Go to main contentsGo to search barGo to main menu
Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 10:23 AM

Southern Waters Fishing Report

Share
Rate

I hope each one of you will had a blessed Independence Day weekend.

The bass were biting last week. I received some good reports from lakes and ponds.

River gauges as of Thursday, July 2:

Doctortown on the Altamaha – 8.6 feet and falling

Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 3.6 feet and falling

Clyo on the Savannah – 3.5 feet and falling

Statenville on the Alapaha – 11.8 feet and rising

Alapaha on the Alapaha – 8.5 feet and falling

Waycross on the Satilla – 13.5 feet and falling

Atkinson on the Satilla – 14.6 feet and falling

Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 5.4 feet and falling

Macclenny on the St. Marys – 1.8 feet and falling

Fargo on the Suwannee – 3.6 feet and falling

Rivers – I didn’t receive any reports from any rivers this week. Most rivers are falling though and should be right for fishing again soon.

Lakes and Ponds – Austin Hill and I fished at a North Florida lake and caught around 25 bass. Austin caught the biggest one of the trip weighing 6 lbs., 5 ozs. (on a Silverback buzzbait). Our top five went almost 17 pounds.

Jimmy Zinker fished at Lake Iamonia and caught seven nice bass. His two biggest weighed 6 lbs,. 4osz,. and 5 lbs., 12-ozs. The fish ate buzzbaits and Muskie Jitterbugs.

An angler fished at Lake Iamonia last weekend and caught a bass weighing almost 8 lbs.

Justin Harrison landed a nice bass weighing 3lbs., 12-oz. at a farm pond.

An angler recently caught a double-digit bass at Banks Lake.

Ken Burke fished at Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area and reported he caught two nice bass (between 3-5 lbs.). Jim O’Conner fished at a few ponds and managed to catch 17 nice bass. A few of them were in the 4-lb. class. He caught them all on urchin lures.

Okefenokee Swamp – Tim Robinson fished with Captain Bert Deener on the east side of the swamp. They caught a nice mess of bowfin with the two biggest weighing 7 lbs., 6 ozs. and 9 lbs., 6 ozs. The fish ate jackfish and lemon-lime colored Dura-Spins.

Captain Bert Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip with him, visit his website bertsjigsandthings. com.

The latest swamp level on the east side was 120.56 feet.

Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – My Dad (Shane Barber) fished out of the St. Marys River and caught some nice trout (up to around 18 inches long) and a redfish. He used plastic grubs to fool them. He said the bite was fairly tough and he had to work for his fish.

I was told the trout and redfish are biting well right now in Crooked River.

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@gmail .com or send them through Messenger on Southern Waters Fishing Report’s Facebook Page.


Comments

View e-Editions
Support Community Businesses!