Most rivers are now high and muddy. A few anglers still got out on the rivers this week though. Lakes and ponds have produced some of the best reports.
River gauges as of Thursday, June 4:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 8.8 feet and rising
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 5.4 feet and falling
• Clyo on the Savannah – 6.3 feet and falling
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 5.9 feet and rising
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 10.3 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 12.3 feet and steady
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 4.7 feet and rising
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 6.7 feet and rising
• Macclenny on the Saint Marys – 1.9 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 2.3 feet and steady Rivers – I only received a few river reports due to the higher water levels.
If you venture to a rising river I would recommend fishing in oxbow lakes that hold clearer water. Just be careful navigating a high river though.
Justin Harrison fished the Satilla River and caught 19 bluegill, four redbreasts, and a half dozen crappie. He caught all 29 fish by tossing a beetle spin.
Another angler reported catching a few fish on the Satilla.
I fished the Alapaha River and caught a couple bass up to around four pounds. It was tough to get a bite, though. I had to slow down and concentrate on certain spots to get one to strike.
Lakes and Ponds – My dad (Shane Barber) and I fished at a lake in Florida and caught around 45 bass. Our biggest weighed around four lbs.
I hung one bass weighing between 6-7 lbs. and broke my line. We caught most of our fish on soft plastics.
Jimmy Zinker and I fished at a lake south of Cordele and caught between 20-25 bass. Our top five weighed approximatley 24 lbs.
Jimmy caught the biggest fish of the trip pulling the scales down to 8 lbs,. 2 ozs. He caught it on a Muskie Jitterbug.
He went back to that same lake a day later and caught another big bass weighing 8 lbs., 4 ozs.
One angler fished at a North Florida lake and caught a nice mess of slab crappie.
Two anglers fished a pond and had six bass weighing between 5-6 pounds.
Danny Cooley and a friend fished at Banks Lake and caught around 50 bluegill. Danny said the bluegill were spawning.
Tim Bonvechio landed 13 bass (up to 6.5 lbs.) and seven crappie at a private pond. He was using pumpkin colored sinkos and live minnows. His top five bass weighed 20.5 lbs.
Anglers have been catching some catfish and a few bass at Paradise Public Fishing Area.
Micheal Carter boated 10 crappie and a few nicesized bass at Dodge Public Fishing Area.
Tim Robinson and Captain Bert Deener fished at a Brunswick area pond for around four hours. They landed 14 bass (three of them were around four lbs.) and a half dozen catfish. They used 7-inch blackblue flake Keitech Mad Wag worms and a copperfield Wobble Blade (fished without a trailer).
Okefenokee Swamp – Capt. Deener fished the east side of the Swamp and caught 42 fish on a fly during the three-hour trip.
The first 12 fish ate a prototype micro fly. He then switched up and caught the rest on a bladed fly. The biggest pickerel of the trip measured 16 inches long and the biggest bowfin weighed almost six lbs. He said that the yellow flies have started to show up and were very aggravating in shady areas.
The latest swamp level on the east side was 120.44 feet.
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.
