The weather is finally cooling off and it is starting to fire the fish up. Some nice fish have been caught in local ponds this week.
River gauges as of Thursday, September 25:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 2.5 feet and falling
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 0.4 feet and steady
• Clyo on the Savannah – 2.9 feet and falling
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 3.1 feet and falling
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 3.7 feet and steady
• Waycross on the Satilla – 5.8 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 4.4 feet and steady
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 2.1feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St. Marys – 2.6 feet and steady
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 2.6 feet and falling
Altamaha River – Justin Harrison and his dad fished out of Jaycee Landing and caught over 30 nice bass. All of the fish were caught below the landing. They caught their fish on trick worms.
Flint River – Jim O’Conner took a quick trip over to the river near Albany this week. The water level was up and current was a little strong. He landed six shoal bass and a spotted bass. Crawfish baits were the ticket.
Lakes and Ponds – Tommy Davis and Captain Bert Deener fished at a local pond and each caught around 40 fish (crappie, bluegill, and bass).
Ten of the crappie Tommy caught weighed around a pound. They fooled their fish on Satilla Spins, chartreuse Specktacular Jigs (tipped with a minnow), Zombie Eye Jigheads and Flashy Jigheads rigged with 2-inch Keitech swimbaits.
Jimmy Zinker fished at Carr Lake (near Tallahassee) and caught a few bass (two of them weighed 3½ lbs.) on a Muskie Jitterbug.
Jimmy later fished at a Turner County area pond and landed a half dozen bass. The biggest one of the trip weighed 5 lbs., 15 oz. He caught one on a buzzbait and the rest ate a Muskie Jitterbug.
I won first place and big fish last in a tournament. Justin Harrison fished at a pond and caught a 7-lb., 13-oz., monster bass .
Matthew Bennett fished at a private lake and caught around 40 bass. His biggest weighed around five pounds.
Okefenokee Swamp – Captain Bert Deener fished on the east side of the swamp and caught a gar and 22 bowfin up to three pounds over a four-hour period. Most of his fish were caught on a Bladed Fly but a few came on a Dura-Spin.
Capt. Bert reported the fish are firing up due to the cooler weather.
He 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 120.16 feet.
Saltwater - No reports were received. Fishing has been tough with the Full Moon and high winds. The bite should pick up in the next week or two.
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.
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