Capt. Mark Noble hoists a redfish of the kind that you'll find year 'round in the Georgia marshes. Photo by Ron Brooks.

Georgia is fortunate to have one of the best estuary fisheries along the Atlantic coast. Its myriad creeks, rivers, marshes and mudflats are home to an almost unbelievable variety of crustaceans and baitfish, making the estuaries home to large numbers of predatory fish.

According to the Department of Natural Resources' Coastal Resources Division, seatrout and red drum are the two most popular fish pursued by Georgia saltwater anglers. They roam these estuaries in the summer months, foraging for food when the weather, although hot, is relatively calm. That allows anglers in almost any size of craft to ply the inlets, sounds and backwaters for these two prized fish.

St. Simons Island sits right in the middle of the Golden Isles of Georgia. In July, the area's waters abound with seatrout and red drum, and those anglers who know the right patterns and typical haunts easily bring home limits of good eating fish.

Looking for some expert advice on catching reds and trout around St. Simons in July, we went to Captain Mark Noble. Capt Noble, who operates the Golden Isles Charter Fishing Association out of Golden Isle Marina on the causeway to St. Simons, is arguably one of the best guides and charter captains on the coast, and is absolutely an expert on inshore fishing for red drum and seatrout. His Outdoor Journal television show is seen weekly across Georgia on area cable channels.

There are two patterns when it comes to trout and red drum: winter and summer. According to Capt. Noble, the summer pattern has these fish out in the big sounds or on the beaches. He fishes the creeks and backwaters in the winter and moves with the fish to the sounds and beaches in the summer.

Trout and red drum inhabit the same areas and generally feed on the same forage, whether it's shrimp or baitfish.

On a typical July trip, Capt. Noble begins by fishing what the tide offers. He understands that moving water and tidal currents are the keys to catching fish. "Regardless of where you fish on the coast," he said, "you have to have moving water to catch any fish."

In the summer months, like July, Capt. Noble fishes an outgoing tide in the sounds. He looks for creeks or sloughs that empty water onto a flat.

Easing up toward the mouth of a creek, he anchors his 24-foot Mako Bay Boat so that the tidal flow out of the creek is within easy casting distance. Other anglers often make the mistake of anchoring right in the mouth of the creek or in the middle of the flow. These fish will spook at the least little thing, and a big boat sitting in a relatively shallow run definitely takes its toll on the bite.

When moving into position, Noble usually cuts the engine as he approaches and allows the boat to continue quietly for a few yards. He then slips an anchor over the bow to secure the boat in just the right place: just in casting range.

"Casting distance" is a relative term, and in Capt. Noble's world, that can be considerable. He uses his own special terminal tackle to achieve some very long casts, which are necessary to enable the boat to be positioned away from the school of fish.

Several newly designed floats captured the attention of Louisiana fishermen when they came on the market a number of years ago. These wire and glass bead-rattling floats took hold and made their way to Georgia. Capt. Noble began using them, but found that they didn't cast as far as he needed. So he sat down and designed his own float, which he called the "Thunder Chicken." Built like others in this class, his is the only one that has a weight molded onto the wire. The weight allows the whole rig to be cast far from the boat, giving him an advantage by reaching fish that are unaware of the boat's presence. This float rig is an important reason for the Captain's success at catching red drum and seatrout.

Under the float, Capt. Noble ties a monofilament leader and attaches to that leader a small Kahle hook. The length of the leader is dictated by the depth of the water he fishes. As an example: Back in a creek on a deep bend, he may use a leader 5 or 6 feet in length. Up on a flat in the sound, he shortens that leader to as little as 2 feet. He matches the water depth in order to allow the bait to move freely at the same depth as the fish.

As far as bait goes, Capt. Noble is a guide and charter captain, so has to put his clients at the best advantage to catch fish or he stands to lose their business. For trout and reds he uses live shrimp almost exclusively. That should tell the average angler something. If he really gets into a hot bite, he breaks out some artificial lures like jigs or screwtails, but his mainstay is live shrimp.

He also uses as small a hook as possible -- one large enough to handle the fish but small enough to hook into shrimp and not be seen. A 2/0 gold Kahle hook does just that. It also is small and light enough to allow the shrimp to swim freely under the float. He hooks the shrimp just behind the horns on the head, taking care not to go through the black spot in the head -- the shrimp's brain.