By: Bert Deener, GA DNR Fisheries Biologist
(Deener’s reports can also be found in the Waycross Journal Herald on Thursdays)
Carli Davidson of Waycross caught this 26-inch redfish in the Brunswick area the week of Memorial Day. Trout and redfish are picking up on the Georgia coast.
The Satilla River level has bounced around with last week’s rains, but the fishing has still been outstanding. The Altamaha panfish and saltwater cranked up last week, as well. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website.
Altamaha River – The river was very fishable for last weekend’s panfish tournament out of Jaycee’s Landing. More details will be included in this week’s report. Connie at Jaycee Landing Bait and Tackle reported that redbreasts, bream, and flatheads bit well this week. Goldfish produced most of the flatheads. Dannett from Altamaha Park said that catfish, bream, redbreasts, and shellcrackers were tops this week. Some of the shellcrackers are monsters (pushing 2 pounds!). The river level was 6.2 feet and falling (84 degrees) at the Baxley gage, and 8.3 feet and rising (82 degrees) at the Doctortown gage on June 9.
Satilla River – The barrage of great reports continued this week. Again, I cannot begin to repeat every good story, but the biggest was a new state record spotted sunfish (stumpknocker) that is making its way through the certification process. The fish tied the current 10-oz. state record. The DNR folks certified about 6 additional angler award-sized redbreasts this week (that takes at least a 1-pound redbreast to qualify). Even with the rains this week, the middle river is now on fire too. The best report I heard was from Dane Clements and a friend on Thursday. They fished the upper river, catching and keeping 90 big redbreasts before catching and releasing more than 150 redbreasts, stumpknockers, bluegill, and crappie. They caught a couple dozen on red/white and black/yellow Satilla Spins, but for the second week in a row, crawfish 1/8-oz. models were tops for them. Almost everyone else reporting back to me said that 1/16-oz. black/yellow was their best color. As the water drops in the upper river, most anglers are switching over to 1/16-oz. models of the little spinnerbait.
Michael Winge of Winge’s Bait and Tackle in Waycross said the redbreast bite has remained awesome this week. The best lures were Beetle Spins (black/chartreuse and white-red dot), Spin Dandys (any color), and Satilla Spins (“whatever color you can get”). Crickets and worms have also produced lots of redbreasts this week, but typically the artificials have been producing the bigger fish. The middle river section produced some great catches of crappie for anglers using minnows. Michael said that the big bluegills have fired up in the Atkinson area, also, and they ate crickets best. Catfish were eating worms in the deeper holes below sandbars. Bass hit baby bass colored Rattling Rogue jerkbaits. The river level at the Waycross gage was 6.9 feet and falling (79 degrees) and at the Atkinson gage was 7.3 feet and rising (82 degrees) on June 9.
St. Marys River – The river rose with significant rains in the swamp this week and slowed the panfish bite. The catfish bite has remained red hot, especially for limb-line anglers. Shrimp and pink worms worked best for them. Crickets fished around creek mouths accounted for most of the bluegills. The river level at the MacClenny gage was 9.8 feet and falling on June 9.
Local Ponds – Michael Winge reported that big bream are beginning to bed with the approaching full moon. Worms and crickets have worked best. Bass were fooled with shiners and topwater plugs. Anglers fishing their favorite catfish ponds bragged about catching 5-gallon buckets full of whiskerfish.
Okefenokee Swamp – I am going to let the yellow flies have the swamp in June. If you want to brave the bugs, the flier bite is great. You can pretty easily catch over 100 fliers per day by pitching sallies.
Saltwater (Georgia Coast) – Capt. TJ Cheek reports that trout was the main inshore focus last week. He said the fish have been moving, and that’s a good idea for the anglers, as well. Change locations frequently until you find them. The Cumberland beach bite has been solid, but there are many ladyfish and crevalle jack mixed in with the trout. He said that they will eat you out of house and home (literally!) with shrimp being around $25 per quart. Nearshore, the tripletaill and shark bites have been good. Sharks have been thick, eating everything from pogies to cut bait. Michael Winge reported that anglers fishing the Brunswick and Crooked River areas said that the trout bite has picked up. Assassin Sea Shads fished under Cajun Thunder Floats have produced quite a few trout and redfish. The whiting bite around St. Simons has remained strong on days when you can get out, but keep an eye to the sky for pop-up thunderstorms. Mike and Trish Wooten of St. Simons Bait & Tackle said that the flounder bite is in full swing on the pier. Finger mullet and mud minnows produced the most. Limits of flatfish from 14-18 inches have been reported. Spadefish, croakers, black sea bass, and whiting were also caught in good numbers. Last Sunday, a 32-inch redfish was caught on cut bait. A few sharks have been landed. Blue crabs were caught in good numbers.
Best Bet – The Satilla should continue to pump out some awesome catches of panfish again this week. Frequent small rains have kept the river level fishable longer than usual. Trout fishing out of Crooked River or Brunswick is a great saltwater option.