It’s been a great fall bite from about everyone who reported. Both fresh and saltwater have been good.
The Okefenokee Swamp bite (where I’ve spent time) has been excellent!
River gauges Thursday, October 23 were:
• Clyo on the Savannah River – 4.5 feet and falling
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 1.1 feet and steady
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 3.9 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 7.3 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 3.8 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 2.0 feet and steady
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 2.1 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 1.8 feet and falling
Altamaha River – Jim Hickox and a friend did well for all species they targeted. They caught several small bass on lures, and they also bottomfished. They caught a “pile” of bream and several catfish on the bottom.
St. Marys River – This is the only river where reports were slow. Several folks fishing the middle river said they did not do well or caught nothing.
The crappie should be eating in the cooler water, so that’s what I would target if I went.
Okefenokee Swamp – Jim Hunt and a few friends stayed in the cabins at SC Foster State Park and fished the west side of the swamp. They fished from canoes they rented and caught about 15-20 fish (five pickerel and 15 bowfin) per canoe per day.
Most of the fish were on Dura-Spins, but they had some on Warmouth Whacker Jigs as well. The group caught four or five warmouth, and Jim was introduced to how aggressive those panfish can be.
Alan Eatmon fished with me on the west side. He had fished with me on the east side prior, but this was his first time at the Fargo entrance. He used an 8weight fly rod the whole time and caught 13 fish (a warmouth, a pickerel, and 11 bowfin).
He caught them all on my Bladed Flies in the fire tiger, electric chicken and whitetreuse colors. His biggest was a 3lb., 11-oz. bowfin that put a serious bend in his long pole.
I went back out for an hour after the trip and vertical fished cut flier (until I used up the one fish I cut up) on 1/16-oz. Mirage Jigs and fooled 15 bowfin to about three pounds.
Archer and Vonnie came down from north Georgia and fished with me on the west side (SC Foster State Park). We caught and released a big flier in the boat basin on a pink Okefenokee Swamp Sally, but that was the only flier we caught.
We then trolled Dura-Spins, and the bowfin were cooperative. They quit on fish number 50 (49 bowfin and a Florida gar) after catching 5 “doubles” and some really nice fish.
Vonnie had the hot hand with the biggest bowfin of the trip (5-lb., 1-oz.), and Archer’s biggest was 4-lb., 7-oz. The best colors that day were crawfish-brass blade, lemon-lime, jackfish, and fire tiger.
I went back out after their trip for an hour and a half and tried to dial in the jig bite. I used a 1/16-oz. Mirage Jig and cut flier I had brought with me and fooled 14 more bowfin (up to three pounds) by dropping the jig/cut bait offering to them.
That is a presentation that is my go-to in the winter, and it works well in October, also.
Curtis Hazel fished the east side of the swamp and caught two fish. He pitched bugs for a big warmouth, and caught a 5pound bowfin on his third cast with a Dura-Spin.
The most recent water level on the Folkston side was 120.44 feet. On the west side, the level on Wednesday was 3.88 feet.
Paradise Public Fishing Area (near Tifton) – Area staff said the crappie bite has picked up significantly lately. Most anglers reported catching 15 to 20 fish per trip.
Typically, the bigger lakes produce the best catches, but that’s the fun of having more than 50 lakes. You might stumble into a great bite on any of the waters. I’ve done best over there by trolling or casting small plastics to offshore cover, points and drop-offs.
If you don’t have electronics, troll around until you figure out what depth and speed they want and then duplicate it.
Local Ponds – Chad Lee fished an Alma-area pond and put it on the crappie and fliers. He kept about 20 fish and threw back a bunch. He fooled them with tiny plastics on 1/32-oz. jigheads.
Hayden Lee caught another tank of a bass on plastics. He’s figuring out how to make a bass eat a plastic worm.
Joshua Barber had a couple good trips to ponds and small lakes. He came in second and had big fish in a bass tournament. He fooled them with swimbaits at the weedy lake that the group fished.
He fished two other Waycross-area ponds and caught nine and 13 bass during those trips. Plastics were key.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Several folks caught trout in decent numbers, but didn’t give specifics. They used both live shrimp and artificials.
Capt. Greg Hildreth has been chasing the bull redfish in the sounds. He said the bite was good.
Capt. Tim Cutting said his charters did well on trout and redfish.
First quarter moon is today (Wednesday, October 29). 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. com or e-mail him ([email protected]).
