May 16, 2025 – Georgia Wildlife Blog

Put a date on your summer calendar to visit the Go Fish Education Center in Perry, GA where visitors can go on an educational journey through Georgia’s watersheds to learn about our diverse aquatic wildlife, their natural habitats and the impacts of water pollution. Beyond that, GFEC serves as a great resource of fishing information for any level of angler—where to go, what to use and when.

Visitors can see freshwater aquariums featuring trout, largemouth bass and more, explore underwater habitats from mountain streams to black water swamps, view aquatic wildlife, including live alligators and turtles, catch and release live fish in the stocked pond (poles and bait provided as a part of admission), try out interactive fishing and boating simulators, get ‘Reel Tips’ on how and where to fish and and so much more! There might be a few spots left on one of their summer camps (June 10-12 for ages 8-15) but act fast if you want one (email chrystal.sherwood@dnr.ga.gov). Find out more at gofisheducationcenter.com.

NEWS TO KNOW:

This week, we have fishing reports from Southwest, North, Central and Southeast Georgia. Whether you are visiting the Go Fish Education Center or just headed out for a fun day on the water, Let’s Go Fish Georgia!

LAKE BLACKSHEAR

Last week the water level on the lake dropped in preparation for the rain, so be careful when out on the water as it still might not be back to full at this time. The rain did bring back some muddy water that will take a little bit to move out. With the rain the largemouth bass are seemingly being finicky and either biting or not biting, so those looking land some will just have to try your luck. As for crappie, they are biting regardless of the rain. And if you are willing to venture out in the rain you will have less competition on the water for some good fishing spots. Look around 11-12ft with some structure for those crappie schools. Shellcrackers and bluegill are still bedding if you want to do some shore fishing. There are some reports of mayflies starting to show up, but not in the numbers we normally see at this time. They will likely continue to increase over the next few weeks from this recent rain and warm weather coming in.

LAKE WALTER F. GEORGE

According to Ken Sturdivant at Southernfishing.com, bass fishing is good. In the morning there is a good top water bite, especially near the grass lines. Buzz baits, Pop R’s and Flukes will all put fish in the boat. Once the sun gets to the ledges, grab the Carolina rig and add the Zoom pumpkinseed 6-inch lizard. The ledge bite should fire up this week. Fish the ledges and points once the sun comes up.

Numbers of fish are easy to come by from Lake Point all the way down to the dam. The fish seem to be holding in the 6 – 12-foot zone. Carolina Rigs and crank baits are the best choices for these fish.

Fishing a Texas rigged lizard around the grass is producing well. Fish a Texas rigged lizard or worm or a 4-inch flipping tube in June bug when you find any shallow cover or boat docks, target the backs of the docks and especially any that meet a sea wall. The grass is up good all over the lake and the post spawn bass are starting to use it, fish it with a 3/8-ounce spinner bait in fire tiger with double gold Colorado blades.

LAKE SEMINOLE

According to Ken Sturdivant at Southernfishing.com, bass fishing has been good. With the rain across Georgia this week, muddy water is coming out of the Flint River. This makes sight fishing tough, but it can still be done in backwater ponds where the water is clear. Most of the ponds off Spring Creek and Fish Pond Drain stay clear year-round. A good bait to fish while searching is a 7-inch Big Bite Baits Sugar Cane worm in green pumpkin. Rig this on a Fish Catching Fool Bobber Stopper, FCF 3/16-ounce tungsten and a 4/0 Gama katsu Offset Worm Hook.

In other lake news, local nonprofit, Stewards of Lake Seminole, is using a floating excavator to remove invasive plants from Spring Creek, the Flint River, and Lake Seminole in an effort to restore water quality and revive the lake’s ecosystem. Fast-growing invasive plants such as Cuban Bullrush, primrose, and water hyacinth have negative effects on native ecosystems and affect recreation. To see the excavator in action watch this video by WTXL Tallahassee.

Night Time Fishing: If you want to beat the heat, guide Ryan Higgins, reports that the full moon of May is here which means that there are night-time giants to be caught on the lights eating gizzards.

Bream Success! Bream have been popping top-water pretty good. Angler, Michael Baxley, had luck catching bream on Seminole this week by taking the split-shot and cork off his line and just freelining a cricket.

Know Your Knots! Using the right knot is critical to making sure your vessel is secure, so it doesn’t drift away. Many people drown every year trying to retrieve their boat, so please wear a life jacket when you’re retrieving anything in the water.

FLINT RIVER

Shoal bass inhabit the swift currents and pocket water near rocky shoals of the flint river. They are strong and acrobatic fish when hooked and are so much fun to catch on a fly rod or a regular set up. They are active spring through fall but the spring is a great time to catch them as they congregate below dams and on shoals for spawning. Shoal bass feed on a variety of prey including crayfish, insects, and other fish, and are reported to feed actively during sunny, midday periods. Popular lures include popping and swimming plugs, plastic baits such as minnows and worms, and flies. Effective natural baits include crickets, worms, and baitfish. Shoal bass are endemic (native only) to the Flint, Chattahoochee, and Apalachicola rivers systems, so be sure to check this unique species of your Georgia bucket list! 

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER

Bluegill and Redear sunfish (“shellcrackers”) are types of bream commonly found in the Chattahoochee River. Bluegills exhibit a dark spot at the rear of the dorsal fin and black border on the gill flap, whereas redear have a red or orange border around their gill flap. The bluegill’s aggressive nature makes them vulnerable to a variety of artificial lures such as small jigs, spinners, and flies. Redear sunfish are particularly fond of snails and clams but are most frequently caught using natural baits such as crickets and worms. Bluegill and redear sunfish prefer the slower moving sections of the river, and tend to hang around structure such as stumps, roots, logs, and rocks. They should be on bed right now after the full moon and will be fun to catch as they are aggressively guarding their nests.  

BIG LAZER PUBLIC FISHING AREA

The bass fishing is pretty good right now. Try throwing spinners and crankbaits at about 4-6 feet of water. Fishing plastic worms and lizards near spawning beds could still produce decent bites. The crappie bite has cooled some over the last two months.  However, there are still a few being caught. Minnows are still your best bet.  We have had some good reports of bream catches lately. May is traditionally a great time to fish for bream on bed. Look for bream beds in the backs of shallow coves. The water is up above full pool following recent heavy rains.

(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

Looking for fish and wildlife related events to participate in now that things are warming up and summer is quickly approaching? Be sure to go check out the GADNR Events Calendar where you can find a wide array of outdoor activities that range from hunter education courses to community fishing events. These events span across the entire state of Georgia, so no matter where you are at there should be something interesting to check out for the whole family.

Buck Shoals Wildlife Management Area is having its first kids fishing event of the year this Saturday (5/17) in Cleveland, GA, so bring a lawn chair, a rod, and kick back to cast a line if you’re free!

LAKE ALLATOONA

Mixed Bag (courtesy of Red Rooster Custom Baits and Country Sportsman) —

It has been hit and miss with the rain and pop-up showers over the last week but Crappie, Bluegill and Shellcracker fishing has been really good on Lake Allatoona the past few days! We have been blessed with quite a bit of rain over the last couple of weeks, so much so that the lake is almost 1.5′ over full pool. The lake is absolutely beautiful this time of year with the water color being clear with a dark green surface tint and all of the trees have the rich green color…everything is shiny and new!

The crappie are recovering from the spawn and are heading to the brush! We are seeing crappie anywhere from 8′ – 12′ on brush piles, stumps, and stickups in this depth range. We are casting a Red Rooster Dagger in natural colors and slowly retrieving the jigs right above their heads and getting aggressive strikes. The colors that worked well this week are Motor Oil Red, Splatter Back and Watermelon Ghost. Clear water, we like to use more translucent colors to mimic a more natural color. Spider rigging is starting to pick up as well! One of the Red Rooster crew caught several this week spider rigging minnows above brush in 15′ to 18′ with the crappie suspended in 10′ – 12′ over the brush.

We are on the tail end of the bluegill spawn as the full moon this month was May 13th. If you have kids or adults who love bluegill fishing grab some crickets! The bluegill are shallow around any laydown or brush. You will want to use a #4 – #6 gold Aberdeen hook with 4 – 6 lb. test fishing line and a bobber set about 6″ – 8″ above your cricket. The bluegill are “feeding up” as they say and will be close to the surface so you want to start out with a shallow presentation. You can always adjust your cork depth as needed if you find something different.

Shellcracker (Redear sunfish): Just like Bluegill, we are on the tail end of the spawn. The lake temps have dropped since a couple of weeks ago from 78 to 74 which we think had an effect on the shellcracker spawn. They have moved from some areas that we saw them. But we still found a few this week in 4′ – 6′ feet. The ones we caught were “post spawn skinny”…at least in the areas that we caught ’em. On different parts of the lake they could be still spawning. The rig we use for shellcracker is a #2 hook on 4 – 6 lb. test fishing line and a #5 clam shell split shot pinched on the line about 12″ – 18” above the hook. The bait of choice is either a red wiggler or nightcrawler…they will eat either one!

If you are new to fishing and want to learn more about electronics, jig head sizes, jig colors and more be sure to tune in to FRIDAY NIGHT BITES which is a 30 minute Facebook livestream that we do on “Most” Friday Nights around 7PM you might learn something or teach us something new! If you don’t know what colors to choose check out our Combo Packs, this will save you a lot of time with proven stained and clear water colors. Lord willing, we will have another report for you next week. Be sure to check out the archives for April 2024 and see what we were doing this time last year. Make sure to download the Red Rooster Long Line Trolling Guide for tips on how to troll for Allatoona Crappie.

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing) — Bass are on beds in shallow pockets and are chasing fast moving baits. Look for these fish up near the Little River and down near Clark Creek. Try using a Spit N King by Strike King in the gizzard shad color or pull a Strike King Spence Scout in chartreuse or Fire tiger in color for these bedding fish. The Texas rigged worm and a 1/4-ounce weight with a Zoom finesse worm in black emerald color cased on or around the bed will also catch these fish. The Texas rig worm should be fished in the speed worming method by simply casting the bait to the bed and when it hits the bottom began to reel it in with a steady retrieve like it was small crank bait.

LAKE HARTWELL 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing) — Bass fishing is good. Catch them on several different patterns and lures catching a lot of good on crank baits in the creeks and ditches. There is also a good jerk bait bite early and late in the day. The spotted bass are still deeper on the main lake and in the creek mouths and anglers can catch them on a drop shot using the Zoom Z to drop worm especially around brush and rocks. Look for the bass to be in the flooded grass all over the lake but especially in the backs of creeks and pockets. Any cruising shallow fish like a Zoom Trick Worm and a jig. To catch lots of fish on light spinning tackle get some tiny jigs and small soft plastics and hit the major creeks. Fish until dark for a variety of fish from bass to stripers. Be ready as the stripers can bite the on a 1/8 to ounce jig head and a tiny Zoom Fluke. Try the 15-pound test braid with a diameter of 4 to pound test in case these show up. 

Linesides (courtesy of Captain Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011); report via SCDNR Freshwater Fishing Trends) — Captain Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports that early in May fish will typically be shallow early feeding on spawning herring, but as the month progresses they will start out the morning in mid-depths before moving to the 25-35 foot range as the sun gets us. By the end of the month, they may start out the day in deeper water and eventually the fish will spend a lot of time in deep coves where the bait frequently holds up. Depending on a variety of factors this month striper will be caught on a mixture of free-lines and down-lines, but as the month progresses typically more fish will be caught down.

CARTERS LAKE

Mixed Bag (courtesy of Captain Eric Crowley (lakeandstreamguideservice@gmail.com or 706-669-4973), Lake and Stream Guide Service):

• Lake Temp 70
• Level full
• Clarity 5ft

The spring walleye bite has been great with numbers and big fish. The fish are feeding pretty shallow at night and holding near shore after sunrise. Targeting the 25 to 50ft range has been most productive for daytime fishing. Slow trolling, jigging, or live bait are all good options for success. We are fishing relatively slow as the water at those depths is still chilly. On sunny days the fish will be tight to the bottom on cloudy days look for suspended fish holding slightly off the bottom. The areas around woodring branch boat ramp, Worley creek, and the dam have been holding lots of walleye. Our avg fish remains around 22″ which is a great eating size fish. The striper bite last month was the best we’ve seen in recent years for big fish on both live and artificial baits. The best bite is still early in the day on big fresh caught Alewives. Other baits just don’t get the attention of the fished natural forage. Start shallow and work your way deeper. Flat lines, planers, and down lines can all be utilized this month. Look for fish in the creeks early then work the banks to deep water. If trolling stripers is your preferred method, it’s time to get the u-rigs and bucktails out as well. Depth control is key.

LAKE BLUE RIDGE

Mixed Bag (courtesy of Captain Eric Crowley (lakeandstreamguideservice@gmail.com or 706-669-4973), Lake and Stream Guide Service):

• Temp 70
• Level full -2ft
• Clarity 8ft

This lake really comes alive in May. The walleye are crushing the spawning herring early in the morning. Look for active bait up shallow before dawn and concentrate on those areas after sunrise. Jerk baits, jigs, live bait, and trolling can all be used to catch fish this month. Target depths in May can run from just a few ft to 50ft depending on weather conditions. Get your baits to the fish and then fine tune your color options upon success. We have seen some real quality fish so far this year as well as numbers thanks to DNR’s continued stocking efforts. The trout bite has fired up for summer and the newly added rainbows are literally jumping in the cooler some days. Small spoons, jerk baits or even live bait at the proper depths will all catch fish this month. Most trout are running 15 to 18″ with some 20″ fish showing up as well. These lake fish are much tastier than their river-based cousins based on their diets and make great table fare.

LAKE LANIER

Bass (courtesy of Phil Johnson (pjohnson15@hotmail.com or 770-366-8845; report via Southern Fishing) — Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is fair to good. The lake is currently a half foot over full and the water temperature is running near seventy degrees. Overall, the lake is clear with some light staining up the rivers. The post spawn funk is still going on with the bass and it can be somewhat of a grind to put together a solid bag of bass right now. The good top water bite should be cranking up shortly but until then you may have to work a little harder to catch them. There is still an early morning shad spawn bite happening for the first hour or so up shallow and a quarter ounce Spot Choker with a two eight Keitech will work well for this bite. After the early bite you can back off into the fifteen-to-twenty-foot range with a three eights Spot Choker to catch some good fish off the bedding flats and around brush. If the wind is blowing there is some top water activity on a Slick Stick, Skimmer or Choppo over the twenty-five-to-thirty-foot brush, bumps or windblown points. Color choice is pretty simple with chrome for sunny days and either bone or white for cloudy days. The worm bite has been probably the steadiest bite using a three sixteenths shakey head and a Green Pumpkin Green Tamale worm around the docks in twenty feet or less water. The secondary rocky points have also been a good target for the worm bite. With the worm, watch for the walk off bite as the strikes are often undetectable. The schooling activity slowed down with the cooler weather but watch for it to pick up strong over the next couple of weeks. It’s a little bit of a transition time right now for the bass but you can still Go Catch ‘Em.

Crappie (courtesy of Captain Josh Thornton (770-530-6493), Crappie on Lanier; report via Southern Fishing) — Lake Lanier crappie fishing is good the water temperatures are in the mid-70s. The fish are 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 6 to 18 feet above a 15-to-40-foot bottom. Minnows have been working good 4 foot 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 taking a back seat to the bass activity which is very good but the stripers are mixed in with them and the methods are very similar. Planer boards and flat lines will catch both species so expect a lot of action. Blue backs are the bait of choice and putting a gizzard shad out on a float 20-30’ behind the boat will attract whatever is in the area. Water temperature is up and down with the storms still in the 70s. The fish are coming down looking for a stable water and oxygen supply. Most points and coves have fish and you should look for some kind of bait using your electronics and always be prepared for the fish to come up. This is a good time to update your line because you may hook up with a large fish and it will be heart breaking if it’s your fault. Remember to wear your life jacket.

Linesides (courtesy of The Striper Experience) — Lake level is 1071.73 (.73 above full) and water temps are 71-73 degrees, and water clarity varies from clear on main lake to stained farther north in the river systems and the backs of the creeks. The striped bass spawn is winding down and the fish are moving back south out of the river systems and the backs of the main free flowing creeks on the south end of the lake. May will be the time to catch these fish on rocky points, humps, and sandy blow thru areas that the herring and shad will be spawning on thru the month. Towards the end of May, the bait will be pulling off these areas and pushing into coves along the main lake and even halfway back in most of the major creeks. During the spawn time, flat lines and Capt Mack’s Perfect Planer boards will be the ticket pulled over the areas that you see shad or herring spawning around. The shad and herring will also spawn on vertical surfaces like bluff walls, bridge pilings, and marina break waters and dock walls. Run your flat lines out the back of the boat between 50-100 feet and your planer board lines between 50-100 feet behind the boards that are 40-60 feet away from the boat. Pull this setup at .9- 1.2 mph with your Minn Kota Instinct trolling motor around any of these areas that you are seeing spawn activity. Best bets on bait this time of year are herring or small to medium size shad. On the north end of the lake you should be able to find fish on these areas in Wahoo, Little River, Gainesville, and Ada on the Chattahoochee side and Thompson, Taylor, and Latham on the Chestatee side. Down south, the fish will be on secondary points in Bald Ridge, Young Deer, Two Mile, and Big Creek. The top water bite will also crank up this month, so make sure you have a Chug Bug, Zara Spook, or Redfin tied on to throw up to these spots as you drag your baits over them. As the month moves along, and the water temperatures get into the high 70s and low 80s the cove bite will pick up. This will be the time to start relying on your Humminbird Explore or Apex to find groups of fish in 35-65 feet of water right in the middle of the drainages that make up the cove. Once you mark a few fish, drop your down line herring to the depth that you are marking the groups at and hang on. Down lines consist of a 1.5-2 ounce weight attached to your main line and then 3-5 feet of Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and a Gamakatsu #2-1\0 circle hook depending on the herring size. May is a great month to fish Lanier!

LAKE WEISS

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing) — Bass fishing is good. The month of May brings the end to the spawn and the beginning of a great top water bite. As the waters warms angles now will find the see post spawn fish begin to move to areas where they can recover from this spawn, rest and feed. Shad begin to spawn and invoke a feeding frenzy for bass, white bass and hybrids. Shad will spawn on hard surfaces, like rock, and will end that ritual just after daybreak. The Spro Dawg, Little John crankbait, the McStick jerkbait and Big Bite Jerk Minnow are my go to bait for active fish. There is also a good jig bite in blowdowns and shallow trees. Big females will move to these areas after coming off the bed. Bass will slowly be moving out toward summer areas and mid depth brush. The fish can be targeted with jig head worms, drop shots and finesse jigs. Watch your sonar for signs of bait and active fish.

WEST POINT LAKE

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, Southern Fishing) — Bass fishing has been good and the bass are on points, around docks and the new grass in the lake. Use slow moving lures and works, Flukes and trick worms are the best baits. The early bite starts on anything in the water in the shallows. Wood, rocks, and docks have fish all around them and casting shallow is the best bet. Start the day with almost any color of Zoom’s trick worm. Skip or cast the bait past the cover and pull the lure and let it drop right into the cover. Depths can vary from 5 to 12 feet and the Enticer spinner baits in the 3/8-ounce size with silver and gold blades in either the willow leaf or Colorado combinations has been working. Slow roll these baits on and over points and any wood all day. The chrome and blue combination 1/2-ounce Rat L Traps has been good for bass in the same locations. Use the dark smoke red and green worms in the Zoom u tail style on a light Texas rig. The Texas rigged worm and a 3/16-ounce weight cast on and around the bank cover and around docks in the creeks will get strikes. With the water temperatures warming, presentations can be faster. The bass are shallow and spawning this week all over the lake. Up lake in the rivers and up lake creeks, jig and pig in reds and black combos along with the Uncle Josh matching trailers worked on points and around docks will draw strikes for bass.

RIVER REPORT 

Mixed bag (courtesy of Cohutta Fishing Company) — 

Toccoa Tailwater: We’ve had a lot of rain coming through in the past two weeks and there is more on the way. With a lot of isolated storms, keeping an eye on the radar before fishing can help determine what will be fishable and what will be blown out. But don’t let the rain deter you. Most of these storms can be brief, just make sure to bring a rain jacket. Streamer fishing in particular has been great during these types of days. With the native chubs and other minnows getting active in the increase of water temp. And with frequent stockings, there are plenty of bigger meals around for the bigger brown trout. Generations have still been all over the place. Sometimes in the mornings, sometimes midday and usually a couple of hours late afternoon. But these short windows of high water have been leading to some great streamer fishing. On low water, expect to see some bugs in the morning and late in the afternoon. Fishing has been pretty good up until the hottest part of the day. Been starting to see some Sulphurs and Light Cahills the past two weeks, so definitely keep some yellow or cream dries in your box. For the nymphs, a Pheasant Tail or Frenchie has been my go-to point fly with a Flashback Hare’s Ear or PT off the back. Soft hackles have been working great during the hatches as well. Definitely sticking to dry dropper rigs, as our terrestrial season is fast approaching. Stock up on some black and orange foam dries, because we should be seeing some cicadas here soon. A lot of cicada patterns can be too big for a majority of trout to get a solid hook up on. Try using Fat Alberts, Chubbies, or something where the hook gap isn’t taken up by the foam. Definitely stick with orange and black for these. We will be guiding for a variety of different species during this hatch, and if you haven’t experienced a cicada hatch, you need to call to book now!

Upper Toccoa: Currently the Upper is running at 1,350cfs after peaking at 2,400cfs yesterday. This will take a day or two to clear up, but with more rain in the forecast, it’s probably better going somewhere else. DH ends May 15th.

Small Streams: Small streams are fishing great when clear right now. The rain is keeping the flow up, making for some less spooky fish. Lots of bugs coming off but stick with anything yellow for your dry. Sulphurs, Light Cahills, and Yellow Sallies are plentiful. In a lot of these places all you should need is a sz14 Yellow PMX or Stimulator. If the fish aren’t too eager to come up. Throw a Frenchie, Pheasant Tail, or March Brown Jig under the same dry or bump up to a sz12. Terrestrial season is fast approaching, so get your beetles, ants, and hoppers ready. Cicadas should also be popping off in some of these streams, but most smaller fish won’t be able to get them in their mouth.

Warmwater: As our cicada hatch is fast approaching, all of us have top water on our minds. Cicadas are expected to hatch throughout North Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. This will lead to some of the best top water fly fishing there is. Carp, Bass, and even some catfish will be cruising the surface looking for cicadas to eat. Some have started to emerge already but give it a few weeks and there will be thousands. This will be some of the best carp fishing there is so don’t miss out. Get your trip booked soon. With all this rainy weather, the striper fishing has been pretty solid in the places that aren’t blown out. A lot of fishing right now is looking for windows or clear water.

Hot Flies:

• Jigged Pheasant Tail (sz12-16), Frenchie (sz12-16), Jigged Hare’s Ear (sz12-16), March Brown Jig (sz12-14), Walt’s Worm (sz12-14), Duracell (sz12-16), Blow Torch (sz12-16), Crystal Hunchback (sz14-16), Flashback Hare’s Ear (sz12-16), Flashback Pheasant Tail (sz12-16), Soft Hackle Hare’s EAr (sz12-16), Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail (sz12-16), Rainbow Warrior (sz14-16), Yellow Stimulator, Yellow PMX, Pat’s Rubber Legs, Parachute Sulphur, Fat Albert, Project Cicada, Moodah Poodah Black, CDC Comparadun Sulphur, San Juan Worm, Squirmy Worm, Sex Dungeon, Viking Midge, Sluggo, Boogle Bug 

Trout (courtesy of Jeff Durniak, Angler Management; report via Unicoi Outfitters) — Trout fishing remains good and can actually be better when the water is high, stained, and cool rather than low, clear, and warm. Our unsettled weather pattern continues, so bring both your high-flow and low-flow games to your favorite trout waters. Headwaters are great, stocked streams are re-dosed regularly, tailwaters are icy and best bets, the GA DH season is waning, and our bigger trout streams are better early or late instead of during the warm midday hours. Don’t miss the last of our spring, late-evening aquatic insect hatches. Head north to extend your dry fly season by a couple weeks.

Pond and lake bass and bream fishing is still on fire, while river bass remain a hit in clear water and a miss in muddy stormflows. Reservoir Stripers are starting to head deep or upriver to find cooler water.

Enjoy these cooler, wetter days while they last. They’ve extended our spring trout season via the cooler water temps and given those fish bigger appetites in the stained flows. Don’t miss the pond action, either. It’s still prime among the banks. Come by either UO store and we’ll point your gang toward success!

Headwaters: They’re low and clear and warming up on sunny afternoons, but most streams are still running below the mid-60’s for daily highs, so the great dry fly bite will continue. During brief storm surges, drop a frenchie, green weenie, or small squirmy worm underneath a buoyant chubby Chernobyl and hi-stick that combo thru soft pockets and stream edges, those flood refuges where the fish relocate to.

Stockers: The GA stocking program is in full swing. Try the bigger streams but walk downstream a couple hundred yards before getting in and then fish back up to your vehicle. You’ll find the wash-downs in small pockets that most anglers stepped over to get to the bridge pool.

• Wes’ Hot Fly List: Dries: parachute Adams, parachute light Cahill, 409 Yeager yellow, yellow stimulator, chubby Chernobyl, hard body ant.

• Nymphs & Wets: Stockers: Squirminator, mop, slush egg, frenchie, girdle bug, lightning 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.

(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.

Props! Congratulations to Richard B Russell angler Shane Duncan who established the new lake record white catfish last week by landing this 4 lb. 4 oz beauty. White catfish are actually bullheads in the Ameiurus genus and closely related to yellow, brown, flat, and snail bullheads. Though this fish is yellow in color, the slight fork of its caudal fin was the key to correctly identifying it as a white catfish (i.e., a yellow bullhead’s caudal fin is slightly rounded or flat).

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 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 pattern to produce through the rest of this month.

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): For those that missed it last week, 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!

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. 

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 stripers 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.

Crappie (courtesy of Doug Nelms with Big Fish Heads Guide Service): Doug sent me a video of his livewell with about 30 lively slabs and a clicker boasting 43 released with hopes they’ll put on a few more inches before the next hookup. He caught them fishing jigs over brush in 15 – 20 feet of water.

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 striper 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. 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.

Crappie (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Biologist Brandon Baker): In May, target deeper submerged treetops and areas around docks with brush or try fishing with lights at night under bridges or lighted deep-water docks, deep brush in coves or around deep-water structure. Both natural and artificial baits are effective. Small minnows hooked through the back or lips using long-shanked small hooks are good live 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.

SMALL IMPOUNDMENT REPORT 

HARD LABOR RESERVOIR

Shoreline Plantings: Water temperatures are in the upper 70s. Walton and Marben Fisheries staff planted 800 Walton Greenhouse-grown American water-willow at two locations on Hard Labor Reservoir last week. Once established, these plants will offer several benefits to the reservoir including shoreline stabilization, trapping sediments, assimilating nutrients, and providing shallow cover for a variety of gamefish. I spoke with angler Steve who reported catching two 8-lb largemouth in grass beds recently. He was fishing for catfish with live bluegill and found two big post-spawn female bucketmouths, instead!

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 back 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)

Instead of talking about what areas of the rivers are still high enough to get around, we’re thinking more along the lines of where is still LOW enough to fish effectively! This past weekend’s extensive rains have changed the fishing in most areas. Some areas are still really good, while others are totally washed out for the next few weeks.

River gages on May 15th were:

• Clyo on the Savannah River – 11.8 feet and rising
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 8.4 feet and rising
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 10.8 feet and rising
• Waycross on the Satilla – 9.8 feet and rising
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 7.1 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 4.4 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 4.3 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 6.8 feet and rising

Last quarter moon is May 20th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

ALTAMAHA RIVER

Jason Baxley and his cousin won a bass tournament on the river this weekend with 30.5 pounds (7 fish limit). They had some really solid fish but had one 2 1/2-pounder that they could not upgrade.

SATILLA RIVER

Riley Hilton fished some small creeks near Alma this week and had fun with bowfin. He flung a fire tiger Dura-Spin and caught 19 bowfin on it this weekend.   The upper and middle river are blown out. The Burnt Fort area is rising but is still fishable this weekend. Catfishing should be good on the rising water.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

The warmouth, pickerel, and bowfin bites are still strong on the east side. On Friday, Herb Deener fished with me for a couple hours, and we did really well for warmouth. We pitched popsicle (purple/pink/chartreuse) Warmouth Whacker Jigs and white-pink Super Sallies under a float and caught 23 fish in two hours of fishing before the rain ran us off late-morning. Our catch included 3 pickerel, 1 bowfin, and 19 warmouth. We kept 6 for my parents’ supper and released the rest. Curtis Hazel called me wanting a guide trip last weekend while we were staring at a NASTY rain forecast right in the face. We agreed to get up Saturday morning and look at radar. It was pouring when we got up, but it looked like we would get a window, so we agreed to meet mid-morning and give it a try. I watched rain just to my east the entire way down to Folkston, but we had great weather and a window between the big slugs of rain. The fish cooperated, as we caught 23 fish total in two hours of fishing. We had 5 pickerel to 19 inches, 4 bowfin to 4 pounds, and 14 warmouth to 8 inches. We pitched popsicle Warmouth Whacker Jigs both under a float and without the float for the panfish and pickerel. We also trolled and cast Dura-Spins a short time for bowfin and pickerel so that he could see how to do it. Lemon-lime and white-silver blade worked best. He kept a half-dozen warmouth for supper, and we released everything else. On Saturday Curtis rented a motorboat from Okefenokee Adventures and took family in town for the weekend fishing in the swamp. They trolled up 20 bowfin and 3 pickerel with Dura-Spins. Lemon-lime and crawfish were their best colors that day. Jim Spencer and his buddies Tersh Harley and Michael Huber came up from south Florida for the rainy weekend and caught a bunch of fish both on the fly and traditional gear. Overall, they said that chartreuse spinners and crayfish flies worked best. They caught mostly warmouth, fliers, and bowfin, but they also had some pickerel and a gar. Michael had their biggest bowfin, an 11.6-pounder. Bill Stewart fished with me on the east side Wednesday, and we caught and released a total of 57 fish. Warmouth were chewing popsicle Warmouth Whacker Jigs both with and without a float and pink/white Super Sallies under a float. Pickerel and fliers also ate the same offerings, and the biggest bowfin (5-lb., 15-oz.) inhaled the small purple/pink/chartreuse jig also. We tried trolling for bowfin and pickerel for just a short time and caught one every few minutes. The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 120.76 feet.

LOCAL PONDS

Bass fishing was slow from the couple reports I received this week. Those two anglers caught a couple fish and missed a few bites, but they worked hard for those bites.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Seth Carter and friends fished the Brunswick area on Wednesday evening around low tide and caught 2 keeper flounder, 2 keeper reds, and a few oversized reds. They caught them on artificials. Todd Kennedy fished some docks in the Darien area this week and fooled some really nice sheepshead up to 7 pounds. Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) reported some good fishing again this week. They got rained out Monday, but Buddy Johnson and he got on a good bite Tuesday with a mixed bag of species. Wednesday he and John had trout, flounder, and redfish. They fooled them with live shrimp under Super Striker Floats. Fishing over hard sand channels in 4 to 6 feet of water was the ticket. They had 5 trout over 20 inches that day. On Thursday they had to hunt and peck until the last stop, and then it was wide open. With only 3 trout and 3 reds in the cooler they stopped in a shallow spot and had fish on every cast. They released a few reds and then had their feelings hurt by breaking off the next 5 fish in every way imaginable. He told Debbie that she had one more chance, and she let the cast fly. She was successful and hauled in a 27-incher on her last cast, took a quick photo, then released it. Redfish wrecker jigheads and shrimp have been killing the redfish for his charters. Most of the reds this month have been oversized. The big trout are biting. He’s already had about 15 trout over 20 inches this month. 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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