles fishermen to headquarter include Golden Isles Marina on St. Simons Island (912) 634-1128, Jekyll Harbor Marina on Jekyll Island (912) 635-3137, Hampton River Club Marina on St. Simons (912) 638-1210 and Two-Way Fish Camp, Brunswick (912) 265-0410. Larry Kennedy owns the Bedford Sportsman (912) 638-5454 an Orvis-endorsed tackle shop on St. Simons Island, and he is a wealth of local angling knowledge. —B.M.

“We’ve got exceptional tarpon fishing, but most people don’t know about it,” says Captain Mark Noble, a veteran Brunswick area charter skipper. “Tarpon show in early June and offer consistent fishing through September, often well into October. On a good day we’ll jump five or six fish, and sometimes land three or four. Best day I had recently we landed seven of 14, from 70 to about 140 pounds. We get a lot of 100-pounders, and some weighing close to 200 pounds.

“I know it’s hard to believe 200-pound tarpon live in Georgia, but it’s true. We never kill ‘em, but we measure their length and girth and work out the weight formula. Many Golden Isles tarpon weigh from 150 to just over 200 pounds,” Noble adds.

Most Georgia tarpon fishing is big-rod, heavy-line fishing, with cutbaits positioned throughout the water column. But it can be plenty sporty, and there are lots of fish.

Although tarpon action can be outstanding through summer, there are prime times. September is tops once bait pods from the Carolinas start their autumn trek south. With bait come migratory tarpon, that have also summered in the Carolinas. The first of the big coastal storms churn the Atlantic in August and September, and tarpon feast on shrimp and bait flushed from rivers, inlets and sounds. In Georgia, tarpon are caught both inshore around islands, creeks and the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as near shore in the Atlantic Ocean within three miles of barrier island beaches. Tidal creek junctions are tarpon hotspots, as are myriad creeks, sounds, bays and tidal feeder streams of the Intracoastal Waterway. Egg and Wolf islands, the lower Champney, Hampton and Satilla rivers, Village Creek and Buttermilk Sound are local favorites. The biggest tarpon stick to the largest expanses of water, with the Lower Hampton River and Buttermilk Sound especially good for large fish. Although offshore tarpon fishing near Georgia’s barrier islands may sound like a big-boat game, this is ideal small-boat fishing due to calm summer waters.

The best fishing for the biggest sheepshead I’ve ever seen is found on Georgia’s nearshore reefs every spring, usually April. “They just bite better offshore than they do inshore,” explains Golden Isles charterboat captain Greg Hildreth. “On a good day we’ll catch 100 sheepshead and they’re big, huge sometimes. We get many 5-pounders, and some fish to 10 pounds. You get anchored on ’em right and you almost can’t miss. It’s almost guaranteed—and you’re as close as 6 miles offshore, over wrecks and natural ledges. A lot of people who’d ordinarily fish for sheepshead, target whiting instead during spring. That takes some of the pressure off reef sheepshead fishing, and also says something about how good the inlet whiting fishing is during spring around the Golden Isles. It can be awesome, and whiting are superb eating.”