March 14, 2025 – Georgia Wildlife Blog

You have just a few weeks left to take advantage of the fish harvest at the Go Fish Education Center – the Spring Harvest is on Now. You can fish the stocked casting pond and keep up to 8 fish per person every Friday, Saturday, & Sunday this March! 

The Go Fish Education Center (GFEC) takes visitors on an educational journey through Georgia’s watersheds to learn about our diverse aquatic wildlife, their natural habitats and the impacts of water pollution. See freshwater aquariums and aquatic wildlife, like alligators and turtles, test your skill on our fishing simulator and so much more. GFEC also serves as a great resource of fishing information for any level of angler—where to go, what to use and when.

NEWS TO KNOW:

• Boating Season: As we get closer to boating “season,” be sure your vessel meets all the requirements: up-to-date registration, life jacket condition, fire extinguisher, boat lights and more. Need to know more? Visit gadnrle.org/boating-rules-regulations.
• CoastFest: CoastFest is an annual event held by the Coastal Resources Division that is dedicated to celebrating and educating the public about the rich coastal heritage and natural resources of our region. The festival, scheduled for March 22, will have a wide range of activities, exhibits and live entertainment.
• Fish and Learn: Are you hooked on fishing and want to learn more? Our Fish-N-Learn 2 is an intermediate level program designed for those interested in learning more about the basics of bass fishing! Event scheduled for April 25-27 (but you have to register by Apr. 9). Participants will stay and dine at the Charlie Elliott Conference Center.  The weekend will include fishing at Marben PFA as well as educational programs on equipment, fishing regulations, and species identification. Cost is $130.
• Blue Ridge Trout and Outdoor Adventures Festival: Go ahead and put this trout fishing and adventure planning event on your calendar for April 26 – it’s sure to be a good time for all! 

This week we have fishing reports from Southwest, North, Central and Southeast Georgia. Call it dinner time as you fill a cooler full of fish when you Go Fish Georgia!

(Fishing report courtesy of Caroline Cox, Fisheries Biologist with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts) 

LAKE BLACKSHEAR 

Recent cool nights and rain dropped the water temperature on the lake back down below 60F and caused the water to still be muddy, but that hasn’t stopped the fish! Water temperatures last week were 59-63F leading to some early spawning being seen for Largemouth Bass. Not many beds can be found yet, but fish can be found in pairs in shallow water. The rest of this week’s weather looks nice, so it is a great time to get yourself on the water and wait for the temperatures to get back up into that spawning range. The Crappie spawning has not started and are still found deeper around 8 ft on brush piles, bridges or blow downs. To combat the muddy water, you can try using a darker color jig, people are having luck with ATX black and chartreuse on litewire 1/16 head. If you need some head to Flint River Outdoors!

LAKE WALTER F. GEORGE

According to Ken Sturdivant at Southernfishing.com, Bass fishing is fair. Soon the warmer temperatures will push fish towards the shallow. Running the banks with spinnerbaits can be productive as the fish came up quick over a few days at a time. There are buck bass in shallow water and the bigger fish holding out in slightly deeper water. The scattered grass is playing a pretty good role in holding some fish this year. This all is probably short lived as another round of rain passed by this week and soon a lot of those will be pushed out for a few days. As the day warms the bass will get active along the shallow grass in the creeks. Start moving out to the grass patches near some 5 to 8 feet water to find the fish. Try running crank baits along the shallow ditches near the spawning flats. There are deeper fish to be caught. This will not change until the cold waters start to warm and it will take lots of sunlight to make this happen. Carolina rigs and heavy jigs bounced along the deeper ledges out from the spawning areas will be a good place to start.

There have been a few reports of crappie being caught on jigs near the shoreline. Expect larger numbers of fish to continue moving shallow to spawn as the lake temperatures continue to warm. 
LAKE SEMINOLE (Photo Credit: Ron Champion)

High School Tournament: Junior and High School Divisions competed this past weekend at Lake Seminole in the Georgia BASS Nation Tournament. Congratulations to Junior Division champions Easton Pye and Miller Myhand from Callaway for their winning bag of 5 fish weighing 15.61 lbs. Congratulations to Dawson County High School’s Hayden Seabolt for bringing home the win in the High School Division with a 5 fish bag weighing in at 20.01 lbs. 

Bass and Crappie Report (courtesy of GON and Capt. Paul Tyre) — Captain Paul Tyre reports, “March is one of my favorite months to catch some of the biggest bass Lake Seminole has to offer. A variety of lures have been and will continue to produce through March. A swim jig, and one of my favorites is a 6th Sense Divine Braid swim jig in 5/16-oz. in the black/blue color. One feature that makes the 6th Sense Divine swim jig unique is the keeper that locks on your plastic trailer and allows you to pull the jig through the heaviest of cover with higher strength rods and braided line. The bass will be in their spawning areas, and a plastic worm is an excellent choice to catch bass in their spawning flats.”

Tyre reports that “The crappie fishing on Lake Seminole has been excellent. The crappie have moved into their spawning areas and are being caught on minnows and jigs.”

BIG LAZER PUBLIC FISHING AREA

Water is slightly stained from recent rain. However, March water temperatures at Big Lazer are starting to warm up and so is the fishing.  Later in March and on into April are one of the best times to fish Big Lazer as pre-spawn largemouth bass start to move into shallower water followed by bream.

FLINT RIVER  

Water temps are slowly rising, and river flows are stabilizing.  Largemouth Bass can be caught with large profile baits that generate vibration such as chatterbaits and spinnerbaits.  These fish will begin staging for the spawn and should be aggressively feeding.  Morone species such as white and striped bass will increase feeding to prepare for the upcoming spawn. Use live shad or any shad imitation bait.    

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER

Water temps are still cold on the river.  Several rain events have moved through the region dumping several inches of rain across the state.  This will raise river levels and decrease visibility.  Fishing will be fair at best.  Morone species such as white and striped bass will increase feeding to prepare for the upcoming spawn. Use live shad or any shad imitation bait.  Catches of black crappie are being reported in deep bends around brush.    

(Fishing report courtesy of Kyle Rempe, Fisheries Biologist with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts) 

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE ALLATOONA 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Bass fishing is good. Even though most fish are in open water chasing bait side imaging and a good sonar are key right now. When we get a little warm weather in early spring don’t be fooled as the water is still cold. Resist the temptation to go shallow. Just the opposite the fish are in the middle of creeks and are keying in on bait fish in the 10-foot range. Baits like the Spro Mcstick, the scrounger tipped with a big bite 4 in jerk minnow and the Alabama rig with big bite Cain thumpers are doing the trick. It’s that time of year when hybrid, white bass and spots are running together. Keep a Zoom Super Fluke in pearl ready and skip this bait in and around the dock’s half in the backs of the creeks. Add a little chartreuse dye to the tail. The spotted bass are active but if the temperature holds and the water continues to warm, quality largemouth will be shallow. 

Crappie (courtesy of Red Rooster Custom Baits and The Dugout Bait & Tackle): The second week of March 2025 started off with a bang! Crappie fishing on Lake Allatoona is about to be off the charts through the rest of March if the weather holds! Looking ahead at the March weather pattern we should be in for some great fishing all around with daytime temps in the 60’s and 70’s. We are fired up and ready! The current water temperature is around 52 degrees, but it will soon be in the mid to high 50’s which should spark the beginning of the crappie spawn. To keep it simple, the crappie will start moving to the shallow flats, mid to back of creeks, spawning pockets…etc. Shallow water between 2′ – 8′ where the water warms up faster in the Spring. If I had to guess this pattern should start happening by next week and it will be “Katie bar the door” but in a good way! This week the weather was up and down with wind and fronts, but we found schools of crappie in the 10′ – 14′ range suspended anywhere from 5′ to the bottom. The barometric pressure due to the fronts had a LOT of crappie glued to the bottom.

When that happens, you need to either: 

1. Use a heavier jig head like a 3/32nd oz,
2. Use a 1/16th oz. jig head but slow troll around .5 to .7 mph to keep that jig deeper or,
3. Periodically turn off your trolling motor until the jigs start bouncing the bottom and then back on the trolling motor to get you back up to speed.

Once the weather stabilizes make sure you have a mix of 1/32nd, 1/24th, 1/16th oz. jig heads and troll at .7 to .9 mph as these crappie will be moving and may be swimming in 1′ of water! All in all, we had a great week, it was slow at times and we had to fight the wind in the afternoons but our catch rate was 20 – 40 crappie per trip. If you can get out in the mornings, that is the best time to get on the water with little to no wind.

LAKE HARTWELL 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Depending on the weather, bass will either be very close to rocks along the bottom or suspending 10 to 20 feet deep, over brush piles or creek channels. Suspended bass tend to stack up like cordwood along a point. Find these fish with the Lowrance electronics. There are definitely some fish to be found shallower, particularly on warm sunny afternoons. In the early mornings, work a mid-diving crank bait, fish head spin and a jerk bait shallow to mid depth in ditches, pockets and on steeper rocky hard clay points. Go in the creeks and get away from the cold water from the river and flip and pitch jigs with a plastic Zoom pork style trailer to the grass edges. Use the darker red colors in all worms and jigs and Rapala Shad Rap crank baits are fair later in the day. 

Catfish (courtesy of Guide Bill Plumley; report via SCDNR Freshwater Fishing Trends): Captain Bill Plumley reports that to start out the month fish will still be deep, but by the middle to end of March the better blue catfish should move shallower into the creeks. Cut shad and cut herring will be the best baits.

Linesides (courtesy of Guide Chip Hamilton (864) 304-9011; report via SCDNR Freshwater Fishing Trends): Captain Chip Hamilton reports that March is a transition month on Lake Hartwell. The beginning of March usually looks a lot like February, and fish should start out the mornings deeper off points just like they have been. However, the afternoon swimbait bite which was already coming on late in February should quickly get really good on sun-drenched banks. Then as water temperatures hit about 60 degrees the fish will be shallow all day, and they will mostly be caught from about 3-14 feet of water. For some anglers the preferred pattern is to beach the boat on points and cast out live bait, while others will prefer to fish planer boards. March is usually when the stripers turn on for the year.

LAKE LANIER 

Bass (courtesy of Phil Johnson (pjohnson15@hotmail.com or 770-366-8845); report via Southern Fishing): The main lake is clear but there is still staining in the backs of the creeks and up the river. The march to spring continues as more and more fish are showing up in less than twenty feet of water. As the water continues to warm and the bass head toward spawning the fishing is just going to get better and better. A RK Crawler in a crawfish pattern worked on the secondary rocky points, especially with wind on them, may not produce a lot of fish but it will catch some big ones. A green pumpkin senko worked on the same rocky points and the docks midway back in the pockets will produce good numbers and size right now. Look for the wind-blown rocky banks and main points to throw either a white three eights spinnerbait or an Alabama rig for some hard strikes. The bass are moving to their spawning areas which for largemouth will be shallow in the backs of the pockets and coves while the spots will look for sandy or hard bottoms in the ten-to-fifteen-foot range. For the spotted bass the main lake reef poles are a good place to start and then check the areas near sand. By the full moon on April twelfth the spawn will be in full swing so look for the bass to closer to these areas over the next few weeks to plan your fishing. Springs here so Go Catch ‘Em! 

Crappie (courtesy of Captain Josh Thornton (770-530-6493); report via Southern Fishing): Lake Lanier crappie fishing is good the water temperature is still in the high 40s or low 50s large fish are in small groups roaming in open water try casting a 1/24 jig and letting it fall right in front of them try not to go below the target fish. Large groups can be found under docks Crappie have been at depths of 5 to 10 feet above a 20-to-40-foot bottom try using crappie minnows. For your best fishing experience consider using the following equipment: a one-piece ACC Crappie Stix rod and reel paired with 4- or 6-pound test K9 line with a Atx lure company jig. Further optimizing your efforts, a Garmin LiveScope, protected by a sonar shield cover, and a Power Pole are highly recommended. To schedule your guided Lake Lanier crappie fishing trip, please contact Captain Josh Thornton at 770-530-6493. Additional information and helpful fishing tips can be found on our websites: crappieonlanier.com and fishingwitheverydayheroes.org. 

Linesides (courtesy of Buck Cannon, Buck Tales Guide Service (404-510-1778); report via Southern Fishing): Lake Lanier stripers are in the back of the creeks and they are moving in and out during the early morning hours. The weather has changed so much lately that they aren’t sure what they’re doing. Using your electronics and natures help (birds) locate the bait and start putting out a variety of different baits and using flat lines (80-100’) behind the boat, down lines hovering in the middle of the bait. Planer boards will get your spread out to cover more areas. The bait of choice is shiners and herring and a gizzard shad on a float 120’ behind the boat has been successfully used, sometimes a bigger fish will hit the trailing rod. Trolling with your trolling motor.5-1 mph keeps your bait moving and once you get hit you can backtrack the area. Remember to wear your life jacket. 

Linesides (courtesy of The Striper Experience): March will be a transitional month with deep fish on downlines early in the month and will change to shallow fish on flat lines and Capt Mack’s Perfect Planer boards and even top water artificial later in the month as water temps increase. The downline bite will be in 35-90’ of water from halfway back in the creeks out towards the river channels. This will be the case in most of our northern creeks on the Chattahoochee arm as well as the creeks in the middle of the Chestatee arm of the lake. These fish will eat a variety of bait from herring, large shiners, small trout, and threadfin shad.

These river fish will be caught on a variety of live bait as well, but mostly on larger gizzard shad or trout on flat lines and Perfect Planer boards. As the water clears from muddy to stained in the major creeks the shallow bite will get better throughout the month. Flat, Big, Shoal, and Baldridge on the south and Thompson, Taylor, Lathem, Gainesville, Wahoo, and Limestone on the north end of the lake will all hold fish later this month. Live baits pulled over points and humps in 15-30 feet of water at .8-1.1 mph with herring, threadfin shad, or small/med trout on flat lines or Perfect Planer boards will be the go to technique. Run your flat lines 25-75 feet behind the boat or boards with smaller baits and 15-30 feet with larger baits. The stealth trolling bite with Capt Mack’s Mini Macks will continue to be the artificial fishing way to go. Run your MM from 25-35 feet deep and run them from 25-35 feet away from the boat attached to your Perfect Planer boards. The Striper Experience team has been using the 3/8 and ½ ounce swim bait heads available from StriperTackle.com to add some weight to our rigs which gives us a better feel on how deep our rigs actually are at these speeds. Also keep a ¼ oz StriperTackle Pro Swimbait head with a small Keitech swim bait attached, a small Chug Bug, a Gunfish, or Top Dog walking plug tied on for surfacing schooling fish that will become more active thru out the month.

WEISS LAKE 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Bass fishing is fair and the bass have started moving back shallow to secondary points and shallow stump flats. Rat L Traps, Chatter Baits and the Alabama Rig are catching a lot of fish. The best pattern to catch bass is to fish from halfway back into the covers towards the backs of the coves looking for feeding fish. Be sure to use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology to find the bait fish and the game fish. Carolina rigged worms and shad colored deep diving crank baits have also been catching some fish. Also, try using a retrieve similar to a medium speed Carolina rig. Jigs, Texas rig and Carolina rigs can also produce fish from the mid lake south.

WEST POINT LAKE 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Black bass and the Spotted Bass are moving to the early spring areas. These bass are on the secondary points and back into the backs of coves. They are aggressively feeding on shad mid-morning and late in the afternoon. During mid-day the bass move out into the middle of the pockets and cruise. Jerk baits like a sinking Rapala and other suspend baits that can be fished shallow are the lures to use. There are definitely some fish to be found shallower, particularly on warm sunny afternoons. In the early mornings, work a mid-diving crank bait, fish head spin and a jerk bait shallow to mid depth in ditches, pockets and on steeper rocky hard clay points. The best pattern to catch bass is to fish from halfway back into the covers towards the backs of the coves looking for feeding fish. Be sure to use the Lowrance Structure Scan and Down Scan technology to find the bait fish and the game fish. Carolina rigged worms and shad colored deep diving crank baits have also been catching some fish.

RIVER REPORT

Trout Report (courtesy of Jeff Durniak, Angler Management; report via Unicoi Outfitters):

Headwaters: They’re back to low and clear. Start with dry/dropper rigs and hope for some trout on top after lunch if those streams inch up toward the 50 degree mark.

Delayed Harvest Streams: Got some squirmies, eggs, and small buggers for fresh stockers?  And some small, dark nymphs and leeches for prior residents? Don’t forget some dark dries for the warmer weekdays. Carry some black winter stones, little black caddis, both quills (gordon and blue) and those dreaded, tiny midges. And your stream thermometer! Look for noses poking up in sunny, slow eddies and pool tails.  Try a dry and a long (deep) dropper nymph to start. Don’t forget a tungsten bead on the dropper or #6 dinsmore four inches ahead of it. Shorten your dropper length from 4 to 2 feet if the fish tell you to.

Warm Rivers: March is here, and the early spawners have started marching from the lake into the rivers.  Be on the lookout for walleye, whites, hybrids, and some stray stripers in the days ahead.

Wes’ Hot Fly List: 

• Dries: Micro chubby Chernobyl, quill gordon , parachute Adams, Drymerger blue wing olive, rage cage black caddis, little black stone.
• Nymphs & Wets: DH streams: slush egg and squirny worm for fresh stockers. Pink tag jig, Frenchie, Zebra midge, hares ear nymph and soft hackle, micro girdle bugs, and chewy caddis for prior residents.
• Mountain streams: Pheasant tails, micro girdle bugs, prince nymphs, ruby midge.
• Streamers: Sparkle minnows, mohair leeches, UV polar jigs, mini shimmer buggers, Thrasher.
• (Bass & stripers) Crittermite, clawdad, clouser minnow, finesse changer, Somethin Else.

Chattahoochee River Trout (courtesy of Tad Murdock; report via Georgia Wild Trout): The lower Chattahoochee River has been a rollercoaster as fish activity has been sporadic with the intermittent rainfall. If you can dodge around the generation schedule, there are plenty of trout to be had. Junk flies and midge patterns are still the tickets with some modest midge hatches popping off on warmer days following generation. Don’t overlook the mouths of the feeder creeks as they begin to warm much quicker this time of year. Larger browns will be on the move looking for easy meals as their spawn has wrapped up and they recoup their energy while heading back to their normal haunts.

Trout Info: To learn about Georgia’s diverse trout fishing opportunities including the latest stocking information, check out the Georgia DNR Trout Fishing page at GeorgiaWildlife.com/Fishing/Trout. 

Trout Tag: Want to do more to support trout fishing in Georgia?  Consider upgrading to a Trout Unlimited license plate this year. Aside from being a great looking tag, each purchase or renewal of a Trout Unlimited license plate directly supports Georgia’s trout conservation and management programs. Hatcheries and wild trout efforts both benefit from the trout tag. Find out more license plate information at GeorgiaWildlife.com/licenseplates.

(Fishing report courtesy of Hunter Roop, Fisheries Biologist and Region Supervisor with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts) 

The reservoir reports below are brought to you by Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report, with contributions from Region 3 WRD Fisheries staff, local guides, and anglers.

The weather took a positive turn this week and the fishing in Central Georgia responded in kind. The reservoirs are warming up and the early spring bite for species like crappie, largemouth, and white bass is quickly firing up!

We received a lot of good intel from our anglers and teams of biologists and technicians in the field this week, so enjoy the report below, with reservoir reports brought to you by Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report and additional contributions from Region 3 WRD Fisheries staff, local guides, and anglers.

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 1.3 FEET, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. The bass are moving to the points and creek bends all over the lake. They are roaming on any wood all day and a crank bait cast through the wood will draw a strike. Use a bright color. By noon spinner baits down lake in the creeks are fair on cover using Lucky Craft Redemption spinner baits with two silver blades. Later in the day, look for shallow strikes as the bass move to the creek banks and points during the day. The Zoom water melon seed lizards on a Carolina rig, has been fair later each day. Also, on creeks on old channels, use a Culprit red shad worm on a Texas rig with the brass and glass combination. Work baits right on the bank around any cover. Use the Strike King 1/2-ounce jig and a #11 Pork Trailer by Uncle Josh on the points. The crank bait and spinner baits cast on the bank cover and slowly worked will get strikes.

Striped Bass (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) reports that in March fish will be scattered all over the lake, but they will also move shallower. Pulling live herring on free-lines and planer boards is usually the best pattern.

Crappie (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson reports that in March fish will start to move shallower, and depending on weather conditions there will often be a strong spawn this month. It can happen very fast once air temperatures get into the 70–80-degree range, and usually the biggest fish spawn first. Trolling jigs is usually the best pattern until fish are actually bedding, and then they can be caught casting jigs or minnows to the shallows.

Catfish (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Jerry Kotal reports that in March catfish will start to bite better again, and they can be caught on shallow points with cut herring.

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 3.5 FEET, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. Bass are shallow and feeding well. This month take several items to fish with. Use Carolina rigged worms and lizards, shaky head worms and jig ’n pigs. All of these will produce fish. Megabass Great Hunting Series has the GH Humpback available in 3 sizes and is an exceptional bait for any application but excels in any current situation. It has a weighted system to get the long casts but to get the bait deeper for better penetration is the water column. Big numbers will be caught on soft plastics, but quality will be caught on spinnerbaits and jig ’n pig patterns. The Alabama rig, the Rapala DT crank baits and the spinner baits that all will run from 2 to 7 feet are a must. The type and kind are not as important as finding the bass with the Lowrance Structure Scan technology. Use bright colors in stained water and natural colors in clear water. The spinnerbait pattern should be good this month, also. Slow roll the bait this month until they begin to spawn, and then move shallow and speed up. Soft plastics will be good baits starting this month.

Spring Striper update (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Biologist Aaron Gray): Region 3 staff recently sampled striped bass below Anthony Shoals on the Broad River alongside South Carolina DNR. Together, 14 large striped bass were collected. While access to the shoals is difficult, anglers pursuing stripers may find success below and above the shoals with live bait, top water lures, Zoom Flukes, and other chrome-colored baits. Spring is a great time to target striper is swift flows as they move into large tributaries to Clarks Hill to attempt spawning. Though high, muddy water can kill your chances of landing a striper, slightly stained water works in favor of the angler to avoid spooking fish during a time when the stripers’ predatory confidence and feeding activity skyrockets.

Striper and Hybrids (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that in March fish will move shallower off channel points, and first thing in the morning there should be a really strong bite right at daybreak. After that it will be more of a grind with deeper down-rods, although some anglers will pull planer boards across points.

Crappie (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Captain Chris Simpson (864-992-2352) reports that – except for the wind – March is one of the best months of the year for catching crappie on Clarks Hill. Generally, fish are feeding heavily in preparation for the spawn and then actually spawning, and they will be shallow in the backs of creeks and coves as well as along the banks around cover. Long-line trolling, tight-lining, and casting a cork with a jig/minnow at the bank will all catch fish. 

Catfish (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Captain Chris Simpson reports that March can also be a good month for catching large catfish on Clarks Hill, although again the wind can be problematic. Anchoring in shallow water where fish are feeding on threadfin and gizzard shad is generally the best pattern. 

Habitat Work (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Biologist Aaron Gray): Region 3 Fisheries staff refreshed several fish attractor locations on Clarks Hill this week (Bobby Brown, Elijah Clark, Newford Creek, Wells Creek, Soap Creek, and Camp Daniel Marshall). These fish attractor locations are refreshed every other year with approximately 20 cut hardwood trees. These fish attractor sites offer anglers a great opportunity to key in on available habitat when fishing for crappie, bream, and bass. See the full list of publicly available fish attractor locations at  sas.usace.army.mil/Portals/61/docs/lakes/thurmond/OPTFishAttractors.pdf.

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 50’S 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. The temperature is 55 to 60 degrees. The lake is stained up the rivers, the further down the lake PPP go the clearer the lake gets. It is clear from Jumping Rock to the dam. Lower Richland creek is clear. The bass are moving into the mouths of the creeks as the water warms. Spro has a Little John Type R shallow running crankbait that works well over shallow water submerging vegetation. It has a computer chips style lip for a fast wobble and several great colors. Some good fish are coming up the rivers on wood structure. Jigs have been producing well in these areas. In the cleaner water a 6in green pumpkin lizard fished on a Texas rig in brush around and under docks has been a very good producer over the past week. Mid lack small crank baits and Rat L Traps worked around the same docks and sea walls has also been producing.

Tournament Alert (courtesy of ABA news):  Sam Montgomery of Milledgeville, Georgia, secured first place at Lake Oconee’s American Fishing Tour Division 72 tournament held on March 8, 2025. Montgomery brought in a five-bass limit weighing 17.38 pounds, earning him the first-place trophy and the prize purse. His impressive catch included a notable bass weighing 5.36 pounds. The next Division 72 tournament is scheduled for April 19, 2025, also at Lake Oconee, launching from Sugar Creek Marina. For additional information, please contact Tournament Director Benny Howell at 770-365-4795.

Oconee Derby Week 3 Update: Oconee Derby anglers enjoyed much more welcoming weather this week and the crappie bite fired up as a result. Crappie have outperformed striper this week according to the weigh in occurrences, though the average size may have dwindled a bit from the last two weeks. Chad Wammock is currently this week’s striper leader with his 10 lb, 9 oz fish, and Richard Malcom turned in a 2 lb crappie this week, which is the largest so far, but 3.8 oz shy of Josh Shiver’s overall leaderboard contender for the derby. Anglers interested in learning more and joining in on the madness, visit OconeeDerby.com.

GON-tel: Hipster Dufus might be putting a Band-Aid on his trolling motor, but the consensus was that it was a good day on Oconee yesterday for bass and catfish.

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.2 FEET, 50’S 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. Look for the fish to start moving towards their spawning grounds. Many of the fish have already started leaving their wintertime haunts and are moving up on shallow sandy points and flats to feed. A crank bait is an excellent choice for catching these opportunistic feeding fish. A Spro Little John 50 in a shad or craw color is hard to beat right now. On warmer days when the fish get extremely shallow, a Spro Fat John in the same colors will get the call. Make multiple casts to stumps, brush, and rocks. Daiwa has the petite SC Shad and shad style crank bait with a great wobble and looks like a Shad Rap body. It is 2 inches long and 1/8 ounce and mimics the shad. Comes with VMC super sharp hooks so beware. Several great colors too. The bigger fish are after the 3/8-ounce green pumpkin Stanley Jig with a Zoom Super Chunk under shallow protected docks. Black and blue has been the best color in the stained water areas of the lake. A Buckeye Spot Remover shaky head paired with a Zoom Baby Brush Hog has also been catching the more finicky fish under these same docks. The best docks are the ones with 4 to 6 feet on the front posts. Later in the afternoon, look for the fish to move into 1 to 2 feet of water under the walkways as the shallow water will heat up quicker.

LAKE JACKSON IS FULL, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. Tussahaw creek consistently remains clear. The quality fish are willing to bite the jig in black and blue combination. Spinner baits and crank baits are also fishing well. The spinner bait bite is best in the morning and crank baits should be used to search for staging fish throughout the day. Overcast skies and wind will help the spinner bait produce through more of the day. Rock has been a primary focus through the winter months. Fish are holding on hard clay and chunk rock bottom but pay attention to wood cover as well. Big fish are holding in the wood and will take a spinner bait in the morning. Other configurations will work, but in the stained water try throwing a 3/8-ounce chartreuse bait with gold Colorado blades. Probe the brush and blowdowns with the jig and crank baits during the day. For cranking, a #7 Rapala Shad Rap and the Bandit 200 are among the best choices. In the colored water, choose a crank bait with some color. Fire Tiger is one good choice. A green pumpkin or black lizard can be used Carolina or Texas rigged. A jig of 3/8 ounce or lighter should be used for its slower fall. Go with black and blue in the stain. Green in the clear water.

STATE PARK LAKE REPORT

AH Stephens and Hamburg State Parks: (courtesy of Fisheries Biologist Chad Kaiser): Warmer temperatures were in the low 60s this week at Hamburg and AH Stephens State Park, which was enough of a warm trend to get fish on the move and into the shallows. Region 3 staff found good quality largemouth and decent numbers of crappie at both park impoundments. The go-to advice for this time of year is to target structure and target cover! Most points and rip-rap shorelines will be holding fish. Woody cover is easier to locate in Hamburg State Park due its higher abundance there, but nearly all woody debris at A. H. Stephens is holding largemouth bass due to its lower abundance there. 

HATCHERY REPORT

Walton and McDuffie Hatcheries: Last week at McDuffie Warmwater Hatchery and Public Fishing Area, hatchery and PFA staff spent much of their time preparing ponds with combinations of calcium chloride, chlorine, cotton seed meal, and pond fertilizer for receiving fish. Over the course of the spring, the hatchery will receive fry from many different species of fish (hybrids, largemouth, catfish, etc), but McDuffie staff are eagerly awaiting the arrival of walleye fry that were spawned this week at Walton Hatchery. Walton received over 130 female and male walleye this week from Lake Chatuge and Lake Lanier to produce millions of eggs and fry that will be eventually grown out to fingerlings in hatchery ponds for stocking in North Georgia reservoirs. This intensive process of broodstock collection and hatchery culture of walleye is essential for maintaining fishable populations of walleye in Georgia.  

PUBLIC FISHING AREA REPORT

McDUFFIE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Fisheries Technician Nick Brewer) —

Warming temperatures continue to beckon anglers back on the PFA and they are reporting successful fishing trips!  Application of lime has been completed on PFA lakes to condition water for fertilization this spring.  More than 30 stumps were added to Willow Lake to increase fish cover–this should substantially increase locations for anglers to target whether fishing on the bank or by boat.  With daylight savings time, anglers will have more time for fishing in the evening before the great diel migration to Jones kicks in at sunset. 

Bass: Bass have begun spawning on the PFA. Anglers targeting bass should fish the shallows using shallow crankbaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, or soft plastics that imitate baitfish or a worm of course.  Fishing in vegetation using top water lures such as frogs may also produce bites on the PFA. 

Striped and Hybrid Bass:  Hybrid and Striped Bass are beginning to move to shallow water.  Anglers should consider using flukes, paddle tail swimbaits, or other lures that mimic baitfish in the shallows.  Anglers will also have success fishing with chicken livers just off the bottom of the ponds.

Channel Catfish: Channel catfish have been biting consistently throughout the winter and will feed even more aggressively in the spring! Anglers can target catfish using chicken livers or nightcrawlers fished directly on the pond bottom or use lures mimicking smaller baitfish. 

Bream:  Bream are biting! Anglers should target areas with structure using live worms or crickets for the best chance of success. Some anglers have caught bream using rooster tails. 

Reminder: live fish/minnows are not allowed at McDuffie PFA.

FLAT CREEK PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Fisheries Technicians Amory Cook and Deven Thompson) –

Bass: Bass fishing has been good with some trophy-sized bass being caught. Your best bait choice will be flukes and jerk baits off deeper banks, and live bluegill/shiners around cover.

Bream: Bream fishing has been fair, and you can expect to catch a limit of quality fish.  Louisiana pinks and red wigglers are a great bait choice. (CAPTION: A nice bluegill caught on Red Wiggler from the bank.)

Crappie: Crappie fishing has been excellent with many slabs reported being caught. During the day, jigs will work best. At night, live minnows fished under light will produce good fish. (CAPTION: This 15″ Crappie had high hopes of becoming the new Flat Creek PFA lake record, but fell just short of the mark. The angler will still receive an angler award for his impressive catch.)

Catfish: Reports on catfish bites have been few and far between; however, determined anglers will be rewarded for their efforts. Worms, chicken liver, cut baitfish, or your own smelly concoction should work fine for bait.

Boaters Note: Due to the extremely low lake level, please use caution when unloading/loading your vessels.

ATTENTION ANGLERS: Flat Creek PFA staff are conducting an annual angler (creel) survey on the lake this year. If you are approached by a PFA staff member after your fishing trip, please take a moment to answer their questions and share information about your fishing success (or, lack of success, whichever may be the case). These surveys are a valuable management tool that can improve our understanding of the fishery and ultimately improve fishing quality on the reservoir.

MARBEN PFA FISHING REPORT (Courtesy of Fisheries Technician Jacob Landry) —

• Marben Public Fishing Area
• Water level: All ponds are full.
• Pond Closures: Margery, Hillside, and Clubhouse ponds remain closed while under renovation.
• Water clarity: All ponds are very clear with some ponds reaching over 46 inches in visibility. The exception to this is Dove Pond which remains murky due to rain.
• Surface temperature: Water temperatures during the first part of March are in the mid 50’s; however, temperatures may enter the 60’s during a string a warm March days.
• Marben PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: Anglers fishing for bass on smaller ponds should see better catch rates for bass on shallow structure as these ponds fire up more quickly the larger ponds (like Fox, Bennett, and Shepherd). Black, blue, and purple plastics worms are effective, with some success coming from small spinner baits and jerk baits. Marben staff conducted standardized spring electrofishing on several Marben ponds this week and found the bass. Pictured is Fisheries Technician Daniel Malcom with two fine specimens collected from Whitetail Pond this week.

Crappie: A few crappie have pulled up shallow and numbers should increase if water temperatures stabilize in the low 60s.  Using jigs tipped with minnows will put bites on the line as crappie get ready to spawn.  Use electronics to locate schools of crappie or adjust your bobber to fish different depths until you find them. White and chartreuse jigs retrieved slowly with a float or by trolling have also produced good catches.  Fox and Bennett are good targets for spring crappie at Marben PFA.

Bream: Several catches of shellcracker have been seen.  Most continue to be caught on the bottom in the smaller ponds with wax worms and pink worms, however fishing has been slow.

Hybrid Bass: Hybrid bass are a big hit at Bennett and Greenhouse.  March is hit or miss but when its good its good.   Fish when you can, but typically a few mild or warmer days preceding a cold snap will induce feeding and increase your chances for success.

(Fishing report courtesy of Capt. Bert Deener, Retired Georgia WRD Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

The bites have been good, especially before this past weekend’s big rains in southeast Georgia. Now the rivers are booming, and lakes and the swamp are high. Even so, if you choose carefully, you can get on a good bite.

River gages on March 13th were:

• Clyo on the Savannah River – 6.5 feet and cresting
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 7.4 feet and falling
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 9.1 feet and rising
• Waycross on the Satilla – 12.7 feet and rising
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 10.0 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 11.8 feet and rising
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 13.7 feet and cresting
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 11.3 feet and rising

Full Moon is March 14th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

SATILLA RIVER

I got one report from an angler who fished some backwaters before the rains and caught 14 keeper crappie on Saturday.

ST MARYS RIVER

Sammy Gaskins went to the river on Friday before the big rains and caught 27 fish. A dozen were crappie, 2 were bass, and the rest were redbreasts and bluegill. He fooled them with beetlespins. The Temple Landing is currently closed while the GA Wildlife Resources Division boat ramp crew rebuilds the ramp. The new slab is poured, and the crew is working to dress out the ramp and improve the parking area. The project is winding down, and it should reopen in late March if weather and river levels cooperate (which they are currently not doing…).

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

Brentz McGhin fished the east side on Saturday with his nephew, Rhett. It was Rhett’s first fishing trip to the swamp, and he caught his first pickerel and first bowfin – both by trolling a jackfish-colored Dura-Spin in-line spinner. They caught a couple jackfish casting 3-inch bluegill flash-colored Keitech Swing Impact swimbaits on chartreuse Zombie Eye Jigheads. They also dabbled Mirage Jigs tipped with crickets, and plastic crayfish for a few warmouth. They caught a total of 5 pickerel, 7 bowfin, 5 warmouth, and a flier. I had several trips this week on the west side. David Montgomery’s trip on Friday produced the biggest bowfin of the week – a 7-lb., 15-oz. monster that inhaled a 1/16-oz. Mirage Jig tipped with cut flier. On Friday we caught 25 fish total (24 bowfin and a 20-inch pickerel). The biggest bowfin in addition to the 7-15 weighed 6-1, 6-0, and 5-6. Most of them ate 1/16-oz. Mirage Jigs tipped with dead minnows, worms, or cut flier (cut flier was best that day). A couple ate my prototype vibrating jig. On Saturday the bite was much better (even though it was drizzling some of the morning), and we caught a total of 55 fish (2 fliers, 2 pickerel, and 51 bowfin). David had the biggest pickerel toward the end of the day while flinging a perch-colored Keitech swimbait rigged on a 1/16-oz. Capt. Bert’s Swimbait Head (2/0 hook). It was a 21-inch class fish and jumped off at the boat. The biggest bowfin on Saturday weighed 7-lb., 8-oz., 5-8, 5-6, 5-1, and 5-0.   During the 3-day trip, we caught a total of exactly 100 fish. Jeremy and Max planned to camp on a platform in the swamp Sunday until strong thunderstorms moved in. They changed their plans and fished with me on Monday afternoon once the storms pushed through. Significant rains raised the water level on the west side, and it was swift. Even so, the bowfin still bit, and they caught 11 in a half-day trip. Max had the hot hand and caught an angler award-sized bowfin, yellow bullhead catfish, and flier. They had 2 double hook-ups and caught fish weighing up to 5-lbs., 4-oz. Mirage Jigs and cut flier produced most of the fish, including a 17-inch pickerel. The two flier that they caught ate pink Okefenokee Swamp Sallies pitched on a bream buster pole. Frank, Matt, and Jack were in town from south Texas on Wednesday and fished with me on the west side out of SC Foster State Park. The water had risen even higher than Monday, and the flow had gotten even swifter, but they still caught 7 fish during a half-day trip. All of the fish were bowfin, and the biggest weighed 6-lb., 0-oz., 4-1, 3-15, and 3-12. Jack earned an angler award for his biggest bowfin – his first one ever. The Mirage Jig and cut flier was again the top presentation. The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 121.46 feet and at SC Foster State Park was 5.64 feet.

DODGE COUNTY PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Eastman)

The big crappie bit this week. There were 3 slabs over 2 pounds reported. The numbers of bass caught were good, as well.

OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Hawkinsville)

The trophy bass lake has been pumping out some nice ones. An angler fishing on Saturday reported catching 4 bass that weighed a total of 21 1/2 pounds. His largest was 6 1/2 pounds. Remember, the bass fishing on that lake is catch-and-release only.

PARADISE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Tifton)

An angler who returned a tag from a bass said that the bass bite was good. He caught 25 bass by flinging plastics to shoreline cover on Saturday. The Wildlife Resources Division is conducting a bass study on the area and will be tagging bass over the next month in 10 of the bigger and more popular lakes (Patrick, Paradise, Bobben, Beaver, Russell, Horseshoe 2, 3, 4, and 5, and Tacklebuster). If you catch a tagged bass, clip the tag and return it along with the information requested on a tag return form (available on the porch at the area office). Each person returning a tag will receive a custom-embroidered ball cap and be entered into a drawing for a Yeti cooler. Each angler will only receive one cap, but there is no limit to the number of times you can be entered into the drawing. The Waycross Office has already had 7 tags returned. One of the bass was just under 9 pounds.

LOCAL PONDS

Three South Georgia anglers fished a pond on Saturday for about 6 hours and absolutely whacked the crappie. They caught 107 slabs. The specks were shallow, and they pitched minnows rigged on Mirage Jigs and plain jigheads under floats to get them to bite. They had some work cleaning their catch! Chip Lafferty kept catching the big female bass this week on his favorite wacky-worm. His biggest was a 6-lb., 2-oz. hawg that he caught Tuesday from a Brunswick area pond on a blue flake worm. Jimmy Zinker caught lots of smaller bass this week on spinnerbaits, but the monsters he chases eluded him again this week.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Tommy Sweeney fished the Brunswick area on Saturday and did well for trout. They ended up catching 6 good trout (15-17 inches) along with 14 throwbacks and 4 flounder (3 keepers). They fooled a few of the trout with a plastic shrimp rigged on a 1/4-oz. Zombie Eye Jighead and three on live shrimp. The flounder and balance of the trout ate a blue-chartreuse Keitech on a 1/4-oz. Zombie Eye Jighead. Capt. Duane Harris took Sherri Jones and Lucy Thomas fishing on Saturday in the Brunswick area, and they caught 12 redfish, a flounder, and a trout. Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) said that the stars aligned for Tom and Mary on Friday, as they got on lots of trout and reds, and a few kicker flounder. They took a few of them to Mudcat Charlie’s for a super-fresh lunch fish fry. Jason and Patrick fished with him on Saturday and caught lots of species – sheepshead, black drum, trout, reds, and flounder. On Monday Tom and Mary fished with him again and fooled a bunch of trout and reds again. Tuesday through Thursday he fished with Todd Finnegan. They were hunting (and catching lots!) redfish, although they got on a great trout bite Thursday afternoon on their last stop. They found lots of oversized redfish every day. After your next trip to the Georgia coast, drop off your fish carcasses in the freezer at the GA Wildlife Resources Division Waycross Fisheries Office at 108 Darling Avenue. The Coastal Resources Division collects most inshore saltwater species so that they can determine age and growth for each species. All the supplies and information cards are in the freezer. Filet your fish then drop off the carcasses in the freezer. Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle in Brunswick is open Friday through Tuesday each week (closed Wednesday and Thursday) They have plenty of lively shrimp and also have live worms and crickets for freshwater. For the latest information and their hours, contact them at 912-223-1379.

Blog Contributer Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in southeast Georgia and makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check his lures out at Bert’s Jigs and Things on Facebook. For a copy of his latest catalog, call or text him at 912-288-3022 or e-mail him (bertdeener@yahoo.com).

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