Fortunately, none of that affects the fisheries of the area today. Darien and nearby Two-Way Fish Camp now offer a gateway to this action.

Captain Mike Evans works out of Two-Way, which is at the south end of the bridge over the Altamaha near Darien. Capt. Evans has guided anglers on the inshore waters of the region for a number of years, taking advantage of knowledge he has gained from a professional life spent on these coastal waters. Mike Evans spent eight years as a marine patrol officer for the Coastal Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and is now in his 20th year of teaching maritime law enforcement at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynn County.

On a recent trip with Capt. Evans we were a short run downstream from Two-Way, where the river fades into Altamaha Sound and then the Atlantic. The plan was to target seatrout and red drum in shallow water around Egg and Little Egg islands, small isles on the south side of the sound across from the Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Capt. Evans prefers fishing a moving tide. The most productive window is generally the last couple of hours of the outgoing tide and then the first part of the incoming water. With his boat anchored just along the break where the water dropped off a flat into depths of 10 feet or more, we were fishing towards the grassy banks of Little Egg Island. The trout were feeding on baitfish moving across a flat with the falling water.

We were using lightweight spinning gear with 20-pound-test line rigged with a live shrimp 3 to 4 feet below a popping cork. Capt. Evans suggested tossing the shrimp offering toward the grass, double-checking to see that the bait didn't hang up on the bottom. As long as the popping cork floated upright across the flat, the presentation was good.

After a few bumps on my line that and ended with no shrimp and no trout, the captain said that my bait was likely being stolen by "yellowtails," the local name for small silver perch that run about 6 to 9 inches in length and are considered a nuisance by many trout fishermen. On the other hand, a number of coastal anglers know how tasty yellowtails can be!

It was only a matter of minutes until the popping cork disappeared below the surface with a more pronounced tug of my line; I had my first trout of the day. From that point, the fish were cooperative, so after boating a few on live shrimp, we decided to switch to an artificial soft lure instead.

The choice was a Berkley Gulp in a shrimp pattern and natural shrimp color. These baits have a natural look to them, and are impregnated with scent that is released into the water. They worked just as well as do real shrimp, but offered a couple of advantages. A single bait held up to numerous takers without having to be replaced. Though the bait-stealing yellowtails hit it, they couldn't get it off the hook. According to Capt. Evans the Gulp often outfishes live bait.