May 9, 2025 – Georgia Wildlife Blog

For the third time in less than a year, Georgia has a new freshwater fish state record spotted sunfish! Josh Forsythe of Homerville, GA (Clinch County) landed the newest record catch of 0 lb, 13 oz on May 5 from the Suwannee River. This almost 9-inch catch beats the previous state record tie of 0 lb, 12 oz. Congrats to Josh! Read more about his record catch at GeorgiaWildlife.com/state-record-fish-title-broken-three-times-year.

NEWS TO KNOW:

• Need an event that has outdoors family fun for all? Bring them to the free Keeping GA Wild Family Festival at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center (CEWC) near Mansfield, Georgia, on Sat., May 17, 2025 (9 am – 2 pm).

• Fishing Supports Conservation Efforts! The Sport Fish Restoration Act (SFRA) turns 75 this year. This program distributes funds to state agencies using federal tax revenue brought in exclusively from manufacturers of the fishing equipment that you purchase. For over seven decades, this incredible program has funded fisheries conservation efforts, enhanced fishing experiences, and connected millions of people with America’s waterways. 

This week, we have fishing reports from North, Central and Southeast Georgia. We will have a report from Southwest Georgia back next week. Let’s Go Fish Georgia!

(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 

Spring standardized sampling is coming to a close in North Georgia, with GADNR crews wrapping up the very last few boat electrofishing stations for bass and sunfish before the water gets too warm. Data collected from these shocking efforts are used to help further inform reservoir managers about the population health of various sportfish species like Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, and Spotted Bass.

FORT MOUNTAIN LAKE

Mixed Bag (courtesy of GADNR Fisheries Biologist Chris Smith): his week, while sampling the pond at Fort Mountain State Park, Region 1 Fisheries staff encountered several exceptionally large sunfish. Although anglers shouldn’t expect to hook any trophy bass from this small waterbody, the pond offers an excellent opportunity to catch high-quality sunfish and enjoy a productive day of fishing.

LAKE ALLATOONA 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Bass fishing is great with a good largemouth bite this week. For a largemouth go shallow and concentrate on cover with a Spro hydro pop and a spinner bait. Spots are still on a shad spawn pattern. Fish near hard bottom or shallow rock with a shallow crank bait like a Spro fat John in nasty shad, and the Spro Dawg top water is working too. The shad spawn bite only last for around 30 minutes first thing in the morning. After the morning bite ends, the “go to” bait is a 1/8-ounce jig head with a 6-inch Easy Money colored squirrel tail worm by Big Bite Baits.

LAKE HARTWELL 

Bass (courtesy of Guide Scott Allgood (864) 364-1733; report via SCDNR Freshwater Fishing Trends): Guide Scott Allgood (864-364-1733) reports that the bass spawn on Lake Hartwell usually extends into May, and based upon what he saw in April this year will be no different. The blueback herring spawn will also continue for some time, and overall, after a fantastic April at least the first few weeks of May should be similarly awesome. Topwater lures, flukes, wacky-rigs, and shaky head worms will all work for shallow fish.

Bass (courtesy of Captain Cefus McRae (404) 402-8329; report via Southern Fishing): The top water bite we have all been hoping for has finally arrived on Lake Hartwell. Surface water temps start off in the upper 60’s in the morning and will go as high as 75 by late afternoon but need a warm, sunny day. The past few days have been excellent for the early morning top water bite. And if the cloud cover hangs around, you can find stripers, hybrids and even bass chasing fish to the surface. A few gull are still lingering around and will give you a long-range indicator of feeding fish. Keep a pair of binoculars close so you can determine if the gulls are working above stripers or loons. The feeding frenzy can happen just about anywhere on the lake, but I’ve found the best, and biggest fish to be on the south end, in the main channel. When the bite is on, the fish will be moving fast, so try to plot an intercept course, based on the direction you see them moving. Get off the big motor well in advance and drop the trolling motor to be as stealthy as possible. My go-to lures have been black/chrome, and blue/chrome MirrOlure Top Dogs. Cast as far as you can past the school and work the plug through the boils. If you get a hit, but not a hook-up, continue working the plug the same way, all the way to the boat. Fish will chase the plug a long way, so give them plenty of opportunity to eat. And, if they are surfacing all around the boat, go ahead and put down a live bait or two… or deploy a live bait about 10 feet behind a small balloon, on a free line behind the boat. It’s a great time right now, and hoping this fantastic kind of fishing will last a couple weeks. Spring is on here, and it’s one of the best times of year on the lake. If you’d like to spend a fun day on the water, give me a call at 404 402 8329 or drop an email to Cefus@NutsAndBoltsFishing.com Tight Lines and Smooth Seas, Capt. Cefus McRae

Crappie (courtesy of Guide Rodney Donald (864) 356-0143; report via SCDNR Freshwater Fishing Trends): Guide Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that by the end of April the spawn was essentially over on Lake Hartwell, and the best numbers of fish this month will be caught stacked up on mid-depth brush. They will suspend over wood in the middle of the water column, and you can catch them either by casting jigs or fishing minnows under a float.

LAKE LANIER

Bass (courtesy of Phil Johnson (pjohnson15@hotmail.com or 770-366-8845); report via Southern Fishing): Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good. The lake is currently one foot over full, and the water temperature is running in the low seventies. Overall, the lake is clear. It seems the largest part of the spawn is over for the spotted bass, and they are beginning their move to the brush in the twenty-five-foot range. Several baits have worked well this week including a Slick Stick, Ima Skimmer and fluke. For the Slick Stick and Skimmer, it has been chrome for the sunny days and bone or white for the cloudy days with wind being a big bonus. Work these baits on long points, humps and over any brush for the best results. A white fluke has been a steady producer also, but you may need to play around with your cadence to see what they want on any given day. As is typical, right after the spawn you will experience a lot of short strikes and lost hook ups with the bass. The Shakey head bite is working on the rocky areas with a three sixteenths head and either a Fluke Stick or a Senko in the lighter colors. The wacky rig has been effective down the banks leading into the pockets with the strike being very light. There is more and more top water schooling activity happening so always have a distance top water bit such as a Spook on the deck at ready. Look for the top water bite to really pick up over the next couple of weeks as the water warms and the bass recovers from spawning. They are really getting active 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 jumped up to the mid 70’s real fast. The fish are on structure in large groups under docks on open water brush. Small groups can be found roaming in open shallow try casting a 1/32 jig and letting it fall right in front of them try not to go below the target. Crappie have been at depths of 10 to 18 feet above a 20-to-40-foot bottom. Minnows have been working good 4 feet under a bobber on shallow brush. 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 an 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: http://www.crappieonlanier.com and http://www.fishingwitheverydayheroes.org

Linesides (courtesy of Buck Cannon, Buck Tales Guide Service (404-510-1778); report via Southern Fishing): Lake Lanier stripers are hitting the planer boards, flat lines and down lines. Bait of choice is blue backs and am and pm are producing so get out there soon this bite won’t last forever. Water temperature is 76 degrees, and the bite is better crossing points and humps. Both rivers are producing. Top water hasn’t been as good, but the fish have been biting on a lure that you can throw at the water’s edge. Remember to wear your life jacket. Buck Tales 404-510-1778.

LAKE WEISS

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Bass fishing is good, and most fish have spawned. Some are still being caught shallow, and some have moved to deeper structure near the spawning areas. Duckett Lures has the Result crankbait that has a moving weight system to improve casting distances. This flat side bait has an excellent wobbling action and runs straight out of the box. It is a 3/8-ounce bait is 8 colors. Lizards, Jigs, Creature baits, Spinner Baits, Carolina Rigs and shallow running Crank Baits are catching fish. The Spotted Bass are on rocky banks, shallow humps, shallow roadbeds and main lake points. Bagley Baits are still catching bass, and the Pro Sunny B Spin is a top water machine. Rip it and splash it and bring bass to the bait from a great distance.

WEST POINT LAKE 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing): Bass fishing is good. With the temperature change this week there has been little change. There are still a few fish left on the bed, but most fish are falling in the post spawn pattern. The spawning fish that are left are primarily north up the river past Ringer access. To catch these fish, use Texas rigged soft plastics. The secondary pattern is the shad spawning early in the morning. The Yo Zuri Mag Series Mag Popper will wake up fish all over the lake. They have a 5 ¼ size and a 6 ¼ size and a weight transfer system for super long casts. Sling these things a mile. Look for shad spawning at daybreak before the sun is over the trees. This pattern will not last long but can produce some really big fish. Use buzz baits in white with a silver blade to mimic spawning shad. The best areas are rocky points and rip rap located near bridges.

RIVER REPORT 

Need Trout Info? As always, be sure to check out the GADNR Trout Fishing page for helpful information, interactive maps, and the weekly stocking report! 

Mixed bag (courtesy of Cohutta Fishing Company): As the bass get on their beds for their spawn. They get harder to target on flies. They don’t tend to move far from their beds to chase a streamer. Most bites right now aren’t to feed, but a reactive strike to protect their beds. But now is the time to start chasing one of our favorite summertime fish: Striped Bass. In most places, the stripers are already well into their spawning run up some of our rivers. Striper can be a moody fish, but they make up for it with an amazing fight. Hooking a striper is like hooking into a freight train. A lot of striper fishing has to do with being in the right place at the right time of day, and our guides are very dialed into that. There can be a lot of down time when the fishing is slow, but when it is on it’s on! They tend to travel in schools, so most of the time when there is one there can be a few more following it. It also results in some epic eats. Be warned because it is very addictive. These stripers will hang out in these rivers for the rest of the summer for the cooler, oxygenated water.  Also, we have an incredible hatch coming into our area this summer: Cicadas. These periodical cicadas only happen every so often. We’ve been lucky enough to see them in 2021 and last year. Everything eats these bugs, but our favorite fish to target are the carp that gorge themselves on these bugs. So many of these bugs end up in the water that you can see the carp cruising the surface looking for them. This will be the last time we see this hatch for a while, so don’t miss out on your opportunity to catch carp on a dry fly!

Trout (courtesy of Jeff Durniak, Angler Management; report via Unicoi Outfitters): Welcome to May!  It’s sort of a transition time up here, as many of our spring insect hatches wind down and the summer bugs wind up. Watch for the last of the cahills and caddis to buzz around dark, while the yellow (stoneflies) and black (ants and beetles) bugs of May start to take precedence. Clear, warmer midday water will slow the bite, while early mornings and late evenings will be great.  Bring a flashlight for the hike out.

Headwaters: They’re clear and flowing at seasonal norms, except for the brief storm surges after a thunderstorm.

The prime dry fly fishing will continue. Try your trusty tan caddis and bring some yellow stimmies and black ants with you.  During brief high flows, drop a squirmy, frenchie, or green weenie behind a buoyant dry like a #14 tan chubby Chernobyl.

Delayed Harvest Streams: The midday catching will be tougher in clear and warming water. Try dry/dropper rigs at breakfast and double-dry rigs as the evening shadows fall around 730. Cahills and tan caddis should be winding down as the May colors (yellow and black) start to take precedence.  The mountain Laurel bloom always signaled the kickoff of golden stones and yellow sallies. Black equals ants, both on top and sunken.  Trophy hunters, try stripping a small bugger or sculpin streamer as the sun sets and the browns start their evening hunts.

Wes’ Hot Fly List:

• Dries: parachute Adams, parachute light Cahill, 409 Yeager yellow, #14 yellow stimulator, #16 yellow Sally, tan chubby Chernobyl, hard body ant.
• Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, girdle bug, tungsten redneck.
• Mountain streams: micro girdle bugs, black ant, hares ear nymph and soft hackle, soft hackle pheasant tail, improved yallar hammer.
• Streamers: Sparkle minnows, small black and olive buggers for DH streams, mohair leeches, Jiggy Fry, mini shimmer buggers, Thrasher.
• (Bass & stripers): clouser minnow, Feather changer, polar changer, crittermite, crawfish jambalaya, Clydesdale stealth jig.

Trout (courtesy of Tad Murdock, Georgia Wild Trout): The wild trout activity has picked up considerably in recent weeks. Whether your targeting brown trout, native brook trout, or wild rainbows, the fish have been slower in the mornings and get more active as the day progresses. I have seen several sizable (for Georgia) hatches in recent weeks. Yellow Sallies, golden stoneflies, grannom caddis, Sulphurs, and PMDs have been the bugs I have seen the most in recent weeks. Dry Flies continue to produce well on these streams and should continue until December. However, small patterns have still been outshining the large patterns and its not quite time to put away the nymph boxes on chilly mornings. This should stay the same until later in month or June when the trout will begin favoring the big bugs more. Though we typically don’t promote colors with any of our flies, yellow is a good producer from mid-April through May.

Chattahoochee River Trout (courtesy of Tad Murdock, Georgia Wild Trout): The trout fishing below the dam on Lake Lanier has been excellent for the past couple months. There is something for just about everybody. Small midges will always be the best way to attract bites from nearly every trout around. If you’re throwing bigger than a size 20 you can be sure you’re leaving trout behind, especially the wild browns. The river has been crowded on some afternoons during the week and around the clock on weekends. A ten to fifteen-minute walk will put plenty of distance between you and 80-90% of other anglers. A great challenge for experienced anglers is the dry fly bite. The midge hatches have been excellent in the mornings and following generation. The wild browns are very selective but can be fooled with a slow approach and good presentation. This video will demonstrate how I approach these fish eating on the surface. The number of trout to hand is far less than what you may see fishing seams with a euro rig or indicator setup but can be far more exciting. Steer clear of the dry flies on windy days. It’s a brutal process and typically more frustrating than anything else.

Toccoa Tailwater Trout (courtesy of Cohutta Fishing Company): The Toccoa Tailwater has been fishing well. Generations have been a little inconsistent with TVA letting out more water from our spring rains. Some days have had morning generations, but they have been consistently running water late in the afternoons. Our spring hatches are underway, and the fish are feeding pretty good on low water in the mornings. I have seen the fishing slow down when temps get into the 80s midday. Morning and late afternoons are fishing the best right now if you can get low water. Patterns imitating March Browns, Hendricksons, and Quills have been working the best. But there are some Tan Caddis hatching as well. Pheasant Tails, March Brown Jig, and Hare’s Ears have been productive. A caddis emerger, like a Holy Grail, off of the back of a jigged fly can also work well. On a rainy day, Rubber Legs are my go-to point fly. Pretty much all of my rigs have been dry dropper rigs. At least once during the day a fish tries to eat the chubby. Late in the afternoons you’ll see more fish looking up as well, so for you dry fly anglers, stay late and you should see a few bugs as the day cools off. We’ve been seeing a lot of nice streamer days as well. Cloudy, drizzly days the fish have been feeling pretty chasey. A lot of people think this is only a wintertime thing. But with these early or late generations, there’s always a chance at a trophy. As stocking continues, as well as creek chubs, shiners, and other minnows get active in the rising water temps. There are a lot of targets for the bigger fish in our river to eat. Whether you’re a seasoned angler, or want to learn some new tricks, give us a call for a streamer float.

(Fishing report courtesy of Hunter Roop, Region Supervisor and Fisheries Biologist 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.

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE RUSSELL IS FULL, 70’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. This month will allow anglers to choose your technique as now anglers can catch fish in prespawn, spawn or post spawn phase. For late pre spawners, head toward the southern end of the lake as this section will warm last. The fish will take flat sided crank baits like the good old faithful Bomber Flat A or a Thundershad coffin bill. Use the Greenfish Tackle shaky head with a Reaction Innovations Flirt. Another technique that works quite well is to throw a drop shot past the bed and slowly work your bait into view. The advantage of this technique is that the bait will stay exactly where anglers put it and will not move when they just shake it in the face of a fish.

Bass 2 (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Jerry Kotal (706-988-0860) reports that into May bass should be up shallow feeding on spawning blueback herring off shallow points, although at the end of April the herring spawn seemed to be slowing a bit. The fish will take topwater lures and flukes, but live herring are often impossible to beat. Once the herring spawn wraps up fish will move deeper again.

Striped Bass (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) reports that in May some striper should be found off the sides of the same points where the herring are spawning, but by the end of May when herring move out to deeper water the striper will get around deep trees in 40-50 feet.

Crappie (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson reports that the crappie spawn essentially wrapped up in April, but in May the fish will stay fairly shallow around brush. They can be caught within a few feet of the surface on minnows or even trolling jigs.

Catfish (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Jerry Kotal reports that by the end of April the channel catfish bite was really good, and in May it should get even better. Channel cats will be caught pretty much everywhere including points, pockets, coves and more on cut herring.

CLARKS HILL IS FULL, 60’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. The spawn is in full swing with the moon. The bass are moving into shallow pockets hanging around stick grass and any cover on the bank. Spinnerbaits, square billed crank baits, Zoom lizards in green pumpkin with chartreuse tails and Greenfish Tackle’s big rubber jigs are all working good right now. Rat L Traps are good search baits to find the sweet spots on the shallow banks in the creeks. In the pockets try spinnerbaits and jigs, both swimming jigs and working a jig slow across the spawning flats. Bass are biting better. They are still transitional, and patterns change from trip to trip. Bass are being taken in trash piles in 6 to 12 feet of water using jigs, Carolina rigs with lizards or frogs and with Texas rigged worms. We are still experiencing variations in weather patterns. High winds and rain are keeping the water stirred up and muddy at times. Expect these baits and patterns to produce through the rest of this month.

Striper and hybrids (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that early in May there should continue to be a good bite off shallow points early, but once it gets hot then fish will be in mid-depths in the morning. As the water gets hotter fish will move deeper and eventually the pattern will switch over to more of a down-rod bite.

Crappie (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service reports that in May the spawn is behind us but the fish are back feeding again, and about all you need to catch them is minnows and the location of some mid-depth brush in the creeks. Once again it seems that the post-spawn bite has been better than the pre-spawn bite this year. By the end of May fish may go deeper if the water gets very hot. 

Crappie 2 (courtesy of McDuffie Hatchery Manager Chalisa Fabillar): Clarks Hill angler “Salty” Lane B hit the Hill with a buddy this week and caught a 2-man limit fishing hair jigs in the timber and brush. They caught enough to cull and hone in on the big post-spawn crappie that are feeding heavily in relatively shallow water before they head back to deep brush later this summer.

Bar-raising Shellcracker (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Biologist Aaron Gray): Angler Allen Fitzgerald landed a new lake record redear sunfish on Clarks Hill recently! Mr. Fitzgerald’s massive shellcracker smashed the existing record weighing 2.38 lbs and stretched out at 13.9 inches!

Catfish (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Captain Chris Simpson reports that in May he likes to anchor on humps, points and saddles and put out live and cut herring. This is a good technique for catching a mixed bag of catfish and striper. You can also start to fish shrimp or dip baits for eating-sized channel catfish.

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 70’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. Huge numbers of fish are shallow in 1 to 3 feet of water looking to fatten up for the spawn that is about to bust loose. Work any shallow cover very slow with Texas rigged Zoom lizards, Wackem Crazy Baits Big Tater Bug and a Senko. Good colors are June bug, black or redbug. Fish the cover slowly, just like there is a bedded bass on every piece of cover, even though they are hard to see, they are shallow. They are probably there and need some time to bite. Late in the month, look for the shad spawn to start on rip rap and seawalls. Fish buzz baits and spinnerbaits in white or black up tight on the rocks and shad spawn. It can happen fast in the mornings and be over in 30 minutes or less but can be very productive.

Linesides (courtesy of Doug Nelms with Big Fish Heads Guide Service): Doug mentioned that this week some of the big stripers have finally showed up. There have been some knocking on the 20-lb door in the Richland Creek area. One angler caught a 19 lb behemoth on artificial. But, if you’re going for quantity over quality, just downline shad over the schools and you’ll stay busy with 2-3 pounders.

LAKE JULIETTE

Linesides (courtesy of Jeff Mooney with All Seasons Guide Service): Jeff reports that the lineside bite remains strong as water temperatures continue to rise on Lake Juliette. In the month of May, hybrids and stripers will be feeding heavily around first and last light, and anglers can use their electronics to locate linesides on primary and secondary points. Downlining or freelining herring or large gizzard shad can bring in some of the bigger striped bass that will start to show up in May, such as this 13-lb striped bass caught last week with Mooney’s crew. The hybrid numbers are excellent and put up a heck of a fight, with 4 – 6 lb hybrids being common in Juliette this year.

LAKE SINCLAIR DOWN 1.5 FEET, 70’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass are biting well and they are on shallow wood from a foot of water out to about 5 feet. Try flipping a 3/8-ounce Net Boy Baits flipping jig with a Zoom Pro Chunk and casting a white spinnerbait and ChatterBait. Colors vary from green pumpkin to black and blue depending on the water color. Now anglers can catch fish in many ways. Start running a jerk bait on the main lake, along with a Spro Aruku Shad in chartreuse shad and an Alabama Rig. With the water in the 70s there are lots of bedding fish. Have a Bang O Lure or a Zoom Super Fluke until anglers locate them and then spin around and work the fish with a white spinner bait and the Chatter bait.

LAKE JACKSON IS FULL, 70’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass anglers are concentrating most of their efforts up the Alcove River and Yellow River for the kicker bass. Spinnerbaits along with buzz baits seem to be the baits most of them are throwing. Work the small flats and especially the sandy points in the bends up Yellow River. The black 6-inch worm on a Texas Rig is working as well especially when the water turns that pretty red clay color. Look for isolated stumps and single lay downs for best results. Work the dam area and fish the first good cove right around the corner from the marina with white spinnerbaits. The bass are scattered from one end of the lake to the other and reports are coming in on everything from cranks to top water baits to plastics when asked how they caught the fish. Take this time to explore new areas and try a variety of baits.

PUBLIC FISHING AREA REPORT

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

Water temperatures in our public fishing lakes have maintained a range of high 60’s to low 70’s.  Anglers are reporting most catches either early in the morning or into the evening.  Many first-time anglers are reporting successful fishing trips at McDuffie PFA!

Bass: Many anglers are reporting success with plastics on a Texas or Carolina rig.  Watermelon red worms work well on sunny days, while a purple plastic worm is effective on cloudier days.  Fish in and along woody structure, docks, or vegetation lines for the best chance of success.  

Linesides: Use chicken livers in areas with lots of bird activity for the best chance of producing success.  Many small hybrids and striped bass are being caught in Clubhouse and Bridge Lakes.

Channel Catfish: The catfish bite is consistent.  Some anglers are reporting catfish caught in the 4-9 pound range.  Fishing either chicken livers or stink baits on the bottom is the go-to for most catfish anglers. McDuffie angler Jerome caught this nice channel catfish on Willow last week.

Bream: Bream on the PFA have not been caught frequently in recent weeks, though anglers targeting bream should use live worms in and around structure in the lakes during peak hours of sunlight. Deeper drop-offs on points and jetties will also hold larger bluegill and shellcracker when they aren’t actively nesting.

Reminder: live fish/minnows are not allowed on our PFA!

FLAT CREEK PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Area Manager Amory Cook and Fisheries Technician Deven Thompson) —

Bass:   The bass bite has been on this past week with lots of catches being reported! Soft plastics, specifically craws and trick worms, have produced some great catches! Target steeper banks and flats for your best chances.

Bream: The bream bite has slowed down, with only small to medium-sized fish being reported this past week. Despite the tougher conditions, the chance for bigger panfish is still there. Red wigglers, fished on the bottom, should definitely get you some bites! Target flats near the bank for bedding fish and then brush piles and over hanging trees for the actively feeding fish.

Crappie: The crappie bite has picked up with most of the crappie holding off shore while chasing schools of shad. During lighter hours, when they are not actively feeding, crappie seem to hold to offshore structures and creek channels. While live minnows always seem to produce some good fish, jigs are outperforming minnows lately. Jigs that imitate small ‘young of the year’ shad are working the best – BG jigs in Monkey Milk and Baby Shad patterns should do well during the shad spawn. Try a slow cast and retrieve method, reeling through schools of shad and around structures. Low light hours are producing most of the bites.

Catfish: The catfish bite has seemingly slowed again, most likely due to their spawning season approaching. Catches are still possible with the right bait choices and cut bait or liver will always get bit. Late afternoon into the early parts of the night should be the best bite times for the coming weeks.

Also, if you are lucky enough to land a catfish that you believe to be over 10 pounds (~30 inches long), please notify PFA staff–we are looking to establish the PFA’s channel catfish record, which currently is wide open.

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 the lakes have visibilities ranging from 24” to 48” depending on rainfall amounts and frequency.
• Surface temperature:Water temperatures are in the low 70s to low 80s and increasing with warmer weather.
• Marben PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: The females have spawned and pulled off the bank in 5-7’ of water.  Jigs have proven successful for the females and creature baits attract the attention of the males as they are actively guarding fry. Top water baits are also useful right now.  Warmer temps will push the fish deeper in late May.  

Crappie: Crappie have finished their spawn.  However, they are still gathered in small pockets in 3-6’ of water.  Jigs and jigs tipped with minnows work well.  Remember to present your bait above or the same depth as the crappie.  Adjust the depth you are fishing until you find the fish.  Brush piles in 3-5’ of water is a good start.  Crappie will move deeper as the water temps rise. 

Bream: The bream are preparing to spawn.  Use crickets and red wigglers in 2-4’ of water off of points and the backs of coves.

Hybrid Bass: A few hybrids are being caught at Bennett.  Bass minnows and larger jerk baits work well.

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

There were some great reports this week, but now the off and on rains have set in for several days. The different sections of rivers will rise and fall differently and some will muddy up. Guess right and it will be a lot of fun, as the temperatures are in the peak feeding zone for most species. Watch the thunderstorms – they’re nothing to mess with.

River gages on May 8th were:

• Clyo on the Savannah River – 6.0 feet and falling
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 4.8 feet and rising
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 7.5 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 8.6 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 5.3 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 4.5 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 2.6 feet and rising
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 2.6 feet and falling

Full Moon is May 12th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

ALTAMAHA RIVER

Miles Zachary finished top 5 in a bass tournament out of Carters Bight this past weekend on the river. He caught his fish on a new line of buzzbaits called BDD Buzzbaits made with Gamakatsu hooks and Due South Custom Plastics.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

Scott and Tracy Anderson fished with me a half-day on Saturday on the west side until we got run off by a thunderstorm. We had a great trip trying to add to Scott’s fish species list. We tried for about an hour to get a warmouth or flier to bite, but they didn’t cooperate. It took about 15 seconds of trolling a crawfish-brass blade Dura-Spin to add a 4-pound bowfin to his list, and that ended up being the biggest one we caught. He caught several others trolling Dura-Spins before we switched to casting for pickerel. He hooked and lost 3 of them and never added them to his list, but he did manage a Florida gar. It ate a 3-inch chartreuse-pearl Keitech Swimbait fished on a 1/0 swimbait hook and fished around lily pads. Scott caught a total of 21 fish during the trip – most were bowfin. After adding 4 species from his 2-day fishing exploits, he ended up with a total of 96 fish on his lifetime species list. Tommy Tapley fished the east side early this week and did well on warmouth and catfish. He tried crickets but didn’t catch them and then caught several dozen hand-sized warmouth (kept about 30) when he switched to jigs. Chartreuse was the best early then electric chicken came on strong once the sun got up a little. He pinned his plastics on Zombie Eye Jigheads. He caught the catfish on shrimp on the bottom, but didn’t fish for them long. A couple of folks from south Florida fished the east side this week. They caught some nice bowfin and pickerel on streamers and fly rods, and warmouth and fliers on baby blue topwater flies. I fished the east side Thursday morning from 10 until noon and pitched around a bunch of places for warmouth. They were biting, and I caught and released a total of 26 fish (2 pickerel, 1 bowfin, 1 flier, and the rest warmouth). All of them bit a 1/16-oz. popsicle-colored Warmouth Whacker Jig. Other anglers fishing that day said that they caught warmouth, as well. All of them I talked with were pitching jigs for their fish. The water level on the west side was 4.26 feet on the gage at the park boat basin. The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 120.56 feet.

SATILLA RIVER

The annual Satilla Riverkeeper Fishing Tournament is in the books and was a big success. Seth Carter fished the tournament hard this week and ended up catching over 1,000 fish during the week. Most of them were on Satilla Spins from his kayak. He even had 2 stripers – one ate a Satilla Spin and one a bass-sized spinnerbait. He won the 3-redbreast aggregate category with fish that measured 10.50, 10.25, and 10.25 inches. For all the details, check out  Satilla Riverkeeper on Facebook. I had Scott and Tracy Anderson from Utah in the boat with me on Friday evening trying to add a couple of species to his lifetime catch list, and he was successful. We fished the upper river for a few hours and caught 7 fish on Satilla Spins. He added stumpknocker to his list with a 7-incher that ate a coachdog 1/8-oz. version. He also added redbreast right at the last minute (literally) on a warmouth craw Satilla Spin. Most of his fish were bluegills, and he had one that was over 10 inches. The river was still a little stained, but it was getting perfect just in time for this week’s rains. The water in the upper river is tough for motorboats but perfect for floating. The middle and lower river sections are still fishable in motorboats but expect to drag.

LOCAL PONDS

The biggest bass I heard of being caught this week was an 8-pounder from a Waycross area pond. Joshua Barber fished a Waycross area pond Thursday afternoon and caught 5 bass up to 3 1/2 pounds. They ate a topwater frog. He also fooled a half-dozen bluegills with Satilla Spins. Chuck Dean fished a Brunswick area pond with his wife on Sunday and caught a dozen channel catfish with shrimp fished on the bottom. The bass are post-spawn right now and are feeding up hard until the summer heat sets in. Most of the bass reports I got this week were caught by topwaters, wacky worms, and swimbaits in area ponds. Expect the bluegills to start bedding hard this month.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Whiting reports were the most consistent I heard of this week. Trout and reds were hit and miss. One good trout report was from Scott Smith who fished the Jekyll area. They had 11 keepers up to 18 1/2 inches, and all of them ate live shrimp under floats. Seth Carter and friends fished the Brunswick area this week for big reds and caught them on artificials. One evening he fooled some big ones with Gulp shrimp rigged on Zombie Eye Jigheads. The next morning they caught 5 keeper reds then got run off by a bad thunderstorm after just an hour of fishing. Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) reported lots of mixed bags this week. The pattern for his trips was about the same each day. Redfishing (a high percentage of oversized fish) was consistent on the mud flats in the main Intracoastal Waterway. Floating shrimp under Harper Super Striker Floats for trout around high water and reds at low water produced the majority of their fish. Several places they caught reds and flounder on Gulp and Fourseven plastics rigged on Zombie Eye Jigheads. They had to move around a lot to find cooperative fish. On Monday, Matthew Hendley had several oversized reds, including 2 tagged redfish. 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).

There is no Southwest Georgia Fishing Report this week but stay tuned for one next week. Looking for a place to go fish? Check out Silver Lake PFA or Big Lazer PFA for a great time for the whole family.

BIG LAZER PUBLIC FISHING AREA

SILVER LAKE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

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