Bass have been munching this week. The recent rains have caused most rivers to start rising again. Saltwater has been pretty much hit or miss. Lakes and ponds have produced some of the best reports.
River gauges as of Thursday, May 28:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 6.2 feet and rising
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 3.1 feet and steady
• Clyo on the Savannah – 6.2 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 2.3 feet and falling
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 5.8 feet and rising
• Waycross on the Satilla – 6.4 feet and rising
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 3.7 feet and rising
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 4.2 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St. Marys – 1.8 feet and steady
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 1.1 feet and steady
Altamaha River – I fished on the lower section of the river and had a real nice trip with my top five close to 16 pounds.
Most of my fish hit spinnerbaits and a topwater lure. The water was fairly muddy and it was tough to get a bite, but they appeared to be stacked up in certain areas.
I talked to some other anglers who caught some decent bass. One angler reported the catfish bite was very slow. Justin Harrison managed to catch six nice bass.
Austin Hill fished two evening tournaments this week and got second place both times. Topwater lures produced most of his fish.
Satilla River – Don Harrison kayaked on the upper river and caught a mixed bag of bluegill and redbreasts.
The bite was slow, but he was able to catch seven nice ones. He used Satilla Spins and bruised banana/ gold blade was the best one of the day.
Lakes and Ponds – Jimmy Zinker and his friend, Colton, fished at Orange Lake and had the time of their life.
They caught two bass around 10 pounds and had five in the 6- to 7-lb. range. Jimmy caught the biggest one weighing 10lbs. 3-oz. They used topwater lures, and the most productive one was a Muskie Jitterbug.
The bass bite has been good at Paradise Public Fishing Area in Tifton. Danny Cooley caught a big bass at Paradise.
Billy Lee and I fished at a private pond and caught eight bass up to around 7 ½-lbs. Soft plastics worked best.
I got a report of two anglers catching a small mess of bass at a pond.
Okefenokee Swamp – Jeff, Jeffrey and Jaxson (three generations) went on a guided trip with Captain Bert Deener on the east side. The ended up catching a total of 71 fish.
Jaxson caught a youth angler award warmouth and bowfin, earning him a hat, t-shirt and a certificate from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division.
Their biggest bowfin weighed 7-lbs. 10-oz. And their biggest pickerel measured 17 inches long. They caught them by trolling and casting Dura-Spins. The best colored Dura-Spins were black/chartreuse-silver blade, crawfish-brass blade, firetiger-silver blade, and jackfish.
The latest swamp level on the east side was 119.57 feet.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Kelly Dial and his grandson, Aiden Cox, fished out of Crooked River catching a nice mess of trout, redfish, and flounder wile using live shrimp.
I have heard of other good reports in the St. Marys area. Captain Greg Hildreth reported the inshore trout bite has been a little slow, but they still have been able to catch some.
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 912-2839400.
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 joshuabfishhunter@gmai l.com or send them through Messenger on Southern Waters Fishing Report’s Facebook Page.
