Not many folks reported last week, but the bite was good for the folks who went.
This week’s cold front was awesome, as the mornings gave us a hint of fall. Ponds were where the best reports came from this week.
Smaller tides should have the inshore fish biting better, and ponds should produce some great catches, as well.
River gauges on August 28th were:
• Clyo on the Savannah River – 11.7 feet and falling
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 7.2 feet and rising
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 9.3 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 8.0 feet and steady
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 8.9 feet and steady
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 6.9 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 5.5 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 9.2 feet and rising
St. Marys River – Curtis Hazel fished the middle river and caught seven panfish (two rooster redbreasts and five small bluegills) on topwater poppers.
They bit the whole two hours he was fishing. Orange was the best color. He returned two more times to the middle river and caught five fish (mix of redbreasts and bluegills) each trip. Orange poppers were best on both of those trips.
Okefenokee Swamp – The best bite last week was for bowfin on the east side. You can catch some catfish on the west side by putting shrimp on the bottom, also.
The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 121.18 feet. The level has been hovering around 121.20 feet for the last few weeks.
• Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area (near Hawkinsville) – Ken Burke fished the area and caught two bass in just under 4 hours of fishing. Not many bites, but they were nice ones.
One was 2 1/2 pounds and the other was 7 1/2 pounds. He fooled them both with squarebill crankbaits. He talked with three other anglers who had caught bass weighing three and seven pounds, so they fed well that morning. Remember, the area is catch-and-release for bass.
Local Ponds – The topwater bass bite has turned on in area ponds.
Jimmy Zinker caught a giant bass (7-lb., 10-oz.). He fooled it with a Gurgler version of a Trophy Bass Buzzbait. He also went to a Worth County pond and caught four nice bass up to six pounds on Musky Jitterbugs and Wobbler version Trophy Bass Buzzbaits.
Cody Jones fished with me at a Brunswick area pond while his dad Paul and friend, Seth, went gator hunting. Cody caught his personal best bass – a 2-pounder that inhaled an electric shad Keitech 2.8” Fat Swing Impact Swimbait rigged on a NED head.
After dark, we caught 11 channel catfish up to two pounds using cut gizzard shad. The first one bit a shrimp, but the rest ate the cut shad.
Seth and Paul harvested a 7-ft., 5-in. alligator while we were fishing.
Saltwater (Georgia Coast) – Capt. Tim Cutting said the water is still pretty dirty from the rains and big tides, but the bite has been decent.
There are a ton of ladyfish out there inshore. They had some redfish of all sizes, decent trout and flounder, and some jack crevalle of all sizes.
Aras Medzevicius fished with Capt. Tim and caught a tarpon that inhaled a live menhaden (pogy) under a float. The fish stayed in the air more than in the water.
After your next trip to the Georgia coast, drop off your fish carcasses in the freezer at the Waycross Fisheries Office at 108 Darling Avenue. The Coastal Resources Division collects most inshore saltwater species so that they can determine age and growth for each species. All the supplies and information cards are in the freezer. Filet your fish then drop off the carcasses in the freezer.
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/.
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.co m or e-mail him (bertdeener@ yahoo.com).
