Savannah offers more to anglers than scrappy redfish
SAVANNAH, Ga. - I now understand that wherever I go in this country there will be plenty of things to do and see - especially when it comes to fishing. But I can't always invest enough precious moments on the water.
The early history of this interesting city of almost 140,000 is carefully wrapped up in the bricks and cobblestones bordering the 20-odd squares once laid out by colonist James Oglethorpe.
The people who live and thrive here are extremely proud of the city's roots, heavily steeped in antiquated customs mixed with their plantation history. Cotton was a cash crop that brought fleets of ships to the docks from far away places.
Situated right on the Savannah River, one can see the shorelines of South Carolina without the aid of field glasses. And because this history-laden river runs to the Atlantic Ocean, one would expect a fishing line to be ripped from a reel.
That, however, is not how a lot of locals go about their angling efforts. One closer inspection, locals can be seen with ultralong bamboo poles dipping live and dead bait into the warm-flowing waters. This was once a mighty seaport playing host to massive ships laden with Savanna's cotton on its way to Europe.
And if a fisherman plays his or her cards right, slack-water rockets of water will often give up a highly sought prize: scrappy redfish.
It was the history of this region - not the fishing - that brought us (my wife and I) to this southern gem. It was the food that tempted me to suggest to my wife that we travel to Savannah for her birthday.
She had been wanting to come here for some time, so I decided to wrap the trip in a red bow and watch the smiles on her face when I sprang the surprise on her after a dinner back home.
"You're not taking a fly and spinning rod with you?" she asked. "You never go anywhere without at least one rod and your tiny tackle box."
I noted that this was her trip and I had to just bite the bullet.
I did manage to "stumble" into a fly shop near our hotel, though.
The minute I hit the front door my entire body started shaking as if I was going through withdrawal. I presumed the chap I encountered was the manager. He stood behind a counter and greeted me like I was a long-lost cousin. I was at a loss for words because his open arms and down-to-earth greeting was typical of the others I met as we wandered through the city and its river district.
As for the food and the southern style of cooking and presentation, we were blown away by a dish of fried lobster with a side order of sweet potato pie as well as cornbread and hush puppies.
Savannah and a lot of other towns scattered throughout the region have managed to hold on to their southern lifestyle. That's good, because we left wanting to experience more.
The fishing on Tybee Island awaits our return.
• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (livestreamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at mikejacksonoutdoors.com.