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Georgia Fishing Report: December 4, 2020

Georgia DNR, Wildlife Resources Division

Jingle Jangle Jingle, you will hear those fish hooks ring, I am old Kris Kringle, I’m the king of ang-a-ling. I mean, the big guy has to have a hobby too, right? Why not fishing? 

NEWS TO KNOW:

We have fabulous fishing reports from North, Central and Southeast. Load up your sleigh…I mean your vehicle of choice…and head out to Go Fish Georgia!

NORTH GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Hunter Roop, fisheries biologist, with help from Region Staff and local experts)

Just in time for the cold weather to arrive, here are some fresh fishing reports to keep you abreast of the changing patterns out there as our North Georgia sportfish adjust to the long-delayed cooldown. Looks like the rain and wind is going to really pick up this evening and possibly throw a wrench in the plans for a Saturday lake trip with wind gusts up to 30 mph, but Sunday will be a good bet to target those stained creek backs and fresh mudlines for predators taking advantage of the temporary camouflage. USGS gauge data will be especially useful late Saturday and Sunday for folks pursuing trout or other river residents over the weekend, and just keep in mind that the time return to baseflows will be slightly longer this time of year since our soils are already saturated and dormant winter vegetation is little-to-no help to remove any excess water. Good luck negotiating the weather and those pricey line items on the Xmas shopping list, now onto the good stuff:

RESERVOIR REPORTS

Reservoir Reports Courtesy of contributors to GON Fishing Reports

LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 5.6 FT, LOW 60S, AND STAINED

LAKE BLUE RIDGE IS 13 FEET DOWN, CLEAR, AND LOW 60S

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “Fishing has been tough. The rain that we’ve had throughout the month has brought the lake up, and TVA has pulled it back down fast. Along with the cold fronts which has helped drop the water temps, the lake has just not been stable or consistent, so the fish are at all depths and scattered. I hope this month the lake temp will get down in the mid-50s and the lake will stay at one level. We’ve just been running around the main body of the lake fishing points, rocky banks and steep banks. The baits we’ve been throwing have been a drop shot with a 4.5-inch worm, a shaky head, a Z-man Ned rig and Flex-It spoons. I’ve really not seen any topwater action the past month. I have been trying to throw jerkbaits, swimbaits and A-rigs but have not had much luck. It’s just a waiting game until everything gets in place.”

LAKE BURTON IS DOWN 3 FEET, STAINED, 59 F

CARTERS IS 2 FEET DOWN, LOW 60S, AND CLEAR

Bass: Guide Bill Payne reports, “The warm weather for this time of year has kept quite a few fish shallower than normal. The topwater bite continues to linger, and we’ve caught some on walking baits, like a Zara Spook Jr., Evergreen SB and a Berkley Cane Walker. I see this bite fading quickly in December. We continue to catch spots on shaky heads like the Picasso Rhino Head in 3/16-oz with a Softy Lures finesse worm. This bite will continue to be fairly strong into December and through the winter out on long points, humps and breaklines with cover in the 20- to 35-foot depths. Even though the weather hasn’t been typical for us this fall, the baitfish haven’t waited to move deeper and into ditches and creek channels. One of the best baits for these fish that are following baitfish is the old and reliable 3/4-oz. jigging spoon, like a Hopkins or Georgia Blade’s jigging spoon. These fish can be caught around bait anywhere from 20 to 60 feet deep, and it doesn’t matter how deep the bottom is. Other lures like an underspin in 3/8- or 1/2-oz., as well as blade baits, like the Silver Buddy or a tail spinner like the new Jackall Deracoup will put fish in the boat as well. December has traditionally been the best month for a jig for me. My favorite is the Picasso Little Spotty tungsten football jig in any of their crawfish imitation colors tipped with a Zoom Creepy Crawler twin tail. Even though deep water gets lots of attention during December and on through the winter, nasty weather with rain, sleet or snow has a way of moving the big spots up shallow, and techniques like the Float-n-Fly can produce some big catches. Add a little wind and it can get really miserable out on Carters, but a spinnerbait and a jerkbait can pay huge dividends with big spotted bass.”

LAKE CHATUGE IS 5 DOWN 5 FT, CLEAR, LOW 60S

Bass: Guide Eric Welch reports, “The past month fishing has been up and down. You go one day and catch some good-sized bass, and then you go back two days later and can’t hardly find a bite. It’s been one of the toughest falls for fishing I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve not seen any fish breaking or chasing bait. I’ve still been marking bait in the 25- to 45-foot range. The baits that we’ve been catching fish on have been a shaky head and a Texas-rigged worm around brush or tops of laydowns. The drop-shot bite or a Ned rig has not been working lately. We have also been throwing jerkbaits and A-rigs but have not had any luck. Hopefully the weather is going to stable and the fishing will get better, because right now it’s fishing as tough as it is in August when it’s hot.”

LAKE HARTWELL IS FULL, 60S, AND SLIGHTLY STAINED

LAKE LANIER IS 1 FT BELOW FULL, LOW 60S, CLEARING.

LAKE NOTTELY IS 11 FEET DOWN, CREEKS ARE STAINED AND MAIN LAKE IS CLEAR, HIGH 50S

Linesides: Guide Jeremy Seabolt reports, “Fishing has been OK for all the crazy weather we have had. We have been catching most of our fish on large herring and shad in the creeks and on long points that get sun first thing in the mornings. We are still catching fish over deep water on downlines 25 to 30 feet deep. Later in the morning, there are some nice schooling fish still holding deep. Captain Mack’s u-rigs pulled around 80 feet back have also been performing well. If the weather turns off cold, we will start switching over to trout pulled on boards. Most of the fish will be feeding up for the winter. Trout are some awesome baits to be pulling in the cool water. We will also be starting to throw bucktails up on the rocks and long points. In December, staying up on the bait pods is key for catching fish. When you find the bait clouds, start pulling baits around that area. Don’t forget The Bait Shack on Nottely has all your striper live bait needs.”

SEED LAKE – new lake record!

WEISS LAKE IS 3.6 FEET DOWN, MID-TO-UPPER 60S, SLIGHLY STAINED

WEST POINT LAKE IS 1.8 FT DOWN, 60S, AND MOSTLY CLEAR

ROCKY MOUNTAIN PFA 

Bass & Walleye (Courtesy of PFA Manager Dennis Shiley): Some good Largemouth Bass and Walleye are being caught at Rocky Mountain PFA. Numbers will be picking up as the weather cools and the Threadfin shad get balled up out in deep water. The Walleye that have been reported have come on tail spinners in 15-20 feet of water on ledges in East or West Antioch. The Largemouth are coming on spoons, Alabama Rigs, 5” swim baits and bladed jigs fished deep around schools of shad in East Antioch, West Antioch, and Heath Lake while it is open (from the 1st – 10th of each month). Reduced fishing pressure and a protected slot limit for Largemouth bass measuring 14” – 20” serves to promote quality bass fishing opportunities on Heath Lake.

TROUT REPORT 

Delayed Harvest: We hope WRD’s pre-holiday dose of browns and bows to their respective DH streams were enjoyed by our Thanksgiving trout anglers. The first of December is a typical lull in DH stockings, and this year was no exception. The best bet for trout fishers (both DH and standard reg streams) will be to aim high if possible, and if not check your respective river gauges before search for the “learned” DH sophomores and juniors among the likes of Ami and Toccoa. Dropping a bright nymph to a squirmy or egg pattern can be productive this time of year, or for the highly educated, natural patterns will be more productive. From the field, UO’s Dredger reported that Kevin P has been regularly fishing Smith since the onset of DH and it has fished great. He even managed to land a 19.5” fish during the catching frenzy. Keep an eye out on the weekly stocking report in the coming weeks for updates on another round of pre-holiday DH refreshers.

Thanksgiving Leftovers (Courtesy of Unicoi Outfitter’s Dredger): The weather and water will change soon and savvy anglers will change their techniques to match water conditions. Most trout waters dropped to wadeable levels today, and warm weather tomorrow will keep them prime for one more day. On headwaters, try one last shot on top with dry/dropper combos. Start with a caddis, stimulator, or Adam’s dry. If no lookers in 30 minutes, drop a #16 beaded pheasant tail or hares ear 1-3 feet behind it, depending on the depths you’re fishing. Try this rig at Smith DH, too, if fish have been hammered by heavy weekend pressure. Don’t be afraid to pull out your 6x and zebra midges, either. Add a #6 dinsmore shot if you need to get the dropper down. The good news on DH streams is their DNR redosing, so you can aim now for both frosh and sophs. See our “DH University” tips in our November Angler magazine column (see “sophomores and juniors” link above). To read the rest of Dredger’s trout report, click HERE.

Post-front Headwaters (Courtesy of WRD trout biologist Sarah Baker): This weekend will be a good time for a hike along a small headwater stream. These streams will clear out pretty quickly after today’s rains, and after the sunshine reaches down into the valleys, wild fish will be hungry! Fishing the southeast-facing slopes should offer some protection from the wind as if you’re hunting mountain jewels up high. Check out our Interactive Trout Map to find a new stream to explore. 

Other Trout Tips: Some timely advice during a respite from the winter blasts of this week: Dredger’s icy Hogpen Gap photo serves as good reminder that, like rockfaces, the trout bite can freeze up when temperatures plummet, but by fishing the south-facing slopes during the peak warmth of the afternoon, you can increase your chances for success tremendously. Our WRD buddy Sautee sports a beautiful wild rainbow (see pic) fooled with a dry fly while he was employing that same heat-seeking tactic this week.

CENTRAL GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Steve Schleiger, fisheries biologist and Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts) 

Reservoir Fishing Reports Courtesy of Southern Fishing with Ken Sturdivant.

LAKE RUSSELL IS FULL 60’S

Bass fishing is fair.  The lake is loaded with spotted bass and they love the cooler water.  Expect these fish to be roaming in and out along the shallow rocky areas and a variety of baits will catch these fall bass.  Good largemouth are also found on the wood cover and on rocks.  Since this lake is nothing more than a flooded gorge there is plenty of wood in various forms scattered all over the lake.  Use the spinner baits jigs Shad Raps and Husky Jerks or Ito Vision 110.  The full moon was the 30th.  The cold fronts will slow the action this week. 

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 3.0 FEET, 60’S

Bass fishing is fair.  Expect the bass to move back a little to deeper water this week.  The bass are suspended out in 10 to 15 feet of water.  This will enable anglers to pinpoint them on the Lowrance graph and use those Down Deep Husky Jerk Baits to catch them.  Expect the bites to be slow and far and few between.  Carolina rigs are always a fall favorite with anglers during the fall transition.  The lower end of the lake is turning over, but this will have little effect on the fishing up in the Little River or Savannah River.  Fish the rivers by picking apart the cover with Chatterbaits and jigs.  On the windy days, fish the deeper points with a Rapala DT10 and a DT14 and use shad and hot mustard colors.  Plenty of sunshine should dominate the weather for much of the week.  The full moon was the 30th.  The cold fronts will slow the action this week. 

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL CLEAR 60’S

The temperature is 65-67.  North of the 44 bridge is stained up to I-20.  The rivers are a heavy stain.  The main lake is clear.

WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 4.8 FEET, CLEAR 60’S

Bass fishing is fair.  The same patterns continue to work completely dependent on current conditions.  Use any type of top water in a natural pattern.  If the wind is up the buzz bait can pay off with bigger fish.  This is the same with the spinnerbait action if wind is present.  Use a Strike King 3/8-ounce spinnerbait with double silver willow leaf blades.  If there is no wind switch to the shaky head and jig with green pumpkin being the best color.  Use a 3/8 ounce All Terrain jig AT Craw with a Zoom green pumpkin speed craw.  The full moon was the 30th.  The cold fronts will slow the action this week. 

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 4.6 FEET, STAINED 60’S

LAKE JACKSON IS .68 FEET OVER FULL CLEAR 60’S

Bass fishing is fair.  The South river is stained while most of the lake remains clear.  Late morning to midafternoon seems to be the best time to fish.  If the sun pops out for even a short while, it can be helpful to locating fish on deeper docks.  Areas with combinations of depth, rock, docks, and brush should be worked thoroughly for multiple bites.  Fish relating to such areas may be as shallow as 5 to 6 feet due to the shade offered by docks.  At the same time, you may find them in 20 foot of water.  Have the same old same old bait, the jig head and worm.  Try shortening Trick worms if that is what you are using.  If the bite is slow, go to plenty of dead sticking with a twitch here and there.  Slow presentations will be important to success with jigs and cranks as well.  A jig of 3/8 oz. or lighter should be used for its slower fall.  Long points, deep banks, and sand bars dropping into deep water should be fished this time of year.  Wood cover 15 feet or deeper can also be productive.  Look for relatively deep docks where the owners have mounted rod holders.  You will most often find deep brush has been planted out in front of the dock.  A slow crankbait will be a good bait to search for shallower fish, particularly if the bite picks up.  A Shad Rap is hard to beat.  Something like Bandit 300 or a deep running Fat Free Shad can also be good choices.  At a slow retrieve, these relatively deep runners will bang noisily into shallow bottom and rock.  They will also cover deeper ranges well.  Fish the crank bait with a pause retrieve on a long cast that quarters or nearly parallels the bank.  Some folks are jigging spoons around congregations of bait as well.  The full moon was the 30th.  The cold fronts will slow the action this week.

FLAT CREEK PFA (More Info HERE)

The cold nights and rain that Flat Creek has experienced lately have caused the water temperatures to drop, and the anglers at Flat Creek are reporting a slow finicky bite on the bass.  The crappie fishing has improved with some reports of fish being caught while trolling, Fishing brush piles and fish attractors and fishing at night using lights has produced some good catches.  The fishing pier has continued to produce some good mixes of crappie, bream and a catfish every now and then.  Catfish were also being caught while fishing the bottom in deeper water; we have seen some good catches along the dam.  Here is a list of what the anglers are reporting to have had success using for each of the following: 

MARBEN PFA (More Info HERE)

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Bert Deener, fisheries biologist and Region Fisheries Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and local experts)

The rivers are rising from last weekend’s rains. This week’s cold snap shut most bites off, but the rebound late this week should have some fish feeding by the weekend.

Last quarter moon is December 7th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website HERE. For the latest marine forecast, click HERE.

ALTAMAHA RIVER

The river rose some this week, but is still fishable. Your best bet is probably crappie fishing in the oxbows or fishing for linesides in the lower portion of the river (Darien area). The river level was 5.6 feet and rising (53 degrees) at the Baxley gage, and 7.1 feet and steady at the Doctortown gage on December 3rd.

SATILLA RIVER

The river came up and is fishable by motorboat again. With the colder weather, I doubt you will find much of a panfish bite, but you should be able to get bass to bite around cover, and crappie should eat minnows fished in oxbows in the lower river. White catfishing in the White Oak Creek area should also be great on the outgoing tide at the mouths of the ditches. Shrimp have worked best for me over the years for white cats. The river level on December 3rd at the Waycross gage was 6.5 feet and rising (59 degrees).  The Atkinson gage was 5.4 feet and rising.

ST. MARYS RIVER

I did not receive reports from the St. Marys this week, but catfish should be your best bet. Shrimp or worms on the bottom typically work well. The river level at the MacClenny gage on December 3rd was 3.2 feet and falling.

Timothy Deener fished with his family and caught this slab crappie from a Waycross area lake on Friday. The 14-incher inhaled a popsicle-colored Specktacular Jig.

LOCAL PONDS

The crappie bite was great over the holiday weekend. My family and I trolled for crappie in a Waycross area lake on Friday, and we caught 24 crappie and a big bluegill. We trolled 4 rods out the back with Assassin Curly Shads and Keitech 2-inch swimbaits and then jigged a couple rods off the side. Those rods were rigged with Specktacular Jigs (a small, tinsel-tail jig), and we just hopped them near the bottom as we trolled. Timothy hooked the fish of a day doing that. His 1 1/2-pound, 14-inch slab stripped drag and fought more than usual for a crappie. The best color Specktacular Jig was popsicle (purple/pink/chartreuse), while the best plastics colors were albino (white pearl), green pumpkin-chartreuse, and sun gill colors. Chad Lee had a great Thanksgiving morning. He and a friend fished some Alma area ponds and caught some slab crappie. Some ate minnows and others inhaled chartreuse Assassin Pro Tiny bodies fished on 1/16-oz. Capt. Bert’s Jigheads. A handful of their fish ate black/chartreuse 1/16oz Specktacular jigs. They had a total of 17 crappie, with about a half-dozen fish weighing over a pound, and their biggest was 1.35 pounds.

OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Hawkinsville, more info HERE)

The crappie bite was nominal this week, but a few were caught. The bass bite has been a little slower than earlier this fall, but I am aware of a 7 1/2-pounder that was caught over the holiday weekend (I don’t have details of what it was caught on).

PARADISE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Tifton, more info HERE)

Wildlife Resources Division staff stocked the yearly batch of hybrid striped bass this week in lakes Bobben and Russell. Those 2 lakes already had existing hybrid populations. Lakes Beaver and Tacklebuster were 2 additional lakes stocked with the linesides. You will want to put these lakes on your radar for this winter. Chicken livers are a prime bait for folks chasing hybrids, but the whole host of baitfish imitating artificial lures will also fool them. If you are fishing minnows for crappie in those 4 lakes, don’t be surprised if a hybrid strips drag. The crappie bite in Lake Patrick was good during the cold snap this week. Both minnows and jigs fooled some slabs. I didn’t hear any reports of bass this week, but I’m sure you can fool them in their offshore haunts.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

A Waycross angler fished out of the Folkston entrance on Sunday afternoon for 2 hours. He pitched sallies for just a few minutes to see if they were biting and caught 2 (one on yellow and one on pink). He then started flinging Dura-Spins for bowfin and didn’t catch any casting, but caught them well by trolling. He ended up catching 8 bowfin up to 6.75 pounds on crawfish and jackfish Dura-Spins. The water level on Sunday was 121.0 feet (just getting in the good range).

LAURA WALKER STATE PARK

Staff will be making repairs to the drain structure at Laura Walker State Park and will have the lake drawn down approximately 3 feet through the end of the month. If you can launch a boat from the ramp then you can use it with electric motor or paddle power, but you cannot run the gas motor. There will be some nice bass and crappie caught, and state limits will still apply during the drawdown.

SALTWATER (GA COAST)

Shane and Scarlett Barber fished out of Blythe Island on Wednesday and had a blast. They landed 12 trout (2 keepers) and a keeper flounder. All of their fish ate chartreuse-black flake curly-tailed grubs. Ed Zmarzly dabbled fiddler crabs around hard cover in the Brunswick area on Thursday morning and caught a couple big sheepshead. Stan Rhodes and a friend fished around Jekyll and Cumberland islands on Friday and had a great day for trout. They used Cocahoe Minnows and DOA’s under Equalizer Floats and live shrimp and waded through about 75 trout to catch 18 keepers (most in the 14 to 16-inch range). They also put fiddler crabs rigged on a 5/16-oz. Redfish Wrecker Jighead on the bottom and caught 8 whiting and 6 sheepshead. Their fish were mostly caught in the 6 to 7-foot range around shell beds. Dane Clements and a friend fished the McIntosh County area on Sunday and hammered the sheepshead. They dropped fiddlers around pilings and other hard cover to catch 20 sheepshead. Their biggest was just over 10 pounds, and the next biggest was 8 1/2 pounds. On Tuesday, Ron Altman fished the Brunswick area and fooled about 20 trout (6 keepers), several upper slot redfish, and a few black drum and sheepshead. He used live shrimp for his catch, and found the trout mostly in 4 to 6 feet of water around shells and the redfish a little deeper in 7 to 8 feet. I heard of one report from the Crooked River area, and it was from 3 anglers who caught their 3-person limit of trout and had some over 22 inches. They also had a few redfish. For guide trip information, call Capt. Greg Hildreth at (912) 617-1980 or check out his website.  Check with the Jekyll Island Fishing Center (912-635-3556) for the latest on the Jekyll Island Pier or St. Simons Bait & Tackle (912-634-1888) for the latest on the St. Simons Pier.

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