When your smile is as big as Jenny Moore’s (see our cover photo), you know you had a good day of fishing. Jenny said that she is so proud of her largemouth bass catch at Lake Lanier. When they tried to weigh it with their hand-held scale, it bottomed out, so they didn’t get an exact weight – but they think it was between 9-10 pounds. What an amazing way to start the year. Congrats Jenny!

NEWS TO KNOW:

This week, we have fishing reports from Central, Southeast and North Georgia. We hope you catch a fish this next week that lights you up as much as Jenny’s did, so Go Fish Georgia!

CENTRAL GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Steve Schleiger, Region Supervisor and fisheries biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

RESERVOIR FISHING REPORTS BELOW COURTESY OF SOUTHERN FISHING WITH KEN STURDIVANT.

LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 1 FOOT, 50’S

Bass fishing is fair.  After the winds settle and with some bright sunny days the bass will feed.  Crank baits seem to be the favorite early in the morning.  Bass are still biting the Carolina rigs.  This will work but the bigger bass seem to want a slow-moving bait like the Rapala DT10 or DT6.  These Rapalas in the shad and silver are working the best with the cooler waters.  Rocky points are still the favorite this week; stay on the main lake.  Those that are heading back into the creeks and coves are just getting a few small bites while throwing plastics.  Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and do not leave an area and cover every inch of that structure.  Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period.  Now is the time for patience and stealth with the equipment.  Turn all but one Sonar machine on.  Run your trolling motor to the lowest speed and still be able to ease up on the structure; slow is the word!  The bass are suspending in the channels and deeper water and move up early and late to feed.  The big largemouth and especially the spots like the bigger slower moving crank baits.  Rocks, deep water, and wind are the key things to look for this week.

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 7.5 FEET, 50’S

Bass fishing is fair.  Take along several colors of Rapala Husky jerk baits and the Ito Vision 110.  Bass have moved up and are feeding on the schools of blue back Herring.  For the deeper fish use the Rapala DT10 in shad and baby bass.  Bass are suspended at various depths but are catchable.  Fifty-degree water is not too cold to overlook that top water bite.  Use a Walk the Dog style bait like a Skitter Walk on the flats from time to time.  Some top water activity can be seen almost every day.  Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and do not leave an area and cover every inch of that structure.  Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period.  Now is the time for patience and stealth with the equipment.  Turn all but one Sonar machine on.  Run your trolling motor to the lowest speed and still be able to ease up on the structure; slow is the word!  The largemouth bass focus on hard objects during the winter months.  Shoreline riprap attracts baitfish and offers ample ambush points for feeding bass, plus it warms up quickly.

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL 50’S

Bass fishing is fair, and the main lake is clear, stained to muddy up the rivers.  The fish are tight to cover.  Or they are roaming the deep water suspended near the river channel.  The best bite is under boat docks near deeper water.  This means main lake docks, if the docks have structure under them then that is even better.  A dark jig with a claw trailer is working the best.  Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and do not leave an area and cover every inch of that structure.  Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period.  Now is the time for patience and stealth with the equipment.  Turn all but one Sonar machine on.  Run your trolling motor to the lowest speed and still be able to ease up on the structure; slow is the word!  Think slow and the bite will be light.  Anglers can still pick up a few fish at the bridge rip rap if Georgia Power is pulling water.  Use a Rapala #7 Shad Rap in a shad color.  The largemouth bass focus on hard objects during the winter months.  Shoreline riprap attracts baitfish and offers ample ambush points for feeding bass, plus it warms up quickly.

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.5 FEET 50’S

Bass fishing continues to be a challenge, but we are in the dead of winter.  Look for bass to be in the twelve to twenty-five feet range near points, ledges, roadbeds, and humps.  Spend time looking for schools of shad.  When the Lowrance finds the bait mark the area and fish it slowly with a 1/2-ounce Flex It or Hopkins spoon, a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce football jig or a Carolina rig with a small finesse worm.  Use light line no larger than 12-pound test to increase sensitivity.  Most of the fish being caught are from Nancy’s Branch and south to the dam.  Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and do not leave an area and cover every inch of that structure.  Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period.  The largemouth bass focus on hard objects during the winter months.  Shoreline riprap attracts baitfish and offers ample ambush points for feeding bass, plus it warms up quickly.  Now is the time for patience and stealth with the equipment.  Turn all but one Sonar machine on.  Run your trolling motor to the lowest speed and still be able to ease up on the structure; slow is the word!

LAKE JACKSON IS FULL, 50’S

Bass fishing is fair, but the wind will slow it down a little until the warmup comes back.  A jig will catch the bigger bass while the crank baits will continue to put up some numbers.  Use the Rapala DT10 primarily during the winter months in a variety of colors, depending on the water clarity.  The more stained the water the darker the color should be.  The Rapala DT07 Flat bait is a good second choice while fishing rocky areas, such as rip rap.  Also use the football head Jig and pick apart the bottom structure and channel ledges.  These two types of fishing methods will be good enough to last until spring no matter what lake.  Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and do not leave an area and cover every inch of that structure.  Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period.  Now is the time for patience and stealth with the equipment.  Turn all but one Sonar machine on.  Run your trolling motor to the lowest speed and still be able to ease up on the structure; slow is the word!  Ditches all over the lake anywhere from 15 to 40 feet deep is where the larger bass will hang out.  Jigs are the perfect bait for this way of fishing.  Just make sure to use lures and take along some patience.  Winter fishing can be a little slower than the rest of the year, but it is the time when most of the large bass bite.

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Capt. Bert Deener, Retired Georgia WRD Region Supervisor, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

Harry Beverley took his grandkids fishing last weekend and they had a blast catching a cooler full of crappie and hybrids by drifting minnows.

Harry Beverley took his grandkids fishing last weekend and they had a blast catching a cooler full of crappie and hybrids by drifting minnows.

Weather and building New Moon tides ruled the week. But folks who braved adversity made some really good catches this week. With the big tides this weekend, saltwater probably won’t be the best option. I would fish ponds and lakes since the rivers are blown out and are going to probably get even worse with the forecasted Friday rains. Every river in southeast Georgia was falling last week, and every one of them is rising this week.

River gages on January 11th were:

  • Clyo on the Savannah River – 6.7 feet and rising
  • Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 4.3 feet and rising
  • Doctortown on the Altamaha – 8.6 feet and rising
  • Waycross on the Satilla – 13.6 feet and rising
  • Atkinson on the Satilla – 11.1 feet and rising
  • Statenville on the Alapaha – 9.7 feet and rising
  • Macclenny on the St Marys – 13.0 feet and rising
  • Fargo on the Suwannee – 11.7 feet and rising

First quarter moon is January 18th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website HERE. For the latest marine forecast, click HERE.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

The water has come up almost a foot in the last couple of weeks with the incessant rains. That usually makes fishing tough, and I confirmed that in the past week at both entrances. You saw in last week’s report where I only caught 2 fliers on the west side. This week I fished the east side, and it rose another 2 inches right before my trip and spread out even MORE into the prairies. I fished the canals for 2 hours and caught 9 bowfin up to 5 pounds. I could not fool any casting – they all ate a trolled Dura-Spin. The best colors were black/chartreuse-chartreuse blade, fire tiger-chartreuse blade, and blood red (the 5-pounder ate that one). I believe trolling is more effective because they’re so spread out that the technique covers water better than just casting. Carter fished the east side boat basin before work on Saturday and caught 5 bowfin on a black/chartreuse Dura-Spin. Craig and Colt James fished the boat basin and canal over the weekend and caught a handful of bowfin by fishing plastic crayfish slowly on the bottom. They didn’t do much in the canal but did best in the boat basin. The most recent water level (Folkston side) was 121.40 feet.

LOCAL PONDS

Chad Lee fished an Alma area pond for an hour or so after the bad storms came through on Tuesday evening and put it on the crappie. He fooled 22 of them with a chartreuse jig. He fished earlier in the day ahead of the storm when they should have bitten well, but he didn’t catch any bass.

SALTWATER (GA COAST)

Capt. Tim Cutting fooled this nice flounder on Wednesday by flinging a chartreuse Gulp Swimming Minnow (Photo courtesy of Capt. Tim Cutting)

The cold and winds this week kept most folks off the water, but a few folks still caught them. Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) had a great early week before the water muddied. Monday was an outstanding bite for his charter. They had 20 reds, including a couple oversized fish and 20 keeper trout. They also had 3 good flounder that day. They dragged plastics and threw live shrimp pinned on 1/8-oz. Shrimp Hooks suspended under Harper Super Striker Floats. On Wednesday the water started off dingy, but the trout fired off as the tide dropped out and the water cleared some. They caught a limit of trout on dirty tequila Southern Shads by Down South Lures rigged on Zombie Eye Jigheads with spring keepers. Capt. Tim threw a chartreuse Gulp at a few targets and managed a really nice flounder (it spit up a 5-inch mullet – we often use lures smaller than we could for flatfish!).  I did something I have never done before on Thursday. I INTENTIONALLY got myself trapped in a small creek as the tide went out. I’ve heard of folks doing it but couldn’t make myself stare at the same real estate for hours. But I decided that I would do it in a creek where I’ve been catching some redfish. The bite started slowly – only catching two before I had to make a decision as to whether to get out or stay. The very last cast before I HAD to decide produced an 18-inch red, so I stayed. It was exactly as I had imagined – 3 hours staring at the exact same scenery. But I caught 30 redfish and a 17-inch trout during the stint, so it was fun. The bite was very spread out – a fish or two about every 10 to 15 minutes. Every fish hit live shrimp tail-hooked on one of my 1/8-oz. Shrimp Hooks or body-hooked on a 3/16-oz. Redfish Wrecker Jighead. It was fun, but not something I plan to do every trip! Sheepshead fishing was great this week. Dane Clements dabbled fiddler crabs around docks, wood, and rocks in the Darien area for a cooler of convictfish up to about 6 pounds. A couple fishing the Brunswick area on Thursday was cleaning about 30 nice sheepshead when I took out. He said that they caught them by fishing fiddler crabs against docks and rocks. Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle in Brunswick is open Friday through Sunday from 6am to 4pm each week. They have plenty of lively shrimp and fiddler crabs and also have live worms and crickets for freshwater. They’re on Hwy 303 just north of Hwy 82. For the latest information, contact them at 912-223-1379.

Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in southeast Georgia and makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check his lures out at Bert’s Jigs and Things on Facebook. For a copy of his latest catalog, call or text him at 912-288-3022 or e-mail him (bertdeener@yahoo.com).

NORTH GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Brent Hess, Fisheries Biologist with the Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts) 

TROUT REPORT

Where to Go for Trout Info: To learn about Georgia’s diverse trout fishing opportunities including the latest stocking information or the Georgia Trout Slam, check out the Georgia DNR Trout Fishing page.

RESERVOIR REPORT 

LAKE ALLATOONA is down 12.6 feet, and the water temperatures are in the 50s. 

Allatoona Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. Head to the lake mid-morning and find the rocks on points as this will warm the surrounding waters. The first few days of the cold snap were not that great for fishing due to a lot of shallow fish shut down with such a drastic change in temps but now things are getting back to normal January fishing on Allatoona. The bait is more concentrated and suspending in the 15-to-20-foot range. Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and don’t leave an area and cover every inch of that structure. Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period.

LAKE HARTWELL: is down 6.5 feet and water temperatures are in the 50s.

Hartwell Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. The bass are back to a normal winter pattern. There is a lot of wind this week and this will move the larger bass deep to structure. Windblown points are still my favorite along with short stretches of red clay banks mixed with chunk rock. The points as well as the banks need to have deep water or a channel that runs close by. The bass are holding in the deeper water for the most part and move in and out on these areas to feed during the day. Even when the bass are holding in ten to fifteen feet of water and more, they will still hit deep diving crank baits like the DT10 and DT16. Another good choice for this deeper cranking is the new Rapala #7 Glass Shad Rap. Rely on the Lowrance Down Scan technology to locate the pods of shad and don’t leave an area and cover every inch of that structure. Be sure to fish when the Fish and Game Forecaster indicates a feeding period. Now is the time for patience and stealth with the equipment. Turn all but one Sonar machine on. Run your trolling motor to the lowest speed and still be able to ease up on the structure. And slow is the word. For those anglers that just love to use deep water jigging spoons, some nice bass along with a variety of other fish are being caught using this method. Find the fish and the structure and have at it. Most fishermen are concentrating their efforts in water anywhere from 25 to 45 feet deep. Downsize the Sufix clear line and tackle for best results.

LAKE LANIER is down 6.6 feet and water temperatures are in the 50s.

Lanier Bass (This Lake Lanier Bass fishing report is by Phil Johnson Pjohnson15@hotmail.com 770-366-8845) — Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good. The lake is currently about seven feet below full pool with the lower main lake being mostly clear with staining in the backs of the creeks and up the rivers. The water temperature has dropped a couple of degrees and currently ranges from forty-eight in the morning to fifty-one later in the day. This drop should continue with the colder weather we are having. The bass are currently catchable from five feet to sixty feet of water but are making the move to the deeper areas. Over the last week you have been able to pick your choice of baits to use to chase them with. First the shallow fish, a worm or a jig have been producing some nice fish in less than twenty feet of water. Look for the rocky points that face the sun and have deeper water close by. Several of the fish caught this week were spitting up small crawfish which sets up well for a quarter to three eights jig. Work the brown colors with orange and green mixed in. The trailer for the jig this week was root beer color. These same areas along with boat docks have been good targets for fishing a Zoom trick worm on a three sixteenths shakey head. Work with the green colors from a watermelon green to the darker green pumpkin. A quarter or three eights ounce Spot Choker with a three-inch Echo finesse swimbait has produced fish from fifteen feet down to forty feet of water. Work this bait on the ledges or along the ditches with a very slow presentation and don’t overset the hook. I’m working this bait on a seven-foot three spinning rod loaded with twelve-pound Cast braid and a eight-to-twelve-pound fluorocarbon leader. If you find a creek with shad in it a half ounce Georgia Blade spoon is perfect to vertically drop on them. If they don’t want the spoon a Damiki rig, or the drop shot setup may be the ticket. The Lanier Baits Sweet Rosy or the Blue Lily have drawn the most strikes. On the Damiki, I am working the same small swimbaits as on the underspin. Look for the fish to move deeper move slower as the water temperature continues to drop so slow your baits down also. Bundle up and Go Catch ‘Em! 

Lanier Stripers (report is by Buck Cannon, Buck Tails Guide Service 404-510-1778) — Lake Lanier stripers are schooling in groups of 20 to 40 fish. Now locate fish using all your electronics features to find them. Set the down lines at 25 to 40 feet’ deep over 50 to 70 feet of water. Blue backs are the best bet if you can find them. Call bait shops to check for bait availability. The umbrella rigs can be another option and hit the points and drop offs. Water temp is low 50’s. Remember to wear your life jackets. Buck Tales will be at the Atlanta Boat show on Saturday. Hope to see you there. 

Lanier Crappie (Report is courtesy of Call Captain Josh Thornton 770-530-6493) — Crappie fishing is good. The northern end of the lake is mostly clear water and Crappie are suspended 4-10 foot deep on open water brush and docks. Look to the outside edges of school over the brush piles for bigger fish. I am using a small minnows on a slip bobber and small hair jigs grey color. The gear I recommend for crappie fishing is Acc crappie stix 1-piece rod and reel with a 6-pound test K9 line, along with Garmin Live Scope and Power Pole.

WEISS LAKE is near full and has a light stain to clear and 43-45 degrees. 

Weiss Mixed Bag Report (Report courtesy of Mark Collins www.markcollins service.com: 256-996-9035) —

  • Bass – Bass fishing is good, and they have moved to a winter pattern on ledges and river and creek channels, Carolina rigs, crank baits and spinner baits are catching fish.
  • Crappie – Crappie fishing is good. The fish are on the creek and river channel ledges and deeper brush, they can be caught Spider rigging with live minnows over deep brush. Shooting docks with jigs is also producing some fish, look for the Crappie to really start biting as the water cools down.
  • Stripers – Striper fishing is poor and no reports this past week.
  • Catfish – Catfish are biting well in the bays and creeks in 8 to 15 feet of water and cut bait is working best. 

A Happy New Year West Point Striper catch. (Photo Credit – W.C. “Chaz” Raven Jan. 3, 2024)

WEST POINT LAKE is down 5.9 feet and water temperatures are in the 50s. 

West Point Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing has been good. Water levels have continued to come up and temperatures have stayed consistent. Morning water temperatures are starting around fifty-two degrees increasing to fifty-five mid-day. Do not be discouraged if the early morning bites are slow as temperatures increase so do the bites. Fishing a drop shot rig and jigging spoon on offshore structure is picking up most of the bites for numbers. Anglers can catch some really healthy spots right now. For the largemouth the best pattern has been covering a lot of water with small mid depth crank baits such as a Bandit 200 series or Bomber 4A. The better colors have either been in a chartreuse or craw patterns. The largemouth bass focus on hard objects during the winter months. Shoreline riprap attracts baitfish and offers ample ambush points for feeding bass, plus it warms up quickly. There are better times to target largemouth bass. 

West Point Stripers — Striper and hybrid fishing is hit or miss, but a few schooling groups can be found lake wide.  Try live bait or cast/troll an umbrella rig for some lineside action.

A fish habitat/attractor being installed into West Point Lake by GADNR-WRD, Fisheries Management personnel and volunteers. (Photo Credit GADNR B. Hess)

Installing West Point Fish Attractors: During winter and early spring, Wildlife Resources Division Fisheries Management personnel make use of short days and cold temperatures to continue their fish habitat improvement projects on many of the state’s major waterbodies. West Point Lake is no exception, with many pallet structures, hinge-cut trees, and maidencane planting sites being added every year. Fish attractor locations for West Point Lake can be found HERE.

West Point Lake Level Information: Find West Point Lake Water Level Information at West Point Lake Levels Information.