The hot weather is now approaching as it will be in the 90s this week. The rivers have been producing some good catches.
River gauges as of Thursday, April 9:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 5.9 feet and falling
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 2.7 feet and steady
• Clyo on the Savannah – 4.2 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 2.2 feet and falling
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 3.8 feet and steady
• Waycross on the Satilla – 4.9 feet and rising
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 3.5 feet and falling
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 1.7 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St. Marys – 1.8 feet and steady
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 1.1 feet and falling Altamaha River – Quinn Brown and I fished a tournament out of Altamaha Park. We managed to get in the top three with 12.40-lbs.
We caught around 20 bass that day and the biggest weighed around four pounds. Flukes, crankbaits, and topwater lures worked best for our fish.
I fished the lower river and I landed 12 nice bass (biggest weighed over four pounds). My top five went around 17 pounds. Topwater lures and spinnerbaits fooled them.
Satilla River – I went kayaking and I caught eight nice bass. I had two giant bass hit, but they didn’t hook up though. The bass ate Silverback buzzbaits.
I’ve heard of some good panfish and catfish reports from the river. One angler caught around 15 redbreasts on the upper river. Another angler caught over 30 catfish.
The free “Rigging it Right with Capt. Bert Workshops” has started. The workshops are geared toward giving anglers confidence in rigging different lures and baits for success.
Participants will actually tie their own rigs and knots and rig the lures. It’s a hands-on workshop. There are 20 slots and only a handful are left, so call Satilla Feed and Outdoors if you want one of the last remaining slots.
Withlacoochee River – Jim O’Conner fished for a few hours and boated eight nice bass, tons of panfish, and a nice channel catfish.
He said the current was strong and the fish appeared to be grouped up. A black/blue flake crawfish and a Neko rig were what he used. The biggest Suwannee bass of the day weighed around 1.5-lbs.
St. Marys River – Brandon and Christie Nix fished out of Temple Landing and caught 17 panfish (bluegill and redbreasts) while using Swamp Spiders and jigs.
Lakes and Ponds – Jimmy Zinker went on a night fishing excursion at a Turner County pond and caught five fish, with the biggest weighing 7-lb. 1-oz. He fooled the fish by using a buzzbait.
Jimmy went to Lake Miccosukee and caught seven bass while using buzzbaits and a Muskie Jitterbug. One weighed around four pounds.
Some anglers reported they caught a nice mess of bass recently at Lake Iamonia.
Okeefenokee Swamp – Brian (from Birmingham, Alabama) and his brother Clint fished with Captain Bert Deener on the east side. They caught 44 fish (pickerel and bowfin).
Their biggest bowfin weighed 5-lbs. 14-oz. The best color Dura-Spins of the day were lemon-lime, crawfish-brass, and firetiger. Captain Bert said they spotted some swallowtail kites on their trip.
Captain Bert Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip, visit his website bertsjigsandthings.com.
The latest swamp level on the east side was 119.82 feet. Be careful driving your boat with the low water conditions.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Captain Greg Hildreth reported he caught around 15 trout on live shrimp under slip float rigs. He said they have been catching some whiting, too.
Blake and Julian fished the Georgia Coast and caught a dozen redfish. They used dead shrimp on a 3/16-oz. 3/0 hook Redfish Wrecker Jighead.
Captain Tim Cutting fished the St. Simons area and landed 14 trout. He used Fourseven Lures plastics rigged on Tourney Tackle jighead. A few of the trout were big and fat.
Before your next fishing trip, stop by Winge’s Bait and Tackle located at 440 Memorial Drive in Waycross. They have all the tackle you need for a successful trip! For their hours, call 912-283-9400.
To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website (waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/rt). For the latest marine forecast, check out www. weather.gov/jax/.
If you have any fishing reports or fish pictures that you would like to be included in this report, email them to me [email protected] or send them through Messenger on Southern Waters Fishing Report’s Facebook Page.
