FISHING

Fishing is allowed at Cumberland Island National Seashore. No special permit is needed from the National Park Service, but the proper Georgia fishing license is required.

From the National Park Service’s Cumberland Island National Seashore website:

Anyone 16 or older must possess a Georgia Fishing License to fish. These can be obtained at over 1,000 locations in Georgia. Call 1-888-748-6887 or go to www.georgiawildlife.com for more information. Anyone intending to saltwater fish must have the Saltwater Information Program Permit (SIP) attached to their fishing license. This SIP has no additional charge for those who already have a Georgia fishing license. Please see the Georgia Department of Natural Resouces website for more information. Anglers enjoy numerous fishing opportunities including stream fishing for trout, bobbing for Blue Gill and Bass in freshwater lakes, shore and deep sea fishing, and gathering shrimp and crabs from the marshes.

For those coming to the island by ferry for a day trip, while fishing is possible, it isn’t very practical. In fact, when guests were surveyed for an environmental impact study by the National Park Service, only 4% reported fishing during their time on the island. I can’t imagine many day trippers purchasing a ferry ticket to do something they can do for free on the mainland, and with much less hassle. Fishing makes more sense for those fishing from their own boat or for those camping multiple days. I spent ten days on the island on three separate occasions and never saw anyone fishing (which is why I don’t have any photos on this web page).

If you plan to fish from the island, while the above statement from the National Park Service mentions fishing on the interior lakes, you’d have to Lewis-and-Clark-It™ to get to any of them. I was all over the island and never saw any lakes. For the most part, fishing is limited to the shoreline of the island, either on the Atlantic Ocean or in the marshes on the western side.

HUNTING

From the National Park Service’s Cumberland Island National Seashore web site:

Six public hunts are held during Georgia’s hunting seasons. The hunts are advertised in newspapers and participants are selected on a first come first serve basis. Contact the Hunt Ranger at (912) 882-4336 ext. 253 for more information or visit www.georgiawildlife.com for more information.

To register for a hunt, please go to www.pay.gov and type “Cumberland” in the search box located on the left hand side of the screen under the section entitled “Find Public Forms”. From the search results, select “Cumberland Island Managed Hunt” and follow the onscreen instructions to fill in the form.

If you receive a return email from Pay.gov stating it is a system confirmation email you are registered. The email will include information listing a pay.gov tracking number and an agency id number and listing the hunts you are attending. You will need to make reservations for the ferry once you receive your hunt confirmation.

For more information, visit the National Park Service’s official Managed Hunts web page for Cumberland Island National Seashore.

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