The cold snap has slowed down the bass bite. It should pick back up this week with the warmer temperatures.
The trout and redfish bite has been solid even with the high winds.
River gauges as of Wednesday, October 21:
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 5.0 feet and falling
• Clyo on the Savannah – 3.5 feet and steady
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 7.8 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 13.9 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 13.9 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St. Marys – 5.0 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 6.6 feet and falling Local Rivers – Greg Shields fished the flooded Satilla River and caught a few bass out in the woods off the river. He used a Creek Boat and caught the bass in areas that are normally dry.
Greg also fished the Altamaha and caught a total of 13 bass (up to four pounds) while using a buzzbait with a gold blade. He lost a bass which probably weighed around 6-7 lbs.
An angler fished the Satilla earlier this month and reported he caught a nice mess of bass and panfish.
Lakes and Ponds – Two Waycross area anglers fished a pond and caught five bass and a bowfin while using soft plastics.
Ken Burke fished two mornings at Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area and caught seven bass total. He caught one on each morning weighing about five lbs.
Okefenokee Swamp – Ellen and Matthew came down from Atlanta and fished with Capt. Bert Deener on the east side. They caught and released 16 bowfin during the two-hour trip.
Matthew landed one just shy of 21 inches. It was long enough to earn him a youth angler award from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. All of the fish were caught on Dura-Spins.
Capt. Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip with him, visit his website bertsjigsandthings.com. The most recent water level on the east side was 120.45 feet.
Saltwater (East Coast) – David McMaster fished with Captain Tim Cutting in the St. Simons area for two days. They kept their limit of redfish the first day and released around 15 nice trout. They also had eight nice black drum and a couple of sheepshead.
They landed 29 trout, 39 sheepshead, 20 redfish, and four nice black drum the second day. The fish ate soft plastic lures and live shrimp.
A Blackshear area angler fished out of Crooked River State Park and caught five trout. Four of them came on an electric chicken Keitech paddle tail and the other bit a chartreuse/orange paddle tail.
Don Harrison managed to catch 35 trout and four nice redfish. A Laguna Shrimp Sea Shad was the ticket.
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/.
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