One last report before 2020 comes to a close, and a surprise early publishing of the blog (Thursday, instead of Friday) as we get you ready for the holiday weekend.

News to Know:

  • Field Trip: Let the holidays give you time to go visit the Go Fish Education Center in Perry, GA. Here you can take an interactive educational journey through Georgia waterways in a fun and hands-on way.
  • Fisheries Chief Promoted: The most recent Chief of Fisheries, Thom Litts, recently was promoted to Assistant Director of the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division. Congrats Thom!
  • 2021 Fishing Regulations: The new Georgia Fishing Regulations Guide book is out. Find yours online, on the free Outdoors Georgia app, or at a WRD office or Fishing License Vendor. 

This week we have reports from North, Southeast and Central Georgia. Make those New Year’s resolutions (which, obviously, will have to include more “wetting a line time”) and then Go Fish Georgia!

NORTH GEORGIA

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

“Here’s a little tip that I would like to relate
Many fish bites if you got good bait
I’m a goin’ fishin’, yes I’m goin’ fishin’”

– Fishin’ Blues, Taj Mahal

Goodbye 2020! It looks like we will be ringing in the new year with some rain this weekend; likely leaving north Georgia lake and river levels fairly high for awhile. But if you’re eager to try out all the new tackle/equipment that you just received from Santa like I am, then you’ll certainly find a way to get out into the sunshine next week. Just be sure to know the flows before you go fishin’!

RESERVOIRS 

On the lakes, look for “mudlines.” Find those transition zones between red-mud water and super-clear water. In those stained areas, the sun will warm the water and pull in bait fish. Predators will follow and will take advantage of the stained water to ambush their prey (and hopefully our baits).  Start a good distance downlake until there is 2-3 feet of visibility and give it a whirl. 

LAKE LANIER

(Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant) —LAKE LANIER IS DOWN .39 FEET, CLEAR 50S

Spotted bass is good (Report Courtesy of Phil Johnson, 770-366-8845) — The lake is steady and will start to fall soon. Fishing has been pretty good out there. The fish are in different patterns than normal, but they are eating. Some are finding fish up very shallow. Most are starting to gang up out deep. The shallow fish are good early in the day. The deeper fish are better later in the morning throughout the rest of the day. The shallow fish have been eating crank baits, spinnerbaits and jerk baits. Use a 10 foot diving crank bait up on rocky points off the main lake early in the day. Just throw the crankbait up there super shallow. And they can be very shallow so start up in 6 inches of water. Then slowly start the retrieve. Some of the fish are almost dry they are so shallow. Working around the rocky points keep the boat out away as far as possible and still make the cast. The water is so clear up shallow and the fish may be spook. Set the trolling motor on low speeds. Use the Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait with a medium speed retrieve. Try to dead stick the jerkbait or use a slow medium retrieve. Stick with basic shad colors with the Vision 110. During the mid-mornings and afternoons the worm, the jig and spoon bite has been excellent. There are a lot of fish up in the 18 to 30 foot range. Here use the Zoom Swamp Crawler rigged on a 3/16 ounce lead head or a football head. This rig is deadly on the mid range fish. Drop it right down to them when they appear on the Lowrance. Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar. Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce spoon. Also cast to the points and bounce it back. The deeper fish are eating either a white Flex It spoon or a 3/8 ounce casting jig. Fish both of these baits on the fish that at 40 to 55 feet of water. This bite is coming on and getting better every day. The jig is a green craw or brown and orange colors. Look for the deep bite to get better as it gets colder. With colder weather this will push more of the spotted bass out deep. 

Striper fishing (Report from Buck Cannon Buck Tails Guide Service 404-510-1778) — has been a challenge for me this week because of the holidays. We were scouting and fished north of Browns Bridge and located a lot of bait using my electronics in 30 t0 60 feet of water. Down lines and flat lines produced a couple of nice fish. Trout and blue backs were the bait of choice 30 to 50 feet deep. Drop to the bottom underneath the bait and reel a couple of turns and start drumming method to get the bite going. Fish the flat lines 80 to 120 feet behind the boat. Merry Christmas and see you on the water. Buck Tales 404-510-1778

Crappie fishing is excellent (From Captain Josh Thornton, 770-530-6493) — The water temperatures are in the low 50s. The hot bite target zone is 15 to 18 feet deep. Be flexible in you technique figure out what depth the crappie are biting and what they want to eat jigs or minnows. When using jigs try putting two different colors on one line about 16” apart see what color they are hitting. Then concentrate on what they want no need in throwing all jigs if they only want minnows that day. Look for open water brush in 15’-35’ of water plan on losing several jigs and minnows you got to be down there with them to catch them. Look under docks that are in 15 to 30 feet of water and have brush or structure use your electronic charts to locate these areas. Try down lining a small Crappie minnows with a sinker or set up a slip bobber. Jigs have been producing some big numbers. My Jig recommendation is a baby shad green over chartreuse or a royal blue over silver single tail. Jigs can be used for short casting, vertical jigging or dock shooting. I’m using ATX Lure company’s jigs on 5 pound test, high visibility yellow K9 braid for my line (unless I am using a bobber) and a Piscifun reel on a light action 6’ B&M rod. Use scanning type sonar (e.g. Down and Side Imaging) to locate schooling fish, and complement this with the latest in live-scanning sonar technology (e.g. Garmin’s LiveScope, Humminbird 360 or Lowrance’s LiveSight). Set waypoints on your electronic charts so that you can quickly return to productive locations.

LAKE WEISS: (Mark Collins reports) —

Bass fishing is good. Most of our bass have moved to a deep winter pattern, on the creek and river channel ledges. Spinner baits and crank baits working well, jigs and Carolina rigs are catching fish also. 

Crappie fishing is good. They are on deeper cover 18 to 22 feet, on the main Coosa river channel ledges from Cedar Bluff to Leesburg. Spider rigging, over brush, and the river channel ledges with live minnows and jigs is catching fish. Long line trolling with jigs is starting to turn on, as some fish are starting to suspend in the river and creek channels. 

Striper fishing is Poor and no reports on any fish being caught in the last few weeks.

LAKE HARTWELL: (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant) — Lake Hartwell is down 1.6 feet, 50s. Bass fishing is fair. The fish are still holding to lay downs along the bank and most of them are being caught out in the tops of the trees in the heavy branches on jigs. Use a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce jig in brown and green colors with a twin tail or frog trailer. Out on the main lake points, fish are still breaking the surface and on occasion are hitting top water baits. As the lake turns over, bass tend to suspend and Ito 110 jerk baits are excellent. Down Deep Husky Jerk will work too on the deeper channel ledges. Stay on the main lake or in the rivers this week and out of the coves. Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar. Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce spoon. Spinner baits are catching a few bass that are roaming the banks and most of these fish are small spots. Use the six inch worms, the Rapala #5 RS Shad Raps and trick worms with a very light Texas rig. Fish every point and piece of structure and it may be necessary to fish several baits in one locations to trigger a strike.

Sam Hakala with a nice Allatoona catch!

LAKE ALLATOONA – Allatoona Linesides (Report courtesy of Fisheries Supervisor Jim Hakala) – Sunshine and a bluebird sky was buffered by a steady wind and cold temps. on a pre-Christmas outing to the Toona.  Water temps. ranged from 45-48F and the water had a moderate stain.  We spent a fair bit of time “sonar watching” while cruising between Galt’s Ferry and Little River.  Marked plenty of fish, bait and even a little sonar “spaghetti” suspended in the 20-30 ft. depth range over a 40-50 ft. bottom.  Unfortunately we were only able to coax a few linesides and a spotted bass to the boat vertically jigging ½ ounce blue and white spoons.  Kids out-fished the Dads on-board, but who’s counting (at least until next time).  If you could keep the spoon in front of their nose for any length of time they would bite.  I suspect an offering of live bait may have improved our “catching”, but jigging can be productive if you hit it right.

RIVER REPORTS

Rivers and large streams will be blown out for a few days, so give smaller, headwater streams a try while you await the big watersheds to shed their excessive runoff. Remember to match your bugs to the stream conditions. If the water is big/high/stained from a rain, use bigger and brighter bugs. Chattooga Gage; Amicalola Gage

 

Chattahoochee Tailwater Trout: (Report from Chris Scalley of River Through Atlanta) — Reports are fantastic from our group of guides. Lake turn-over is complete and we are seeing gin clear water. Fish populations are good near the Buford Dam area. We are also getting reports of blue wing olive hatches in the 18-20 size. We too, are receiving reports that the size 24 cream midges are on the rise and fish are looking up. Also the lower section below Morgan Falls is fishing well. Look at swinging buggers, or dead drifting junk flies for the win. Stay posted or call the shop for updates. For the Chattahoochee, state regulations require a certified personal flotation devise be worn by all anglers from Buford dam south to highway 20. Pay special attention to water release info online, or call the number below for release schedules. Make sure to call the Corp of Engineers release hotline at 770-945-1466 before making your trip. 

  • If you are new to wade fishing the Chattahoochee Tailwater: Here’s a great video that walk you through how to know when to fish based on water gauges.   
  • Also, The Atlanta Fly Fishing Club has an excellent resource for access points, float times, and fishing tips HERE. 

Tips for Learning How to Fly Fish:

From Jimmy Harris, owner of Unicoi Outfitters —

  1. As soon as possible, go out with someone who knows how to fly-fish. Not a friend who claims to have been fly-fishing for 10 years but only goes twice a year but someone who KNOWS how to fly-fish.
  2. Be patient. Recognize that you have chosen to fish using a technique that intentionally puts you at a disadvantage in many situations. The pleasure of the sport comes from mastering various and sundry skills that aren’t needed if your only goal is to catch fish.
  3. Brute force and ignorance will not make you a fly angler. Quite the opposite. The harder you try, the worse your cast will be. God will not allow you to violate the laws of physics just to cast a fly rod.

From Jeff Durniak, aka Dredger, of Unicoi Outfitters —The longer I flyfished, the more I realized that I was hunting and not fishing. I learned to look, stalk, and shoot:

  1. Look! From a high riverbank, study the stream. Look for bugs, fish, and currents. Bugs may be near the surface, high in the air dodging hungry birds, or in bushes or spiderwebs. Fish may be rising, sidestep-nymphing at middepth, or hunkered down on the bottom. Currents and bubblelines will tell you where the sweet spots are.
  2. Stalk. Slowly slip along the streambank or into the river. Get into position to make your first shot count, just like in hunting or golf putting. Get close to that foam line, deep shade under the log, or flat slick behind the midstream boulder.
  3. Shoot. Cast short and get a good drift. Your first shot (cast) is the most important, so make it count. I’ll take a short-gamer with 5 favorite flies and a good drift over a doublehauler loaded with 500 “hot” fly patterns. The first is a hunter/harvester, while the second is just “fishing.”

Check out Unicoi’s full list of tips HERE.

Chattooga River

  • NGTO intel: A decent day on Brown Streamers and Pat’s Rubber Legs
  • Sarah Baker’s Recommendations: Check water level at Burrell’s Ford Bridge here, and local weather on the Chattooga River here.  Periods of low water can be fished with an assortment of small nymphs and midges. Modestly weighted Hare’s Ear nymphs and Silver Copper Johns, have worked well, especially on mild and cloudy days when small Blue Winged Olives might hatch. Periods of higher flow provide opportunities to chuck some bigger streamers. Aggressively strip ‘em in. When fishing in moderate flows, smaller streamers and egg-flies have worked well.

HELLO Utah! What a catch! 11-year-old Utah boy snares 48-pound lake trout While 2020 hasn’t been the best year for most, it’s been pretty awesome for this 11-year-old Utah angler!

EVENTS

As always, thank you for buying your fishing licenses, tackle, and TU Brook Trout car tags. Here’s to all your fishing adventures to come in 2021!

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

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

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish you each a Happy New Year!

Most rivers are still in their wintertime high and cold stage. I will let you know when I hear good reports from rivers, but let it suffice to say that your time in the winter will usually be best spent on lakes, ponds, the Okefenokee Swamp, and saltwater. In general, crappie fishing and catfishing for white catfish in the lower portions of our rivers are your best options in the winter. You can usually find crappie in slackwater areas of the main river or in oxbow lakes. During warm spells, specks will pull up to shoreline cover, but you will catch them best when it’s cold by drifting or trolling the open-water areas with curly-tailed grubs (Assassin 2-inch Curly Shads and Keitech 2-inch swimbaits are my favorites) or live minnows. Bass fishing in rivers can be decent during warming trends if you know where they lurk in the winter (oxbows are usually good places to start searching). You can try the rivers if you would like, but they are not easy systems to fish in the winter. I will get back to specific river reports when they get right in the spring, but I will focus attention on the prime flat water bites for the next couple months.

Last quarter moon is January 6. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website HERE. For the latest marine forecast, click HERE.

SAVANNAH RIVER

The river got down into a good fishable range for about 2 weeks in early December, but it is back up again. Tyler Finch and friends fished the river when it was down and did great for panfish using white 3/16-oz. Satilla Spins rigged with crickets. They caught 108 panfish 2 weekends ago, with some bluegills over a pound. This past weekend, the river had jumped 3 feet  and was still rising, but they still managed to catch 40 bluegills on the same rig. The river ended up jumping up 7 feet, and they have abandoned the river fishing, for now. The river level at the Clyo gage on December 30th was 9.3 feet and rising.

LOCAL PONDS

My son caught his 4th youth angler award species from a pond on Saturday evening in the super-cold water. I managed to catch 2 small bass and a big bluegill on 1/16oz copperfield Satilla Spins and crickets, but Timothy still had not caught. At the very end of the trip, he had mentioned that he was done and ready to leave and just a few seconds after that was out of his mouth a 9-inch bluegill inhaled his cricket. His goal is to try to catch 10 youth angler awards before he turns 16 in a year. He’s doing well, as he has caught 4 angler awards in 3 weeks. He has posted videos of his catches at Timmybug Productions on YouTube. Some anglers fishing from a dock in a Brunswick area pond caught over 30 nice 1 1/2 to 2-pound channel catfish by fishing shrimp on the bottom on Saturday. Other anglers caught 20 catfish from the same dock on Wednesday. Chad Lee had a great Christmas present, catching a couple of 5-pound bass on white-chartreuse spinnerbaits. He also had a great crappie trip this week, catching them on jigheads and his favorite chartreuse-white Assassin Tiny Shads. He even caught a slab on a bass lure.

HUGH M. GILLIS PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Dublin, more info HERE)

The best catch I’ve heard of over the last couple of weeks was made by Will Lancett. He fished for crappie from the fishing pier on the 17th and caught 24 bass and a chain pickerel while using live minnows. All but one of his bass were under the protective slot and that one was 20 inches and 4 1/2 pounds. He kept 5 of the smaller fish and released the rest. It wasn’t much of a trip for crappie, but he had a blast with the bass.

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

An angler fishing Lake Patrick out of a kayak last Wednesday (24th) caught a few smaller bass on plastics but lost a big bass in the 7 to 8-pound range on a jig. Some giant bass have been caught on the area in the past by dragging jigs around deep cover. With the cold, the crappie bite has been the best. Anglers have trolled jigs and minnows, as well as fishing both offerings from the fishing piers and have caught fish.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

The cold has shut the bite down from my reports. The good news with the shallow, blackwater is that it will fire back up again after 3 or 4 warm days. The fish will bite late this week with the warming trend if you can get out before the weekend front. The latest water level was 120.9 feet.

LAURA WALKER STATE PARK

Staff at Laura Walker State Park have completed repairs to the drain structure but the lake is still low. The same rules in effect over the last month still apply until we get enough rain to bring the level back up. If you can launch a boat from the ramp then you can use the boat with electric motor or paddle power, but you cannot run the gas motor. State size and creel limits still apply during the drawdown.

Ellie Deener caught this 32-inch bull redfish on Sunday evening. She fooled it by fishing a shell mound on a mud flat and was using a rootbeer Keitech rigged on a 3/16-oz. round head with a spring keeper.

SALTWATER (GA COAST)

Trout and redfishing was excellent before the extreme cold around Christmas, and it’s been hit-or-miss since then. Dillon Metz and a friend fished last Saturday (19th) in the Brunswick area and caught 9 trout on a day that started at 30 degrees. Their fish were scattered in the current breaks, mostly in the back of the creeks. Most of their fish ate 3/16 and 1/4-oz. jigheads and Flashy Jigheads and paddletail plastics (figichix and electric chicken Keitechs and chicken of the sea colored plastics). Julius Conner and a friend fished the Brunswick area last Tuesday (22nd) and did well for both trout and redfish. They had 26 trout up to 16 inches (15 keepers). Rootbeer, figichix, electric chicken, and chartreuse back rootbeer Keitechs worked for them that day, and they caught them both rigged on round springlock jigheads and 1/4-oz. Flashy Jigheads. They pulled up on a magic shell bed at half flood tide and caught a 35 and two 32-inch redfish and pulled off another big one. Jim Hickox and his father fished the Brunswick area last Wednesday (23rd) and hammered the trout in the small creeks. They had about 45 trout, including 22 keepers up to 18 inches. They caught them on Assassin Sea Shads in chicken-on-a-chain, electric chicken, and several other colors. Shortly after the cold front last weekend, the fishing was slow. I had several reports where folks caught a few fish and several where folks got skunked over the weekend and early in this week. Dane Clements and friends spanked the sheepshead over the holiday. A group of 4 of them fished the Shellman Bluff area on Wednesday (24th) and caught their limit of 60 convictfish. Most were smaller – in the 3 to 4 pound range, but they had a few bigger ones. The water was so clear that they could see them fighting as soon as they hooked them on fiddlers. Their best depth range was 8 to 15 feet, and they used fluorocarbon leaders in the clear water. They went to the Brunswick area on Sunday and caught some really big sheepshead up to about 8 pounds and a few black drum, as well. Fiddlers fooled their fish. I took my daughter to the Brunswick area on Sunday after church and she caught a 32-inch redfish on a new penny Keitech rigged on a 3/16-oz. round head with a spring keeper. We also caught 4 trout (1 keeper) in about 10 minutes on the same lure. One angler told me after the front that he passed over lots of redfish that wouldn’t respond to his offerings. One fish sat there and turned its nose up to spinnerbaits, sea shad, cut mullet, and shrimp. That fish simply wasn’t going to bite! Another angler fishing warming mud flats on Monday got so bored cruising the flats and not seeing redfish that he cast at a cruising stingray and fooled it into biting. That is the definition of boredom! Ron Altman and a couple friends fished the Brunswick area on Tuesday and found some trout with live shrimp. They got on several short fish until they pulled up on the right shell bed and started catching 17-inchers. Their best depth was 6 to 10 feet. On Wednesday Cason Kinstle and Justin Bythwood fished the Brunswick area and caught 62 trout, 3 redfish, and 3 weakfish (21 keeper trout up to 18 1/2 inches). Their best colors were figichix, AYU, and gold flash Keitechs and chartreuse paddle-tail plastics in another brand. They fished 5 locations and only caught fish in 3 of them – typical for winter – the fish are usually stacked up when you find them. They rigged their plastics on a 1/4-oz. Flashy Jighead and a 1/4-oz. prototype jighead with a 3/0 Gamakatsu hook. They used live shrimp a bunch but only caught a half-dozen trout on them. Artificials were definitely the way to go for them. Another angler fishing the upper ends of the small creeks around Brunswick found some big trout on Wednesday. The fishing has improved later this week with more moderate and warming temperatures. 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.

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 here and they prefer the wood cover over the rock.  Since this lake is nothing more than a flooded gorge, there is plenty of wood in various forms scattered all over the lake.  Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if you have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar.  Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to 3/4-ounce spoon.  Then add the jigs, Shad Raps and Husky Jerks or Ito Vision 110 and use them all.  Use the deep diving crank baits around rocks and wood.  Smaller bass are still being caught up shallow, but this will change with the cold weather.  The warm days will get schools of bait fish up to the rocks and rip rap where anglers can catch fish on Shad Raps and DT6’s.  As colder weather returns change to the Rapala DT10 and DT14 along the same areas and use a slower retrieve.  If the water stays clear, stay with the Shad colors in these baits.  Hot Mustard and Brown Bone are excellent when visibility gets to three feet of less. 

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 3 FEET, 50’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 angler 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.  Cold, windy days make fishing a little tougher for sure. For the serious angler, the bass are still biting it just takes some work.  Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if you have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar.  Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to ¾-ounce spoon.  Fish are holding near rocky structure where the water stays warmer.  Lipless crank baits work as the morning moves on.  Finish up with a jig or a Texas rigged worm.  Carolina rigs are great fall and winter favorites during the fall transition.  Try the north Little River or Savannah River area.  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. 

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 50’S 

Bass: Bass fishing is slow.  You will need to match the color of your bait to the watercolor.  As you can see the best fishing is in Richland Creek.  Spoons are the hot ticket in the south end of the lake in the light stained water around humps and just off the river channel in about 30 ft. of water.  Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if you have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar.  Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to ¾-ounce spoon.  Small crank baits fished around docks and sea walls from the middle of the creeks to the back of the creeks are also working.  About 8 feet of water depth at the end of the docks seems to be the best producer.  A spinner bait fished around wood in Richland Creek has been producing a few fish. 

Striped Bass: Striper fishing is good.  As the mud line moves further south so will the stripers.  They do not like muddy water.  Down lines as well as flat lines will produce.  Fish are also showing up in the mouths of the coves.  Use your Lowrance to locate the schools of bait and the stripers will be close by.  Now is the time to go bait hunting.  Find large schools of bait and the fish will be close by.  The Captain Mack mini rig has been producing good catches in the cleaner water.  

Crappie: Crappie fishing is fair to good.  This is the best fishing on Oconee right now.  Long-lining (trolling) will produce some nice catches.  You will need to run your jigs about 10 to 12 feet deep.  Down-lining crappie minnows into treetops and on ledges on the main lake at 10-foot-deep will also produce a lot of fish.  Use your Lowrance to locate the fish in the treetops and then drop your bait down to the fish. 

WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 7 FEET, CLEAR 60’S

Bass fishing is fair.  Now is a good time to hit the lake and learn to use spoons.  Several sizes are working up to a one-ounce Flex it and the Nichols spoons on the roadbeds down lake.  The upper end of the lake is “silty” right now so go south to fish.  The dam area up to the Maple Creek area is the best fishing spot right now for all fish.  Most of the fish are bunched up together in 25 to 30 feet of water.  There is a mixed bag of fish to be caught vertical jigging on the bottom.  Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if you have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar.  Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to ¾-ounce spoon.  The largemouth, whites, spots, hybrids, and crappie are all bunched together.  Fish along the edge of tree lines and flats. 

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.5 STAINED 60’S

Bass fishing is fair.  Spinner baits and crank baits are working as the water temperature cools down.  Quality bass are starting to show up using the spinner bait.  Blow downs, shallow brush, stumps, and grass have been the cover holding these fish.  Try a 3/8-ounce model in chartreuse white with double Colorado blades, one nickel and the other gold.  Try to bump the cover with each retrieve and use multiple casts from various angles.  Also try a ½ to ¾ ounce bait with a large #7 Colorado rear blade.  This bait should be bulged just below the surface and retrieved over or very near likely looking cover.  Jigs and soft plastics continue to draw a few bites around docks and shallow brush.  The jig bite has been the most consistent bait on the humps, points, and flats.  Carolina rigs and crank baits are the primary baits here. 

LAKE JACKSON IS .58 FEET OVER FULL CLEAR 50’S

Bass fishing is fair.  There are few anglers on the lake with hunting season now.  Some fish are shallow and can be caught on 3/8-ounce Net Boy Baits jigs around shallow rocks and docks.  Good colors are all black or all brown.  More numbers are found deeper in 15 to 20 feet and are being caught on Carolina rigged watermelon colored worms, ¾-ounce Net Boy Baits, football jigs or jerk baits.  Look for rock with any brush on it for the deep bite.  Find the fish on the Lowrance DOWN SCAN technology and if you have Fish Reveal use it on the DOWN Scan so the fish appear like on regular Sonar.  Use the vertical jig in a 1/2 to ¾-ounce spoon.  If all else fails, get three rods all rigged with various sizes and colors of the jig and fish them on the rocks and sea walls.

Flat Creek PFA

Rain during the past month has brought the water level up about 14” which is always a welcome improvement in lake levels.  Between the rain and freezing weather, we have seen fewer fishermen willing to endure the elements.  but those that have, reported the bass bite as being on the slow side but still picking up some nice 5 lb.+ fish for their effort.  The crappie fishermen have reported catching fewer numbers of crappie but better size fish with reports in the 1 to 2 lb. range.  The bream / catfish fishermen have been having fair success from the bank and fishing pier.  Some of the all-night boat anglers have picked up bass and crappie on minnows with the bass being on the smaller size.

Bass:  Crank Baits- Norman Speed Crank white or bone color, Strike King Hard Knock; Buzz Baits- Bass Pro Lazer Eye white, Strike King Sugar chartreuse / white.   Worms- darker colored worms.

Bream:  Red Wigglers and Pinks fished on bottom and near cover

Channel Catfish:  Red Wigglers, Pinks and chicken livers.

Crappie:  Minnows and jigs, Chartreuse and white Scissor tail, white teaser tails, and Bass Pro Max paddle tail in white.