The bite was fairly slow this week due to the hot weather and the rains. Most fish are congregated in deeper water right now.
River gauges as of Thursday, June 18:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 5.1 feet and falling
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 1.9 feet and rising
• Clyo on the Savannah – 3.2 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 4.4 feet and falling
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 3.2 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 5.8 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 7.5 feet and falling
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 3.2 feet and rising
• Macclenny on the St. Marys – 1.7 feet and steady
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 2.0 feet and falling
Satilla River – An angler reported he caught catfish from the lower river. They were caught while fishing on bottom.
Ochlockonee River – Jim Jurney caught six nice largemouth bsss (lost a few decent ones), a chain pickerel and a redbreast.
Half the bass were caught on a weightless Texas rigged black finesse worm. The rest of the bass were caught on a TRD craw.
Jim said that the water looked like chocolate milk and it was fairly tough to get a bite.
Lakes and Ponds – Jimmy Zinker night fished and caught a couple bass. The biggest weighed around 5-6 pounds.
I caught a few big bass. The biggest one weighed 8 lbs.
A few anglers have been tearing up the crappie at Lake Iamonia. Most of them have been caught on live minnows.
Ken Burke fished at Dodge PFA twice. He caught seven bass which went 16.25 lbs. on the first day. On his second trip, he caught seven bass for 11.5 lbs. while using shallow running crankbaits.
Okefenokee Swamp Captain Bert Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip with him, visit his website bertsjigsandthings. com.
Latest swamp level on the east side was 120.34 feet.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Captain Greg Hildreth reported it’s been a hard week due to the big tides, winds and rain. He did manage to catch a few nice trout, flounder and black drum during one excursion. All were caught while floating live shrimp.
He took some youth bottom fishing in the sound. They had a great time catching small hammer heads and bonnet head sharks.
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.
