June 27, 2025 – Georgia Wildlife Blog

Celebrate Independence Day by swapping fireworks for fishing and making memories that’ll outshine any sparkler. Head out to one of Georgia’s 11 Public Fishing Areas for a fun filled Fourth of July outing. Bring the family, cast a line from a pier or bank, enjoy a picnic lakeside, and introduce the kids to the simple magic of catching their first fish (GeorgiaWildlife.com/first-fish-certificate).  Our well-maintained PFAs offer excellent amenities, bank and boat fishing, picnic shelters, restrooms, and more, all for you. Don’t forget your fishing license, and explore all of Georgia’s PFAs and what they offer at GeorgiaWildlife.com/allpfas.

NEWS TO KNOW

• Public Fishing Events Offered: Multiple Family Fishing Events offered throughout the summer! Visit the Events calendar to find one near you at  License.gooutdoorsgeorgia.com/Event/Calendar.aspx.
• Angler Access Improvements at PFAs: New infrastructure is enhancing fishing access at two Georgia Public Fishing Areas. Hugh Gillis PFA received a new footbridge last week. Staff had it installed within two days of delivery. Meanwhile, a new fishing pier for the special event pond at Ocmulgee PFA has arrived and will be installed soon. Explore more PFAs at georgiawildlife.com/allpfas.
• Boating Safety Reminder: All boaters are encouraged to follow safety guidelines to help prevent accidents on the water. Wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket is strongly recommended for everyone on board. Even experienced boaters should review current rules and regulations, operate at safe speeds, and remain alert at all times. For official safety information and resources, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/boating/boater-resources. 

This week, we have fishing reports from Central, Southeast, Southwest, and North Georgia. If you are boating for the patriotic weekend, or anytime for that matter, we strongly encourage all anglers and boaters to wear a lifejacket! Good luck, stay safe, and Go Fish Georgia!

(Fishing report courtesy of Hunter Roop, Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report, and contributions from Region 3 WRD Fisheries staff, local guides, and anglers.) 

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE RUSSELL IS FULL & STAINED, 80’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is fair. At first light fish a buzz bait on sea walls and rip rap from the middle of the coves and creeks to the back. White or white/chartreuse have been the best color. Fishing a Carolina rig on the humps on the south end of the lake has also been producing over the past week. As always during the summer fish the rip rap around the bridges when Georgia Power is pulling water in the afternoons. A Rat L Trap, spinner bait, or a small crank bait will all produce a strike. Deep diving crank baits off the south end humps will also pick up this summer. Most of the fish are small spots so go small with little Shad Raps, small Flukes and even a good old Rooster Tail in all white. The points of rip rap on both sides of bridges can hold feeding fish, especially during power generation. Crank baits, lightweight Texas rigs and jig head and worm rigs have been the producers. Bass holding around bridge supports have fallen prey to the worm rigs mostly. The best presentation is usually to cast the worm beside the bridge support and allow it fall vertically. Use the Spot sticker lead heads and a small green finesse worm.

Bass 2 (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Jerry Kotal (706-988-0860) reports that bass were already getting deeper by the last week of May, and in June they will go even deeper. Fishing with deep running crankbaits or plastics worms around deep structure out to 40 or more feet down will be the best pattern for anglers who don’t want to use live bait.

Striped Bass (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) reports that in June fish should be on both ends of the lake, with herring on free-lines working in the shallower upper lake and down-lines working in the deeper lower lake. Fish will also be holding around deep timber wherever it is found.

Crappie (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson reports that fish will move onto deeper brush or natural timber this month where they can be caught on jigs and minnows. Night-fishing around bridges will also be productive.

Catfish (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Jerry Kotal reports that fish will move deeper this month into 15-25 feet where they can be caught on cut herring. May was an excellent month for catfish and expect more of the same at least to start June.

CLARKS HILL IS FULL, 80’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is fair. Anglers are still holding to their spinnerbaits in the backs of creeks and pockets. The Husky Jerks and flukes are catching the bass out on the points and midway back in the creeks. Long casts and a varied retrieve seems to be the favorite way to work these baits this week. The first stage of spawning blue backs is over so they are on the prowl off the shallower rocky points and banks in search for food. Start off slow with the retrieve and watch for any signs of the sea gulls working the water. This might occur out in the deeper water and don’t hesitate to make a cast there. For those sight fishermen, go to the backs of coves and the large flats to find bass. For crank baits the Rapala Shad Raps in the balsa wood and suspending models is still a good choice. Also try lipless cranks like the Rattlin Raps. There are still a lot of bass staging up to go on bed as well as a good many males waiting and hanging around off the points. Keep the raps just off the bottom and keep them moving.

Bass 2 (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Guide Josh Rockefeller (706-513-6152) and tournament angler Tyler Matthews of Evans, Georgia report that once again high water levels to start the month may have more fish shallow around flooded cover, but by the end of May the herring spawn bite was already mostly passing and so at least one group of fish was moving deeper. Still, for a while longer fish should be caught off points first thing and then a little deeper in the same areas before the sun really gets up. Later in the day, and then all day later in the month, fish will be caught deeper over humps and around brush on worms or jigs. Anglers who prefer to fish shallower can look up the rivers or for bass feeding around bream beds – or continue to target the flooded cover if water levels stay high.

Striper and Hybrids (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that to start off the month fish were still fairly shallow early, or at least high in the water column, but this month they should move down the lake and deeper – and then continue to go deeper from there. Down-rods with herring will be the main technique for most anglers this month.

Crappie (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service reports that this month fish should be found around brush in 20-25 feet of water. Anchoring and then fishing vertically with minnows is usually the best pattern although at times the fish will show a preference for jigs.

Catfish (courtesy of SC DNR Fishing Reports): Captain Chris Simpson (864-992-2352) reports that the best fishing in June will be in the early morning or late evening. Anchoring on humps and points and fishing with cut bait at a variety of depths is the best bet.

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 80’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is good. There are a lot of fish being caught in less than 5 foot of water and many different baits are working. First thing in the day look for rocks where the shad are spawning and work that area well. Many will catch a mixed bag of fish consisting of whites, hybrids and largemouth. If there is any wind work the wind-blown banks with a small crank bait, like a ¼ ounce Rat T Trap in the chrome/black or a number Rapala 5 Shad Rap in sliver/black colors. A zoom finesse worm or a 5 inch lizard in the watermelon or green pumpkin seed fished on a Carolina rig with a 24 inch leader is another alternative. Fish this bait around sea walls, rocks, and docks in the back of pockets off the main lake and creeks. A good number of fish are also coming off spinner baits. Mid-day an all-white spinner bait around any docks or blow downs. Early and late in the day a buzz bait will get a good fish around docks and seawalls. If the day is overcast this bait can work all day.

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.1 FEET, 80’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report):  Bass are still biting in most of the lake. Spinner baits, buzz baits, soft plastics, and crank baits have all produced good results lately. Many fish are still in coves, but more are moving out to main creek and riverbanks also. Large spinner baits with double Colorado blades in gold or chartreuse are catching a few large bass early each morning. Good skirt colors are chartreuse white, chartreuse blue, and solid chartreuse. Try bulging it on the surface over stumps, blow downs, grass, points, docks, or other cover. Large buzz baits in chartreuse white are also catching quality fish from the same places. Be sure to use a trailer hook on both baits. Shad are spawning in the central lake around rip rap, seawalls, grass, overhangs, etc. One of several baits could be the best. Try small white spinner baits, Zoom Fluke in pearl, #5 Shad Rap, #9 Rapala, Tiny Torpedo, and Pop R. More shad will soon begin spawning all over the lake. Weightless trick worms and Flukes are good on some mornings around shallow cover. Use a #5 crane swivel about 6 8 inches above the bait. Try a #3 Gamakatsu EWG hook on the Trick worm and a #4 with a Super Fluke. Crank baits and Carolina rigs are working on points, docks, and brush piles. Try a #5 Shad Rap RS and Rapala DT10 in fire tiger. For the Carolina rig, try a Zoom Finesse or Trick worm in June bug or green pumpkin. Most of these fish are 5 to 10 feet deep. Lightweight worms are also working around shallow cover.

LAKE JACKSON IS 1.6 OVER FULL, 80’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass anglers are concentrating most of their efforts up the Alcovy and Yellow Rivers 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. Anglers worked the dam and fished that 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)

Temperatures on our Public Fishing lakes are in the high 70s and 80s and likely will continue to rise with the continuing heat.  Bass spawning has come to a close and fish are likely moving into slightly deeper waters.  Lake chub suckers were removed from Rodbender Lake and added to Willow Lake to increase forage fish for bass in the future.

Bass: Anglers are still having success with topwater lures, but with rising temperatures they may have better luck with deep-diving lures.  Try fishing shallow areas in the morning, but be prepared to hit deeper water as the sun gets high! Plastic worms and creature

baits may produce good results at these lower depths. Some really nice bass have caught out of Jones and Willow, recently!

Striped and Hybrid Bass:  Anglers should use chicken livers in areas with lots of bird activity for the best chance of success.  Many small hybrids and striped bass are being caught in Clubhouse and Bridge Lakes.  A large hybrid bass was caught while electrofishing on Clubhouse in mid-May!

Channel Catfish:  Catfish are still being caught regularly. Worms or chicken livers on the bottom of the lakes seem to produce good results for anglers, but anglers may also want to use lures that mimic small bait fish near the bottoms of lakes as well.

Bream:  Bream on the PFA are being caught frequently, anglers targeting bream should use live worms or crickets in and around structures in the lakes during peak hours of sunlight.

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

FLAT CREEK PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Area Manager Amory Cook) —

Bass:  The bass bite has picked up significantly with anglers reporting catches of 3-5 lb. fish. Try using Yum Dinger rubber worms in green pumpkin or chartreuse, wacky rigged.

Bream:  Red Wigglers fished deeper and around structure.

Crappie: Experienced crappie anglers will find success by locating deeper, cooler waters. Deeper water can be found around the aerators and the water control structure near the dam.

Catfish:  Anglers are having continued success catching catfish from the dam and some anglers are reporting catches from the fishing pier. Cut baitfish and chicken livers continue to produce catches. Also, if you are lucky enough to land a catfish that you believe to be over 10 pounds (about 30 inches long), please notify DNR staff, we are looking to fill the PFA 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 or nearly full.
• Pond Closures: Margery, Hillside, and Clubhouse ponds remain closed while under renovation.
• Water clarity: All the lakes have visibilities ranging from 16” to 48” depending on rainfall amounts and frequency.
• Surface temperature: 75-83 F
• Marben PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: Cooler than usual temperatures have the bass working shallows at daylight.  However, fish the deeper water when the sun is high.  June temperatures will surely push them deeper.   Shad are still gathering on the surface late in the evenings.  As temperatures increase through the month, the bite is expected to slow.  Most any bait choice will work when fished in the right situation – depth, temperature, visibility, and presence of bait. Go-to’s this time of year are crankbaits, spinners, top water, ned rigs, and drop shot.

Crappie: Relatively few crappie are being caught at this time, although some have been caught off suspended brush using jigs and minnows.

Bream: Crickets and waxworms fished on the bottom continue to produce well, particularly in the smaller ponds.  Fox Lake has produced some nice catches of bluegill and shellcracker.

Catfish: Nice channel catfish have been harvested at Fox and Bennett using night crawlers and live bait.  Remember, cast nets are not allowed on a Public Fishing Area.

Hybrid Bass:  Hybrid bass continue to be harvested at Bennett Lake.  Find schooling shad late in the day, and cast into the school with a small hair jig, bucktail, under-spin, or even a small A-rig, which will trigger a reaction strike.

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

This week’s heat reduced the number of reports significantly, but folks who went still caught fish. Expect the fish to be in their summer patterns after this extreme heat. The rivers are getting fishable again (except the Altamaha and Satilla systems).

River gages on June 26th were:

• Clyo on the Savannah River – 6.1 feet and falling
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 7.8 feet and falling
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 9.8 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 9.7 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 11.1 feet and falling
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 3.6 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 2.9 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 3.4 feet and falling

First quarter moon is July 2nd. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

SATILLA RIVER

Curtis and Jenny Hazel made their first trip to the Satilla River and fished in the lower area over the weekend. Jenny caught her first warmouth – a big one – on a zebra 1/8-oz. Satilla Spin. They also caught a few bluegills and a big bowfin – all on 1/16 and 1/8-oz. Satilla Spins.  The upper river is starting to get within the banks again, but it’s still off-color and ripping. Catfishing is your best bet this week.

ST. MARYS RIVER 

The next Bream Reapers Bream Tournament Trail event is this Saturday out of the Kings Ferry ramp. Check Bream Reapers Bream Tournament Trail out on Facebook for more information.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

Curtis Hazel fished with Christian Grimm on the east side for the last 1 1/2 hours of on-water time, and they fooled 4 bowfin and 2 pickerel. They caught their fish on red/white Dura-Spins and orange 1/8-oz. Satilla Spins. The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 120.66 feet.

LOCAL PONDS

Joshua Barber fished a pond on Saturday and caught several bass on plastics and topwater frogs. His biggest was a 5-lb., 4-oz. toad that inhaled a frog. He broke his rod when he put too much pressure on after it hung in the lily pads. So, for the second time this month he hand-lined a big bass to the boat. I fished with Miles Zachary in a Toombs County pond on Monday and did some filming. He whacked the bass first thing in the morning with a junebug 3/8-oz. BDD Buzzbait rigged with Down South and Berkley plastic swimbaits. After the first hour, the fish started busting minnows offshore, and we switched to 3 1/2-inch Keitech swimbaits (copperfield) rigged on 1/8-oz. Zombie Eye Jigheads and shad-colored squarebill crankbaits and kept catching them. Late in the morning the fish went back to eating the BDD buzzbaits and Keitechs. We ended up catching a total of 47 bass (all on the small side) and one giant bluegill over a pound. Look for the video soon on our social media pages.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Don Harrison and I fished together on Saturday at the St. Marys Jetties and had a blast. We pitched bucktail jigs for bull reds and Keitech swimbaits and mudminnows for flounder, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel. We struck out on redfish – only hooking one nice-sized fish before it pulled off. But the other fish all cooperated. Pearl 4-inch Keitech Swing Impact Swimbaits rigged on a pink 1/4-oz. Zombie Eye Jighead fooled the 2 biggest (16-inchers) and another keeper of our 7 flounder. Mudminnows fooled 2 of our other keepers. Bluefish were slamming several colors of 4-inch Keitechs suspended underneath Equalizer Floats and cast over-top of the rocks. We had about a dozen keeper bluefish along with 2 nice-sized mackerel. Don even caught a 19-inch weakfish on a mudminnow. We had a total of 40 fish, and several of them were black sea bass – including 2 keepers! Todd Kennedy got on some nice redfish around docks on Saturday. He fooled them with a pearl Gulp 5-inch Jerk Shad rigged on a 3/16-oz. rootbeer crackle Zombie Eye Jighead. Capt. Greg Hildreth (georgiacharterfishing.com) has had a very good week for whiting and trout. He said the whiting fishing has been “off the chain on the beaches and sounds”. One trip this week he put his clients on 18 big whiting in just 1 1/2 hours of fishing. They were putting dead bait on the bottom. The bite for trout has been wide open near the sounds. I talked with him on the phone Thursday morning, and his folks were catching trout one after another. They burned through 1 1/2 quarts of shrimp and were doubled up frequently. Most were throwbacks, but they had some keepers mixed in. The tarpon have arrived, but Capt. Greg has not chased them yet.  Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) had folks who wanted to catch redfish on Monday. They fished in a bunch of structures and broke off a few before boating a couple of good ones on shrimp rigged on Redfish Wrecker Jigheads. They moved to some deep drops (15 to 24 feet deep) and bounced Fourseven 3.5-inch swimmers for a few more oversized reds. They worked for them but caught some nice fish! 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 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).

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

LAKE BLACKSHEAR

Water clarity is improving with around 2+ feet of visibility and the amount of particles decreasing significantly. Hopefully the water quality will continue to improve, though the weather is calling for more rain which could potentially slow down or revert the water clarity back to muddy water. Crappie bites are still good though they have moved to a bit deeper water, around 10-15ft. Bait fish, such as shad, are found in plentiful numbers in shallow water around sloughs if you want to catch your own bait. It might also be a good place to throw in a lure to see if there are any bigger fish hanging around the bait fish.

LAKE SEMINOLE

Ken Sturdivant at Southernfishing.com reports that bass fishing is good. Use Zara Spook Jr. shad topwater lures and Storm jerkbaits lake wide. Bomber crank baits in baby bass, shad, and fire tiger colors cast to the banks will get a lot of action. Use the stop and go technique and try running these crank baits in the blow downs. A slow retrieve in the lay downs, letting the bait float up once it hits the limbs, will draw a strike. A good number of fish are also coming off spinner baits. While fishing in the muddy areas work an all-white spinner bait around any docks or blow downs. Early and late in the day a buzz bait will get a good fish around docks and seawalls. If the day is overcast this bait can work all day. A Stanley spinner bait in the 3/8-ounce size with white or chartreuse skirts cast to the points and shallow back cover will get the fish to attack this lure.

LAKE WALTER F. GEORGE

According to Ken Sturdivant at Southernfishing.com. Bass are up early in the morning and the grass bite is strong. Be sure that bait fish and deep-water access are close by for the better fish. Use top water baits and Zoom lizards around the grass in several of the creeks on the upper end of the lake. After lunch, use Carolina rigs and slow rolling spinnerbaits around the secondary points. These fish are feeding on the banks, and shallow cover will be the best locations. Stay in the shadows as long as possible and then move to docks and offshore structure. All white small Fat Free shad crank baits are working especially upriver. The bass are feeding early, and they will cover a lot of banks to look for food. Small lures in natural colors have been successful. After the early feeding period, the fish move to deeper man made and natural cover. The fish will take all white floating worms and small spinner baits.

The lake continues to give up good catches of both channel catfish and bluegill. Most any natural bait seems to be working.

FLINT AND CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVERS

Summer is in full swing, and it is hot! It’s a great time to try your luck with catfish that hang out in deeper cooler water. Fishing below the tailraces of a dam when power is being generated can be a good option or in the deep cut bank of a river bend.

One angler reports pulling in a 52 lb blue cat last week on the Chattahoochee so get out there and try your luck. The best bait is something nice and smelly. Anglers like hot dogs, chicken livers, and chicken breast soaked in strawberry Jell-O.

SILVER LAKE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

Silver Lake: Recent rainfall has raised the lake level slightly, and the bite has improved as a result. Largemouth Bass continue to school near the surface during the evening hours. While topwater plugs and swimbaits remain solid choices, anglers are also reporting strong success around shallow vegetation using wacky-rigged worms and swimming worms. Brim fishing has picked up as well. Try suspending a worm about 6 feet under a cork off the fishing pier in the evening for action.

House Pond: House Pond continues to provide consistent Hybrid Striped Bass activity, especially during early and late hours. Bream are still biting well in the morning with worms or live minnows under a cork remaining productive. Some anglers have also had luck tossing small spinnerbaits or slow-rolling crankbaits along the deeper trees.

Panic Pond: Texas-rigged worms dragged across deeper structure have produced fish up to 5 pounds. For those hitting the water early or staying late, topwater lures are worth a try as bass become more active near the surface during low light periods.

Frog Pond: Catfish action continues to be reliable throughout the day at Frog Pond. Channel Catfish up to 12 pounds have been reported. Chicken liver remains the go-to bait, either fished on the bottom or suspended under a cork near deeper holes and around structure.

BIG LAZER PUBLIC FISHING AREA

Bass fishing has been slowed slightly by high summer temperatures.  Try locating bass in 3 to 8 feet of water.  During the middle (hottest) part of the day, fish for bass in and around heavy cover, like the standing timber near the island. It is common for bream to be close-in to the banks during spawning season.  Crickets, as well as pink and red worms are excellent live bait for bream.

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

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE ALLATOONA IS 1 FOOT OVER FULL, 80’S

Allatoona Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant via www.southernfishing.com) —Bass fishing is fair. 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.

Panfish- (Courtesy of Red Rooster Custom Baits) —

The crappie, shellcracker and bluegill fishing on Lake Allatoona this past week was great! We had better weather this week than we have in the past few weeks so we had more time on the water. Good weather also means more boater and wave runner traffic which means waves, wakes and a lot of bobbing up and down. If you get motion sickness…afternoon fishing may not be the time for you! In all seriousness there is a lot of traffic on the lake so wear your PFD’s and be on the look out for folks who are not looking out for you. The air temperatures are rising and so is the water temperature. This week we are seeing water temps get to 85 by late afternoon. The morning hours between 0600 – 1030 are the best times to be on the lake to avoid boat traffic.

Crappie: The summer pattern report will be very repetitive between now and September/October…it’s summer and the crappie will be in their deep water hangouts. The crappie can be found on structure anywhere from 16′ to 22′ deep and they are typically suspended above the structure in 10′ – 16′. You can also find crappie on deep water docks, when we say deep water docks, we are talking about docks that sit in at least 20′ of water. If you can skip a jig under the dock you may get the rod knocked out of your hand by a big old slab! When shooting docks, we recommend a 1/32nd oz. jig head for a slow fall. Let it sink for about 10 – 15 seconds and then slowly start reeling to the boat. We like to cast jigs in and around structure using a 1/16th or 3/32nd oz. jig head in the morning or late evening but crappie tend to be most active in the early morning hours. When the bite slows down, we will switch to spider rigging minnows to finish out the trip. If you are throwing jigs make sure to use natural color jigs like a Red Rooster Small Fry in Blue Glimmer, Watermelon or Fried Pickle and the Red Rooster Dagger in UV Shad, Gray Ghost, Watermelon Ghost or Motor Oil Red. These are great colors and sizes to start with first thing in the morning. If you are Spider Rigging, set the minnow at different depths until they start biting. We usually have 2 rods set at 8′, 2 rods at 10′ and 2 rods at 12′.

Bluegill: The bluegill are still hanging around shallow structure in the backs of creeks and cuts BUT we are starting to catch some in deeper water. We picked up a few bluegill on night crawlers around 8′ – 10′ while looking for Shellcrackers. Crickets will always be our #1 bluegill bait of choice around shallow water structure but they will eat a red wiggler worm as well. Use a #4 – #6 gold Aberdeen hook with 4 – 6 lb. test fishing line and a bobber set about 8″ – 12″ above your cricket or worm. You can always adjust your cork depth as needed.

Shellcracker (Redear sunfish): The Shellcracker bite should not change much for the summer. Start looking for shellcracker in 10′ – 12′ of water around points and rocky humps. 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!

LAKE BLUE RIDGE

Bass (Courtesy of Eric Welch, of Welch’s Guide Service) — Fishing is good. Summertime fishing is upon us. We’re starting to see fish breaking in the mornings and also starting to see bait being chased throughout the day. I’ve been starting my mornings out throwing a Whopper Plopper, Pop-R and a Zoom Fluke on main-lake points, humps and around any brush. We have also been catching fish around docks on a Fluke. Once I’m done throwing topwater the first couple of hours, I will switch over to throwing a shaky head and a drop shot around docks. I will start working on points that have brushpiles and stumps. I will also start fishing the deep, rocky banks and work my way upriver, fishing all the banks that the river swings against. It’s also good to target the finger pockets going up the river. I like throwing a 3/8-oz. jig and spinnerbait around the treetops, going up the river. This is a good time of year for your forward-facing sonar. You can see how fish are reacting to your bait, which will help you pattern them better. Good luck.

CARTER’S LAKE

Bass (Courtesy of Guide Robbie Linginfelter, with Carters Lake Guide Service) — The month of June can be really special on Carters. Fish have moved offshore, and it’s your summertime spotted bass fishing. Go out on those main-lake points and brushpiles in 20 to 30 feet of water and start fishing. Baits can range from topwater to jerkbaits to drop shots. Every day will be a little different, so make sure to adapt with how the fish are acting. Be prepared with a variety of baits, and be ready to change. My favorite topwater bait is a KVD Sexy Dawg, my jerkbait is a 6th Sensa Provoke, and my drop shot is a Big Bite Baits Skinny Stick. Chrome hard baits and green-pumpkin soft baits are hard to beat.

LAKE HARTWELL

Bass: Guide Scott Allgood (864-364-1733) reports that at the end of May most fish were headed offshore where they can be caught on drop shots and shaky heads around deep brush piles, or called up with topwater lures. Also keep your eyes open for topwater schooling activity. As usual, it’s also hard to go wrong with a shaky head worm fishing off main lake points.

Striper and hybrids: Guide Chip Hamilton (864-304-9011) reports that at the end of May fish were a little shallower than they normally are, but soon an early summer deep cove pattern should start. This month fish will usually be back in coves off the main body of water where the bait is holding, and they will normally feed on the bottom in about 30-45 feet of water through the morning and then again in the late afternoon. You can fish this pattern with down-lined herring down both rivers as well as in various places around the dam. It should hold through the end of June, and it usually isn’t until July that fish gradually move a bit deeper.

Crappie: Guide Rodney Donald (864-356-0143) reports that to start off June fish are still in mid-depths and feeding well, but crappie fishing will eventually slow down in the heat on Lake Hartwell. Fish will move to deeper brush, and they can also be caught fishing at night with lights around bridges.

Catfish: Captain Bill Plumley reports that during June channel catfish will bite well, especially in 20 or less feet of water, on a variety of baits including cut herring and nightcrawlers. The flathead catfish bite should also be good and fish should be caught on both live and fresh cut bait, especially in low light conditions around brush. Blues are harder to target as they return to the deep timber after spawning.

LAKE LANIER IS 1 FOOT OVER FULL, 80’S

Lanier Bass (Courtesy of Phil Johnson, pjohnson15@hotmail.com, (770) 366 8845)— Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is fair to good. The lake is currently one foot above full pool and the water temperature is running around eighty degrees Overall, the lake is clear with some light staining in the backs of the creeks and up the rivers. This has not been the typical early summer bite on Lanier this year. The topwater bite is very sporadic and the bass seem to be moving into the deeper brush earlier than normal. There are some large schools of bass schooling on top but that doesn’t mean they will bite. If you work an area of breaking fish but don’t hook up just move on. Several baits have caught fish this week with no one bait really standing out. The main target areas have been humps with structure and long points with the fish being in the fifteen-to-thirty-five-foot range. The Fluke, Slick Stick, Gunfish, Skimmer and Whopper Plopper have all produced fish at one time or another. Just be ready to try different baits to see which one they want on that particular spot. Once you work an area with the above baits it is worth it to throw a shaky head with a green pumpkin green trick worm around the area. Several good fish were caught doing using it this week. The drop shot with either a Blue Lily or a Sweet Rosy worm has picked up as the fish are getting more into the deeper brush. Using your FFS has been a key to either target the fish in the brush or seeing where the fish are located in relation to the structure. Be prepared to fish a lot of areas because moving from spot to spot is necessary right now. They can still be caught so Go Catch ‘Em!

Crappie (Courtesy of Captain Josh Thornton, (770) 530 6493)- Lake Lanier crappie fishing is good the water temperature is 81. The fish are on stickups and open water brush also in large groups under docks in the shade. Crappie have been at depths of 10 to 15 feet above a 25 to 40 foot bottom. The jig color combo that worked the best for me this week was the green and chartreuse single tail 1.5 inch jig. Minnows have been working well over 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 Live Scope, protected by a sonar shield cover, and a Power Pole are highly recommended.

Striper (Courtesy of The Striper Experience Guide Service)- Lanier is at 1071.88, .88 feet above full pool, with water temps in the high 70s, and clear water lake wide.  June is a big transition month and most of the fun times with Capt Mack’s Perfect Planer boards will come to an end.  The shallow bite will be over and the fish will be moving deeper with the increasing water temps.  Most of our Striper this month will be caught in pockets from Brown’s Bridge down to the dam and in drainages coming into the main creeks on the south end.  These areas are great for Stripers as they give the fish multiple environments to feed in.  They can chase shallow bait early and late in the day in 10-20 feet of water, while having 40-50 feet of water to go to when the sun comes up.  Downlines pulled slowly at .4-.6 mph thru these areas with herring or small shad at 25-35 feet down will be very effective.  When you find a few fish Spot Lock on these fish with your Minn Kota Instinct and hang on.  If the Stripers move out from under your boat break out your thump stick and thump the floor of the boat to get them back over to you.  The rubber bottoms on these sticks will make a low pitched tone thru the hull of your boat and often attract Stripers to the boat and to your baits.  There are also some machines that you can hook up to your battery that will make these thumping noises.  Go see Terry at Sherry’s Bait and BBQ and ask about the thumpers he has available and also get yourself some of the best bait on the lake.  Some days however they can be skittish so try putting a couple of your downlines away from the boat using your Capt Mack’s 10 inch Perfect Planer Boards.  Put your weights down the same 25-35 feet, clip on your boards, and send them 20-30 feet away from the boat. Pulling these “downer boards” will give you a shot at those fish that move out from under the boat as it passes over.

Humminbird’s  360 transducer has been absolutely a game changer by being able to see schools of fish in front of the boat and being able to adjust to them as they go to one side of the boat or the other.  When those fish move out from directly under the boat you can also tell which way you need to move to stay with them.June will also be the start of our lead core trolling season. 1.5 oz White/ Silver or White/ Chartreuse Capt Mack’s Chipmunk jigs with a white or chartreuse u-tail or shad body trailer pulled 2.5-3 mph anywhere from 150-180 feet behind the boat.  This is a great way to fish more water while you are looking in these pockets for schools of Stripers.  A Capt Mack’s Mini Mack on lead core will also catch a lot of fish this month in the larger pockets where you have more room to turn out of as you reach the end of the pocket.  Keep a 1/4oz Striper Tackle Pro swimbait head and 3.3 inch Keitech swim body close by to cast to the last of the top water action and be ready for anything this month.

 

WEISS LAKE IS FULL, 80’S

Lake Weiss Mixed Bag (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. At first light fish a buzz bait on sea walls and rip rap from the middle of the coves and creeks to the back. White or white/chartreuse have been the best color. Fishing a Carolina rig on the humps on the south end of the lake has also been producing over the past week. As always during the summer fish the rip rap around the bridges when Georgia Power is pulling water in the afternoons. A Rat L Trap, spinner bait, or a small crank bait will all produce a strike. Deep diving crank baits off the south end humps will also pick up this summer. The top water bite is fair and a few nice bass are being caught while searching the shallower water, three foot or less. Late morning turns the picture around a bit with most of the bites coming on the crank baits in the three to eight foot range. Start on the points and secondary points and docks, rocks and wood along the way.

WEST POINT LAKE IS FULL, 80’S

West Point Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) —Bass fishing is good. The spots are biting and there are lots of small 13 inch fish hitting worms and crank baits. Use the small #5 and #7 Rapala Shad Rap silver and black back. Small watermelon green and natural blue Zoom finesse worms are very good lures for the spots. All white 3/8 ounce Rooster Tails on light line will get the strikes from spotted bass on the main lake points. Spots will spawn on main lake humps and these fish are usually larger. Small baby bass and all white crank baits from the Storm Bait Company are good lures for these fish. Work this bait deeper for the better fish. Trick worms in the June bug and all white colors will work. Let the baits sink to the bottom with no weight. Look in the marina docks for schools of fish. Doodling finesse worms will draw strikes and use a small jig head and a night crawler for lots of bites.

TROUT REPORT 

To learn about Georgia’s diverse trout fishing opportunities including the latest stocking information, check out the Georgia DNR Trout Fishing page. 

Stocked Trout: Find out which trout streams received trout by clicking on the “Weekly Stocking Report” located at GeorgiaWildlife.com/Fishing/Trout.

Trout Fishing Opportunities for Those With Disabilities: Check out these sites that are open to the public and offer specific amenities for anglers with disabilities. Find the list at GeorgiaWildlife.com/Fishing/Trout.

Trout and More (This report courtesy of Unicoi Outfitters) –– Quick summary: wild trout are decent at high elevations, delayed harvest trout season is now history, stocked trout are good in high mountain streams (before lunch) and in icy tailwaters, river bassin’ will be good when storms don’t muddy our rivers, stripers and gar are bonus river treats, reservoirs are warming and slowing down, and ponds will be fun when fishing their shady perimeters. 

Chattahoochee Tailwater (Courtesy of Tad Murdock, Georgia Wild Trout Guide Service) –The Chattahoochee will fish well throughout June. Expect more traffic from floaters and boaters trying to beat the heat on the river. The midge hatches have moved to very early or late in the day, so if you’re looking to do some dry fly fishing on the Chattahoochee, you’ll want to target these times. Another fun bite during the summer can be found throwing a streamer. The smaller fish found in the tributary creeks will move closer to the mouths during the summer. The more periodic releases from the dam place these fish in much closer proximity to predatory trout close by. These areas will be best for streamer fishing. Everything from 2-3” sculpin patterns to 6-8” stocked trout imitations can get looks from aggressive trout. Learn more about fly fishing streamer patterns in this article.

Toccoa Tailwater (Courtesy of James Miles, GA WRD Fisheries Biologist) — Due to the heatwave we are experiencing here in North Georgia, TVA is running a modified release schedule. They will be generating daily from 0900-1100 in an effort to maintain suitable water temperatures/habitat for our tailwater trout. Watch the release schedule and get out there early to get on some great tailwater fishing! 

Stocked Trout (Courtesy of Jeff Durniak, Unicoi Outfitters) –The heavy spring stocking season will wind down with the July 4th holiday, so go soon for stockers. After that, stocking subsides (by design) due to warming waters and decreased fishing pressure. And the vacant hatchery raceways (rearing troughs) are restocked with 4-inch fingerlings that will be next spring’s crop of stockers. Stocker fishing is still good in the mornings, before water temps hit about 68 or 70F. Beyond that the bite slows, so get up early or aim for a shady stream higher up the mountain. Stockers are intended  for harvest, so don’t feel bad about fishing for them at higher temps if you intend to take them home. Squirmies, eggs, fluffy chubbies, and small buggers will put your new fly fisher on some stockers.

Wild Trout- (Courtesy of Jeff Durniak, Unicoi Outfitters) — They’re clear and warming and will take a hit with this week’s heat. Flows are pretty good, but they’ll drop quickly as next week looks a lot drier.  Aim for mornings, higher elevations, and north slope streams (which catch less sun)  for the best action as hotter weather rolls in. Try the usual dries (Adams, caddis, Yeager, ant) and add a pheasant tail or ant dropper if the fish are hesitant to take the dry or if a sudden storm boosts flows. Downsize your tippet, too, if flows are low and fish have extra time to study your bugs.  To be safe, quit fishing for wild fish when temps hit about 66F.

UO-Helen manager Wes: “I did a morning guide trip on a national forest stream with David & Lacy. We fished dry dropper rigs with a small chubby Chernobyl up top and a micro girdle bug off the back. Most of our fish came on the girdle bug but we did have a few fish smack the chubby up top.”

Related