Few people reported fishing this week. Between the heat and kids going back to school this is typically a time of year with few reports, but the bite is still good most places.
The Okefenokee Swamp and ponds and lakes have been producing good catches. The rivers were almost perfect before the rains last week, so that’s going to be hit-and-miss again while some stretches are rising and some falling.
River gauges Thursday, August 7 were:
• Clyo on the Savannah River – 6.7 feet and rising
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 7.6 feet and rising
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 7.6 feet and rising
• Waycross on the Satilla – 7.9 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 8.1 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 3.0 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 3.6 feet and rising
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 4.3 feet and rising
Okefenokee Swamp – It was a great bite last week, even with the rains and rising water levels.
Kings Bay held a “Family Day” for their folks on the east side at the refuge headquarters. They rented canoes, went on tours, and fished in the boat basin. I helped some of them fish, and they caught a total of 37 fish in a few hours that morning.
Jace had a bowfin catch that earned him an angler award from the Wildlife Resources Division. Callie caught a nice pickerel.
Warmouth bit well for Myron and me by pitching crawfish and popsicle Warmouth Whacker Jigs around the basin edges. Myron had the biggest bowfin of the day – a 5-pounder.
John and Michelle fished with me on the east side and we caught a total of 29 fish in a half-day trip. It was a “Plan B” kind of day – obstacles were thrown in the way pretty much all day, but Plan B worked great at each obstacle.
John with Hog Island Boatworks brought up one of his rotomolded vhull fishing boats. We fished on the west side one morning. The boat was really stable and fished extremely well.
We caught bowfin, warmouth, and a giant pickerel (22-incher) on crawfish-brass blade, lemon-lime, and whitewhite blade. We also tucked into a spot and caught a couple fliers by pitching pink Okefenokee Swamp Sallies on bream buster poles.
The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 121.00 feet (rose 0.44 feet this week – that’s a bunch of water in a system the size of the Okefenokee). The water level on the west side was 4.56 feet midweek.
Dodge County Public Fishing Area (near Eastman) – Gavin Smith caught a 1lb., 11-oz. crappie on the area. There were lots of bass caught by anglers throwing crankbaits and plastic worms around schools of shad and shoreline cover.
Shane Ryals fooled a bass that weighed 2-lb., 11-oz. The biggest bass reported was 4 pounds.
Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area (near Hawkinsville) – Ken Burke fished the area hoking three bass. He landed two weighing 6.75 pounds and 4.75 pounds. Both of them ate a crankbait.
Note: The area will be closed August 18-22 for repaving.
Local Ponds – Joshua Barber fished a Waycross area pond and caught eight bass (nothing big). He fooled them with topwater frogs and soft plastics.
The bream have been biting off and on. An angler caught some big coppernose bluegills from a St. Marys pond.
George topped his personal best bass by flinging a topwater popper in a Brunswick area pond.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Capt. Greg Hildreth said the inshore trout bite has been pretty good with live shrimp under popping corks. The tarpon bite has been good, also.
Capt. Duane Harris fished with the Marshalls, including their s6-year-old grandson. They had a blast fishing on the bottom and catching a bunch of small redfish, pigfish, and sharks.
Last quarter moon is Saturday, August 16. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website (waterdata. usgs.gov/ga/nwis/r t). For the latest marine forecast, check out www.weather.gov/jax/.
Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in the Okefenokee Swamp and makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check his lures out at Bert’s Jigs and Things on Facebook. For a copy of his latest catalog, you can download it from his website at bertsjigsandthings. com or e-mail him (bertdeener@ yahoo.com).
