Savannah & Tybee Island Fishing Guide

Georgia coast · Saltwater

Savannah & Tybee Island fishing guide

Redfish, spotted seatrout, flounder and tarpon from the piers and marshes around Tybee Island.

Savannah & Tybee
Photo: Mikefairbanks (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Where
Tybee Island and Savannah
Fish
Redfish, seatrout, flounder, tarpon
Best
Fall for seatrout and school reds
Permit
Free Georgia SIP permit, 16+

About the water

The tidal creeks, marshes and inlets around Savannah and Tybee Island hold redfish, spotted seatrout, flounder and tarpon.

You don’t need a boat: the Tybee pier and the Lazaretto Creek pier both put anglers on fish.

What’s biting, season by season

Spring

Big redfish move near the inlets.

Summer

Tarpon and flounder join the mix.

Fall

Seatrout peak from September through November, and school-size reds fill the marshes.

Winter

Fish slowly in deeper creeks on warmer days.

Tips from the guides

  • Fish moving water; a falling tide pulls bait out of the marsh.
  • Live shrimp under a float is a classic coastal setup for seatrout.
  • Redfish limits change on Jan. 1, 2027, so check before you keep fish.
  • Bring a long-handled net for pier fishing.

Access & rules

Anglers 16 and older need a Georgia fishing license plus the free Saltwater Information Program (SIP) permit, renewed every year.

Spotted seatrout: 14-inch minimum, 15 per day. Red drum: 5 per day, 14 to 23 inches; from Jan. 1, 2027, the limit becomes 3 per day, 15 to 24 inches.

Chris Scalley of River Through Atlanta on his drift boat

Ask Chris

Headed to Savannah & Tybee? Ask Chris.

Chris Scalley has fished just about every water in Georgia and the Southeast, and he has guided since 1994. Ask him where to go, what’s biting, or who to fish with. He reads every question himself.

  • Where and when to fish Savannah & Tybee
  • Which local guide or charter is worth booking
  • A trout trip on the Hooch with River Through Atlanta

Chris may point you to a guide he trusts, and River Through Atlanta may earn a referral fee from partners. Your details are only used to answer you.

A River Through Atlanta guide lifting a big brown trout from a drift boat on the Chattahoochee

From the guides at River Through Atlanta

Tybee reds are a blast. Passing through Atlanta? Add a day of trout fishing on the Hooch.

Below Buford Dam, cold water from the bottom of Lake Lanier keeps 48 miles of the Chattahoochee cool enough for trout all year. It’s western-style fly fishing from a drift boat, for rainbows and wild browns, right through Atlanta. Our Orvis-endorsed guides have fished it since 1994, and beginners are welcome.

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