Friday. May. 2020. Y’all still hanging in there ok? Have you found a new fishing spot to help occupy some of your quarantine-ing time? Let’s share some great news with you:
- Summer Day Camp Sign-ups Open: Both the Go Fish Education Center and the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center will offer summer day camps. Spots will be very limited, so don’t wait – go sign up soon! Click HERE for more info about Go Fish Center camps, and HERE for Charlie Elliott camps.
- Whopper Alerts: Georgia Public Fishing Areas are showing out with some recent big fish. Jesse Cooksey of Chester GA caught this 10 lb, 6 oz largemouth at Ocmulgee PFA on Wednesday…and insider information says that there are way bigger ones out there. Looking for big cats instead? When brood catfish at the Cordele State Fish Hatchery get too large to fit into spawning containers, they’re removed from the hatchery and stocked for angler enjoyment. Over 50 of these big catfish, which average about 12 pounds, were stocked in Big Lazer PFA last week.
This week, we have reports from North, Southeast and Central Georgia. Prep that tackle box and check the line on some fishing poles and Go Fish Georgia!
NORTH GEORGIA
(Fishing report courtesy of Anthony Rabern, fisheries biologist and Northeast Georgia Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts)
This week’s cool weather should allow for some great fishing opportunities in our North Georgia reservoirs and trout streams. Anglers will be pleased to know that the shallow water bite is lingering a bit longer, especially for spotted bass, which means great topwater action in the early-morning hours. In farm ponds and small community lakes across the region, the bream bite is heating up so find your favorite youngster, dig up some worms together, pack some PBJs and do a little bream fishing. Also, more public recreation areas are re-opening. Here’s a link to what’s currently open and closed in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Other federal lands along the Chattahoochee River below Lake Lanier are also re-opening, which will create more places to trout fish.
The North Georgia fisheries staff is working hard to make great fishing experiences for you to enjoy. Our folks have been busy the last few weeks sampling our reservoirs and stocking this year’s crop of fingerling walleye, white bass, hybrid bass, striped bass, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. The warmwater fish stocking season is winding down with nearly 5 million fish stocked into Georgia reservoirs this spring. This week’s stocking included striped bass and hybrid bass (see picture of Hartwell Striped Bass stocking). Much thanks to the folks stationed at Armuchee Fisheries Office who collected the spawning pairs of striped bass and white bass and to the folks at Richmond Hill Hatchery for producing the eggs, fry and fingerlings. To read more about the team effort associated with the Striped Bass / Hybrid Bass program, click HERE.
LAKE AND RIVER REPORTS
The rivers that flow into and out of our North Georgia reservoirs are favorite spring hangouts for a number of fish species. These areas are great for smaller boats with shallow draft. Here is the latest news that we’ve been hearing from anglers and seeing in our own sampling efforts this week.
Lake Hartwell: Dave Pedone and his 12-year old fishing buddy, Ford Beard, hammered the hybrid bass in the Tugaloo River arm of Lake Hartwell this week (see Ford’s picture with one of his catches). Trolling the river channel with blueback herring is the preferred method, but several folks have told me that using chicken livers on the bottom works surprisingly well, too!
Coosa & Etowah Rivers: Further west on the Coosa, Oostanaula and Etowah rivers, striped bass are still very active. The fisheries staff out of the Armuchee office collected a number of stripers in a recent sampling trip including a 33 lb fish from the Etowah River (see picture of STB).
Morgan Falls Tailwaters: Heading south below Morgan Falls Lake, bass are abundant in the shoals and rocky ledges of the river not far downstream from the dam (see Shoal Bass picture). Striped bass are moving upstream in greater numbers and will persist in the river through summer. Bluegill, redbreast and redear sunfish (shellcrackers) are abundant and will spawn at the next full moon. Small poppers and spinners are great baits on either fly rod or spinning reels.
Lake Lanier: Lanier striper guides are reporting good fishing conditions with the best success on points and clay flats where stripers are roaming in search of baitfish. Freelining blueback herring or spreading out with planer boards are drawing the most strikes but keep your favorite topwater bait handy in case you spot some early-morning topwater action. Ken Sturdivant provides the following insider tips, “Points, secondary points, shallow humps, rocks, docks, backs of pockets they are all holding fish. We are at the point of the year where you can throw practically anything you want and catch fish, top water, under spins, swimbaits, flukes, and shaky heads are all catching fish. As the sun rises overhead, switch to a shaky head or Ned rig presentation in the brush in 15 to 20 feet of water.”
Lake Lanier-Academy Jack Report: Another trip to the South end on Lake Lanier this week. We started on Hazard Markers in front of Keith’s Bridge Ramp and saw a half dozen Wolfpack’s of Spots chasing bait up into 3 foot of water within the first 30 minutes. We thought we were prepared with topwater baits tied on 5 rods but not any takers. It will humble you when that happens but that’s fishing. We also tried jerk-baits, flukes and small Kietech swim-baits. There were a lot of boats on the water and many of the places we wanted to fish already had boats on them. We moved on to other main lake points and found some takers but the fishing was really slow. Deep water docks produced a dozen small 12 to 14 inch fish. After a long day of fishing 20 to 25 waypoints we did end up with a couple of nice fish. Sometimes you just have to keep moving and keep casting. Not my favorite style of fishing but it was productive. Our bigger fish came on a white shallow diving jerk-bait and a pearl white Zoom split-tail fluke.
Lake Allatoona: Fishing guide Robert Edison reports, “Big schools of hybrids can be found anywhere from the S turns to as far south as Tanyard Creek. The down rod bite is the most productive bite going on the lake right now. Fishing live shad at depths from 20 to 30 feet is producing for our boats from one end of the lake to the other.”
SPRING INTO SUMMER TIPS
Fisheries biologist, Keith Weaver, has some other great fishing tips to consider as spring transitions into summer:
- Largemouth Bass: The bass spawn is mostly over in central Georgia so look for bass feeding in early morning and late evening on schooling shad. Threadfin continuing their spawn this time of year so especially look for bass in early morning schools of shad. Successful anglers mimic lethargic shad by casting jerk baits and crank baits. In addition, anglers often go with the dependable lures: spinnerbaits, topwater poppers and frogs, sink worms, Texas-rigged worms, shallow crankbaits, and jigs/plastic trailers. Mid-day can produce some big bass but look for these big fish in deeper water (10-15 ft.). Submerged timber and rock beds are popular targets when seeking bass. Bass typically are not as aggressive this time of year so having a variety of lures as well as patience is critical. Look for bass to mainly be in approximately 5 feet of water in early morning and moving deeper as the day progresses. Try working the upper reaches of the lake in the morning moving to deeper water (closer to the dam) in mid to late afternoon. If you are lucky, you might find a small feeder creek. Bass (really all game fish) like to congregate around the influx of fresh, cool water.
- Crappie: Anglers should see a slight change as crappie become a little less aggressive. Most anglers prefer to target this fish at night using lanterns to attract minnows. Try fishing cover approximately 10-12 feet throughout the day, especially in the evening. However, crappie can also be found hanging around rock piles and edges. Yellow jigs and live minnows remain the most popular baits for anglers targeting crappie. Crappie will remain the most sought- after fish in middle Georgia as anglers shift from day to night fishing. Stringers full of fish are still available so get ready!
- Bream: Bream are probably the most aggressive fish in small lakes this time of year. Typically, anglers will notice bluegill being the most dominant catch with a few shellcracker as a treat. Look for these fish in 5 to 7 feet on sandy bottoms, especially if the bluegill is spawning. Anglers can find this easily by walking the banks. Worms and crickets remain the bait of choice by most anglers. Bream can be caught throughout the day, but most anglers find mid-morning typically the best time and evening as the sun begins to set. Look for bream to be the most aggressive during the spawn while protecting their territory. If it is quite on the lake, that means the fish are biting.
TROUT
For those who prefer the challenge of catching trout in your favorite mountain stream, our trout hatchery staff worked hard this week to tip the odds in your favor for having a great trout fishing experience. Nearly 15,000 trout were stocked this week across North Georgia (see trout stocking photo). In addition, the Delayed Harvest season came to an end on Thursday, May 14th, which opens up the DH streams to harvest. To get you pumped up about trout fishing, Pautzke Outdoors provided us with a great trout fishing video they filmed on the Tallulah River.
The Cohutta Fishing Company provides the follow reports:
- The Toccoa Tailwater has been fishing well. Yellow Sallies and Sulphurs are around, so don’t leave home without a dry fly rod and some good sulphur imitations. The Sulphur hatch is a guide favorite and makes even the wariest and large trout look up. For subsurface rigs, we’ve been fishing dry-droppers with big dry flies like Chubby Cherynobyls and Foam PMX’s followed by either stonefly imitations like Pat’s Rubbers Legs or San Juan Worms for the lead fly. If you’re comfortable with triple rigs, try dropping a smaller nymph off the back of the lead fly – pheasant tail soft hackles, Split Case PMD’s, El Diablos, Red Alerts, and Rainbow Warriors are all just some of the many patterns that should produce right now. Keep an eye on the generation schedule!
- Small Streams should be fishing well! I like to head to the mountains with a 3 weight and a box of dry flies this time of year. Specifically, Purple Hazes, Parachute Adams, small Chubby Cherynobyls, and PMX’s should all produce. Anything yellow this time of year is a good bet, as we have an abundance of bugs hatching in that color spectrum. For subsurface, I like to drop smaller unweighted pheasant tails and hare’s ears with, or without a soft hackle collar underneath these dries. If that doesn’t work, a Chubby with a Pat’s Rubber legs underneath would be my next choice.
- The Upper Toccoa is still too high to wade, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t fish well! if you can float the DH section, it would be well worth trying while the water temperature is still cool.
- The Etowah River has been generating around the clock for the past few days. Once the generation subsides, fishing should be phenomenal. Spotted Bass and Striper are both on the menu – try fishing an 8 weight rigged with an intermediate or full sinking line with a slightly heavier, 15-20lb leader if you’re chasing both species. I like to throw baitfish flies in the 2-4 inch range for a mixed bag day. Think Lunch $’s in shad, Clouser Minnows, EP flies, and Flashtail Whistlers. If you’re just chasing a striper, break out the 9 and 10 weight rod and beef up that leader! Topwater season should follow suit as things start to warm up.
There is no better place to practice social distancing than in the great outdoors, but please do so responsibly so that our public recreation areas will remain opened. Check out #ResponsibleRecreation for more ideas on social distancing.
SOUTHEAST GEORGIA
(Fishing report courtesy of Bert Deener, fisheries biologist and Southeast Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts)
The river levels (all but the Altamaha) are getting about right and should be fishable this week. With the warming trend, the panfish bite should fire off. Ponds, saltwater, and the Okefenokee are still good options.
New Moon is May 22nd. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website HERE. For the latest marine forecast, click HERE.
SATILLA RIVER
The river is getting right. Catches were variable based on where folks fished. The most impressive catch was on Thursday by Chris Nugent and a friend. They floated the upper river and lost count at 80 fish. They ended up keeping 52 big rooster redbreasts. They flung red/white, pink, and stumpknocker Satilla Spins and caught a few fish, but the color of the day was cracklehead crawfish (same body color as crawfish, but it has a gold crackle paint head) Satilla Spin. They were hammering that color. Chris said, “it was all you could do to turn them when they slammed it.” Chris noted something that very few folks have verbalized to me, and I’ve noted many times. He said that the fish were knocking it but not taking it well in the morning, but by mid-day they were eating it pretty well. By the mid-afternoon they were CHOKING the lure. That’s the reason you rarely see me mixing it up with 50 people trying to launch first thing in the morning this time of year. I let folks start to clear out and then launch, and I usually do really well for panfish. Later in the year, it’s great to catch first light, but this time of year the bite is usually best in the afternoon once the water starts to warm. Last year, Ed Zmarzly and I floated the upper river and caught 219 panfish (only kept 8-10 for a meal), and 119 of them were after 3pm. It took from daylight to 3pm to catch the first 100. Dane Clements and his girlfriend fished the upper river around Waycross from a boat on Thursday and caught some nice redbreasts. I could see 19 fish in his cooler photo, but I’m sure he caught about 3 times that many, counting throwbacks. They caught most of their fish on crickets. Many of the other anglers they talked to didn’t catch much. Take note of the Highway 158 Bridge landing being closed due to construction of the replacement Hwy 158 Bridge. This will affect anglers fishing that upper river area this spring, so plan accordingly. The river level on May 14th at the Waycross gage was 6.4 feet and falling (71 degrees), and the Atkinson gage was 7.9 feet and falling.
ST. MARYS RIVER
With this week’s warmer weather, the panfish should start chowing. I saw a photo of a 1 1/2-pound bluegill this week from the river. It was IMPRESSIVE with its copper streak on the forehead and purple cheek! Lots of them (ok…..not many over a pound, but lots of hand-sized fish) will be caught in the coming weeks. The catfish bite was good, with all the anglers I heard from catching enough catfish for a good meal. The river level at the MacClenny gage on May 14th was 2.6 feet and falling.
ALAPAHA RIVER
James and Jordan Taylor have been hitting the river this week and wearing out the redbreasts, bass, redfin pickerel, and other panfish with Satilla Spins. Their best colors have been fire tiger and cracklehead crawfish. The river level at the Alapaha gage is 4.4 feet and falling and at the Statenville gage is 5.4 feet and falling (74 degrees on May 14th).
LOCAL PONDS
David Freeman got out on a pond this week and tore up the bluegills with a black/yellow Satilla Spin. Anglers around Waycross ponds reported catching bream shallow around shoreline vegetation and wood using artificials and crickets. An angler fished a Blackshear pond on Saturday and had one of his best days ever. He fooled 21 bass up to 5 pounds with pink Trick Worms and pumpkinseed Senkos Texas-rigged and weightless. His biggest 5 fish weighed 18 pounds. Chad Lee had a great week fishing all by himself. He had about 50 bass in all, with the biggest pulling the scale down to 6 pounds. That one ate a 6-inch black/blue Senko. He also had a 5-pounder on a chartreuse spinnerbait. He had 8 in the 4-pound range on big 6-inch Senkos. The balance, all in the 2 to 3 pound range ate a variety of plastics and crankbaits. An angler and a friend fishing a Brunswick area pond on Wednesday had 23 bass up to 4 pounds. Their biggest 5 weighed about 18 pounds. They used a green pumpkin-blue flake with a black blade vibrating jig for most of their fish, but a few ate Keitech worms.
OKEFENOKEE SWAMP
The adjusted refuge and Okefenokee Adventures hours at the time of writing this are 7am to 4pm (closed Mondays). Okefenokee Adventures will also provide take-out lunches at the café during lunch hours (check their website for the latest details). As the water temperatures heat up, the bite is doing the same. I received some good reports this week from both sides. On the east side, the warmouth and bowfin were the best bites, while catfish were again tops on the west side. Warmouth were fooled with crayfish and crickets. The “bug” bite should start anytime for those fishing early in the day. The “perfect” day in my opinion is to pitch bugs and sallies for warmouth and fliers early in the day while they are active and then switch to throwing spinners for bowfin once the sun gets up and they chew. You take home a meal and fight some big fish all in the same trip. The water level is still good for getting around. I killed my first yellow fly of the year on the day I’m writing this, so get ready for the little yellow nasties.
OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Hawkinsville, more info HERE)
Jesse Cooksey of Chester landed this double-digit bass from Ocmulgee Public Fishing Area on Wednesday and set the mark for the lake record. The monster ate a jerkbait and pulled the scales down to 10-lb., 6.7-oz.
Jesse Cooksey of Chester set the bar for bass at the area this week. On Wednesday, he tossed a jerkbait into the water and landed a new, certified lake record at 10-lb. 6.7-oz. and just over 24 inches. With the giants in there, it will likely be broken over time, but what a fish! Check out the Wildlife Resources Division social media for more details about the catch in the coming days. Bank anglers have done well for bream and an occasional crappie. Bass are still shallow, so don’t be surprised to land one of the monster bass while banks fishing. Remember, bass must be released, but there is a holding cage on the boat dock in case you catch a potential record fish so that you can get it certified. More about the Georgia Angler Award program HERE.
SALTWATER (GA COAST)
The whiting and sheepshead bites were the best I heard of. The big tides and strong winds on some days kept most folks away. The last couple hours of ebb and first couple of flood is when the good whiting bites happened in the sounds this week. Sheepshead were caught by anglers fishing docks with fiddler crabs. I heard of a few good reports for sheepshead at the St. Marys Jetties, with some big fish being caught. Redfish were caught at the St. Marys Jetties over the weekend, also. Expect the flounder to show up there in good numbers any day now. Check with Mike and Trish Wooten of St. Simons Bait & Tackle (912-634-1888) for the latest on the St. Simons Pier.
CENTRAL GEORGIA
(Fishing report courtesy of Steve Schleiger, fisheries biologist and Central Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts)
Reservoir Fishing Reports Courtesy of Southern Fishing with Ken Sturdivant.
LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 1.40 FEET, 70’S
Bass fishing is good. Bass are being caught all over the lake on Rapala DT Flat Baits, X Raps and plastics. Crank baits and jerk baits cover a lot of water; try different retrieves until the fish react. Change to baits with some chartreuse in them. Citrus colored Shad Raps work well here. Up in the creeks use a Lucky Craft Redemption spinner bait with pearl skirts and follow up with the dark colored worm or jig. Cast the Rapala Rip Stop albino shiner. There are some good fish biting up in Rocky River. The Ned rig and the Power Baits Meaty Chunk green pumpkin 3-inch is a good choice but use a very light head. If everything fails, get out the jigs and get on the bank with the heavy cover and be sure these areas are close to deep water. Try the Bass Patrol 3/8 ounce jigs with Mustad Hooks.
CLARKS HILL IS .89 FEET OVER FULL 60’S
Bass fishing is good. Bait fish have been congregating in shallow water with the recent full moon. Then the bass follow and shallow baits are working. Top water early is a great bet for hungry post-spawn bass. The frogs and swim jigs are working in the shoreline grass and pads. Pop R’s and Spooks are working on points around the mouths of main lake pockets. Be sure to fish the sandy areas. The Bang O Lure with a rear prop works well early in the pockets around stumps for a quality bite. Try a small Whopper Plopper too. Secondary ledges and ditches on the main lake flats should hold some bass. Try crank baits or the Lucky Craft Redemption spinnerbaits along the ledges. Main lake ledges should start to hold good numbers of bass soon. Ned rig the Power Baits Meaty Chunk Green pumpkin 3-inch. The cold fronts and winds have kept the river stirred up and the bass confused. Some post-spawn bass are holding near rip rap where there is a grass patch. Blue and black jigs with blue trailers work. Finesse worms also do a good job. Carolina rigs around deep cover with a creature bait also work.
LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 70’S
Bass: Bass fishing is fair. The main lake is clear and stained up the rivers. Start the day with a white or a white and chartreuse buzz bait. Fish it along the sea walls and rip rap. This bite will only last the first hour of daylight. After the sun gets up move up the lake to the stained water on the north end of the lake and start working the deep banks with wood cover on them where the river channel runs close to the bank. Work this area with a Rapala DT6 or a DT10. The fish are tight to cover so work the bait in-close to the timber. On bright days the fish will be so close to the cover that only a Texas rigged worm will get to them. Use a Zoom dead ringer worm in any color as long as it has green in it.
Striped Bass: Line side fishing is good. The dam area is still the hot ticket. The fish are feeding strong on live threadfin shad. Most of my trips over the past week have not left the dam area. If the dam area is not producing one day then start looking up the lake on humps and long points. Most fish are still coming on live threadfin shad as well as the umbrella rigs. The umbrella rig is a good search bait and will help you locate the fish that have moved from the dam.
Crappie: Crappie fishing is good and the fish are starting to stage in the tree tops. Look for the fish in the tops of the trees at about 10 to 15 feet deep. Use you Lowrance to locate the fish in the trees and drop a minnow down to the fish. This pattern should hold until summer.
WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 1.39 FEET STAINED 60’S
Bass fishing his good. The fish are active especially early and late. Fish are shallow around all of the grass, docks, blow downs and weed lines. Take a lot of lures and do not stop changing until the fish react to the baits. Zoom flukes, trick worms and Senko’s are working. For a fast, shallow bite try the Terminator stainless 3/8 super spinner bait and spinner bait in the ½ ounce size. Bass love frogs so try for a fast bite with the Arbogast Buzz Plug frog around any heavy cover. If the sun is out use a green and white frog and all black on a cloudy day. Throw these baits into the tops of grass and twitch them just enough to keep from hanging up. Up-lake good places to fish are Jackson Creek, Ski jump cove, and Half Moon Creek. Down-lake the pattern is very similar to up-lake but with the water clearer. Be sure to have a Pop R in bone color. Good places down lake to fish are Maple Creek, Bird Creek and the no-name pockets between them. Also keep a Rat L Trap tied on for those fish chasing bait. Cast the Rapala Rip Stop albino shiner.
LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.49, STAINED 70’S
Bass fishing is good. The fish are feeding early and late. In shallow water and when it’s sunny use swim baits, pearl Zoom Super Flukes and Rapala Shad Raps. When it’s cloudy start using reaction lures like spinner baits and buzz baits. This is a good shallow water grass bed buzz bait and frog lake. Right now lake wide the bite can vary from one end to the other. The spawn is over but a few fish will linger but scatter soon. Ned rig the Power Baits Meaty Chunk Green pumpkin 3-inch. Fish around docks seawalls and blow downs and work a Texas rigged lizard or Net Boy Baits 1/4 ounce Flippin Jig. Add some JJ’s Magic to soft plastics for more bites. Watch for bass looking for spawning shad. Fish buzz baits and spinnerbaits around these places. All white blades and skirts are good. Later this month fish will move off the banks and stage in 10 to 12 feet of water. Carolina rigged Wackem Crazy Baits Pointy Tail worms will load the boat. Use red bug or June bug colors.
LAKE JACKSON IS .68 FEET OVER FULL, CLEAR 70’S
Bass fishing is good. Fish the docks, wood and points in the creeks. Fish the wood cover and fish very tight with spinner baits with bright blades and floating lizards. Use the small Senko’s in pearl and green pumpkin on a wacky rig and hit the sea walls. Add a small Whopper Plopper to the top water tackle or Finesse worms on a light Weedless Wonder lead head. Crank baits have been fair on the banks and Rebel Deep Wee R’s and #7 Shad Raps can find the fish and keep moving. Up the lake use a fire tiger and crawfish 7A Bomber and fish tight on any cover. Up the river fish are after Shad Raps and the crawfish colors are working. A small jig and small Zoom trailer pig in green pumpkin will work on the wood and bank structure. Add some Jacks Juice in the garlic on the plastics.
BIG LAZER PFA (More info HERE)
- Surface water temperature: 66°F
- Water visibility: Visibility is about 23”
- Water level: 2” Below Full Pool
In general, May water temperatures at Big Lazer have warmed up and so has the fishing. May and early June are one of the best times to fish Big Lazer PFA because spawning fish move into shallower water. Also, early summer is a great time to not only fish but also picnic at Big Lazer with the whole family.
Bass: Good- The bass fishing is pretty good right now. We recently sampled many largemouth bass about 5-10 feet off the bank and in 4 to 6 feet of water. Bass will be finishing up spawning and switch their focus on feeding. Try throwing spinners and crankbaits at about 4-6 feet of water. Fishing plastic worms and lizards near spawning beds could still produce decent bites. You may have luck by locating feeding shad near the banks and throwing a crankbait or spinner in the area.
Crappie: Fair- The crappie bite has cooled some over the last two months. However, there are still a few being caught. Minnows are still your best bet. You can also try trolling with bright colored jigs and minnows at varying depths to find bunched up crappie. Fish for crappie deeper than you do for bass
Bream: Good- We have had some good reports of bream catches lately. May is traditionally a great time to fish for bream on bed. Look for bream beds in the backs of shallow coves. Red worms and crickets are still your best bet for bream. Woody structure and areas near the pier may produce some good bites.
Catfish: Good- Catfish fishing is improving as of late and should continue to do so. Try using livers or worms at or near the bottom of the lake. Woody structure as well as the rip rap near the dam may be your best bet at a good cat. Many large channel catfish were recently stocked in the big lake (10 lbs. and up)
MCDUFFIE PFA (More Info HERE)
- Water Temperature: 73 ⁰F
- Water Visibility: 20 – 54+ in
- The Fish Cleaning Station is open.
Bass: Bass fishing has still been hit-or-miss with the temperature swings lately but should be picking up as temperatures rise and stabilize. A 19.5-inch bass was recently caught and released in Rodbender Lake, the trophy bass pond. Lures that imitate small threadfin shad have been successfully catching numerous 2+ lb bass in Breambuster Lake and should also be successful in Bridge Lake where shad are schooling in the late afternoon. Beaverlodge Lake isn’t exactly known for big bass fishing, but it may be worth fishing the submerged treetops back there. As temperatures continue to rise, these fish will be a blast to catch on buzz-baits or jitterbugs at night.
Bream: The bream bite has started to pick up some. Bridge Lake has been the best for bream fishing lately especially late in the afternoon, but several nice shellcracker were recently caught in Beaverlodge Lake as well. For a shot at some large bream, Clubhouse is the lake to fish. Fish feeders at Jones, Beaverlodge and Breambuster Lakes are good spots to try for bream, as well as any structure in deeper water.
Channel Catfish: The catfish action has been decent lately. Bridge, Willow and Beaverlodge have been the best catfish lakes. Deep water around the siphon drain structures continue to be good spots. Fish feeders at Jones, Beaverlodge and Breambuster are excellent spots to fish for catfish, too.
Striped Bass: Stripers can be found in Clubhouse and Bridge Lakes. Large stripers have been congregating where the siphon drain flows into the Clubhouse Lake. These larger fish have been caught on crankbaits, swimbaits or umbrella rigs but smaller stripers are consistently caught on chicken livers.