By: Bert Deener, GA DNR Fisheries Biologist
(Deener’s reports can also be found in the Waycross Journal Herald on Thursdays)
Justin Armour caught this giant tripletail while fishing with Capt. TJ Cheek last month. The monster inhaled a big white shrimp. (Photo courtesy of Capt. TJ Cheek)
The Altamaha River and saltwater produced the best reports this week. New Moon is Aug. 25. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website.
Altamaha River – Connie at Jaycee Landing Bait and Tackle reported that a 60-pound flathead catfish was caught on goldfish this week. The redbreasts were hitting crickets. One angler reported catching a cooler full of hand-sized bream on crickets. The bass bite was also solid this weekend in the Jesup area. Dannett from Altamaha Park said that the flathead bite is still on fire. Goldfish have been the most consistent baits, and the fish this week mostly ranged from 15 to 25 pounds. A group of Waycross anglers fishing over the weekend caught a mixed bag of 150 fish, including bream, redbreasts, and warmouth. Crickets fooled most of their bream and redbreasts, while worms produced the warmouth. Some anglers reported catching crappie from the deep holes using minnows. The river level was 3.7 feet and falling (84 degrees) at the Baxley gage, and 5.0 feet and rising (85 degrees) at the Doctortown gage on Aug. 19.
Satilla River – Michael Winge of Winge’s Bait and Tackle in Waycross said that bass were caught on black ZOOM Trick Worms and black/fire tail Culprit worms. Redbreasts are still being caught on crawfish colored Satilla Spins. The river level at the Waycross gage was 4.5 feet and falling (83 degrees) and at the Atkinson gage was 4.3 feet and falling (87 degrees) on Aug. 19.
St. Marys River – Redbreasts were eating crickets, and catfish were caught by anglers fishing worms on the bottom. The river level at the MacClenny gage was 3.1 feet and falling on Aug. 19.
Local Ponds – Michael Winge said that bream bit crickets in the late afternoons in the shade. Bass ate black buzzbaits right after dark.
Okefenokee Swamp – Anglers fishing right below the Sill on the west side said that the warmouth and catfish bite was on fire. The Suwannee River rose this week, and the fishing was great.
Saltwater (Georgia Coast) – Capt. TJ Cheek reported that the tarpon bite is on fire in the Brunswick and St. Marys areas. Fish are busting pogy schools in the sounds and up in the rivers. His charters also caught trout and redfish in decent numbers this week. Waycross anglers fishing the Brunswick area said that lots of tarpon and sharks were around. Flounder were chowing mudminnows and finger mullet in the saltwater rivers around Brunswick. Mike and Trish Wooten of St. Simons Bait & Tackle said that from the pier, trout, flounder, and Spanish mackerel were caught this week. A few limits of flounder were caught, with fish mostly between 15 and 18 inches. Some croakers and sharks were also occasionally caught. Blue crab catches have started improving.
Best Bet – Tarpon are usually tough to pinpoint their location and even more difficult to get to eat your offering, but they are all over the place right now. The most effective presentation is to cast-net some pogies and put out a spread on top, mid-water and bottom in an area where fish are moving through. You will typically catch lots of sharks and other fish even when tarpon don’t bite, so it is usually a string-stretching trip.