The summer patterns are here, and that includes slowing down and fishing deeper. The rivers have produced some good fish this week. The bass bite has been good also.
River gauges as of Thursday, July 16:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 3.7 feet and rising
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 2.2 feet and rising
• Clyo on the Savannah – 4.2 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 3.0 feet and falling
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 2.7 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 5.8 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 5.4 feet and falling
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 2.0 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the Saint Marys – 1.8 feet and steady
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 1.8 feet and rising
Altamaha River – Justin Harrison and a friend fished out of Jaycee Landing and managed to catch nine bass while using soft plastic worms.
There was an evening tournament at Altamaha Park and it took 12 pounds to win it. The big fish weighed around five pounds.
Satilla River – Scott Hamlin reported catching a couple of nice messes of channel catfish on chicken livers in the upper river.
Little River – Jim Jurney fished below Adel and landed five bass. The biggest one measured almost 22 inches long. He lost two bass. He was using a black Zoom Magnum Trick Worm with a 1/16 oz. tungsten bullet weight.
Withlacoochee River – Jim O’Conner had two great trips on the river. He landed over 15 Suwannee bass up to 15 inches long on his first trip. The fish ate a Rebel Liveflex Creek Craw.
He boated over a dozen largemouth bass (most weighed around 3.5-4.5 pounds) during his second trip. He flipped a black/blue craw with an 1/8 oz. tungsten weight around structure to get his bites.
Lakes and Ponds – A tournament was held at Paradise Public Fishing Area near Tifton last Saturday with approximately 20 boats participating.
It was a three-fish limit instead of five to try to reduce fish mortality. I won first place with 9.02 lbs. and I also won big fish with a 4.56-lb. bass.
Matthew Bennett and Justin Hart took second place with 7.58-lbs., with Kevin Donald and Mike Willaford placing third with 7.52-lbs.
Jimmy Zinker reported the night fishing topwater bite has slowed down. He fished at a lake and caught three bass up to around 3 ½-lbs. on topwater lures.
Rocky Barnard caught a big bass while using an FA Lures pumpkin seed color stick bait.
Okefenokee Swamp – Anglers can still launch kayaks, canoes, and small boats from the bank.
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 120.20 feet.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Two anglers recently fished in the Brunswick area and reported they caught 22 trout on live shrimp. Some of the trout were big.
Two anglers fished in the St. Marys area and caught four flounder, three black drum, and a pair of trout.
Anglers have been catching trout and some nice flounder at the Jekyll Island Pier.
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 joshuabfishhunter@gmail .com or send them through Messenger on Southern Waters Fishing Report’s Facebook Page.
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