November in Georgia is a season to be grateful for—especially if you love to fish. As the water cools and holiday gatherings draw near, fish are on the move and the busy summer crowds have long gone, leaving you with quiet, peaceful mornings on the water. Bass and crappie are filling up before winter like they’re prepping for their own Thanksgiving feast, trout fishing in North Georgia stays steady, and saltwater anglers are still finding plenty to be thankful for along the coast. Whether you’re sneaking in a few casts before family arrives or unwinding after a full plate, November delivers a perfect blend of crisp weather, calm lakes, and outstanding fishing across the state.

NEWS TO KNOW:

• Go Fish Education Center – The outdoor aquariums at the Go Fish Education Center will be temporarily closed from October 31, 2025, through January 8, 2026, to allow for exciting improvements. The rest of the Center and casting pond will remain open on weekends, with education programs continuing during the week. We look forward to seeing those refreshed aquariums on January 9, 2026!

• Whitewater Bucket Brigade – Let’s Stock Some Trout! We need your help to stock some trout in the delayed harvest section of the Chattahoochee River just in time for Christmas. This event is scheduled for Dec. 22. You must register to participate! To register, visit https://gooutdoorsgeorgia.com/ and select “Events and Opportunities” and search the event calendar for Dec. 22. Volunteers should bring a clean five-gallon bucket, waders, and a fishing pole for some post-stocking fishing fun. This is a great event for kids to give them a chance to help put trout in the water and then catch a few fish once they are stocked.

• NW GA: Support Fish Habitat with a Tree Donation: Your Christmas tree can have a second life, as fish habitat! Participate in the “Bring one for the Chipper” event on Sat. Jan. 3 (9am-12pm) by bringing your live, undecorated tree to the Home Depot at 103 Hicks Drive, Rome GA. This year, Keep Rome-Floyd Beautiful is partnering with the Georgia DNR Fisheries team to place recycled trees in nearby ponds and lakes, supporting fish and wildlife right here at home. As a thank-you for participating, you will receive a White Oak or Bald Cypress seedling to plant and grow in your own space. We will also have small greenhouses available for giveaway, while supplies last. Recycle your tree, support local ecosystems, and take home something new to grow!

This week, we have fishing reports from Central, Southeast, Southwest and North Georgia. Fishing in Georgia is defiantly something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving so Go Fish Georgia!

CENTRAL GEORGIA

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

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 2 FEET, 70’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant at www.southernfishing.com): Bass fishing is fair. The lake took on a couple of inches of rain over several days, so expect to find plenty of water here this week. Water temperatures are 59 to 60 degrees. Spotted bass are roaming up on the points and secondary points. The better points are the larger rounded ones and are located near deeper water. Rapala RS Shad Raps and DT10 and DT6 are great crank baits to use. Shad, Perch and Silver Blue colors are best all day. The bass will roam a lot as the water cools and will be found hanging around wood and small rocks in two to five feet of water. A good portion of the bass caught have been feeding on these smaller fish. On the sharper main lake points use the Rapala DT10 to get a little deeper and catch those bass holding on the ledges. Carolina rigged Zoom green lizards and worms can be used around brush piles and in water greater than fifteen feet deep. Fish with the wind and keep the boat out as far as possible.

Bass 2 (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Guide Jerry Kotal (706-988-0860) reports that in November bass should be out deep around bait schools on both the main lake and in the creeks. They will be caught on jigging spoons once temperatures cool and soft plastics before that.

Striped Bass (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) reports that in November fish will start out the month still a little scattered, but they will soon concentrate into the middle section of the lake. They will group up tighter as the month progresses, and fishing baits higher in the water column will become more effective.

Crappie (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Guide Wendell Wilson reports that November should continue to be a good time for Lake Russell crappie. Fish will be caught in both the main lake and the creeks around mid-depth brush with minnows.

Catfish (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Guide Jerry Kotal reports that catfish can be found in the creeks and coves on the main lake fishing with cut herring on the bottom.

Perch (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Guide Wendell Wilson reports that as it gets colder both white and yellow perch will bite minnows well. The fish will be on the bottom in deep water.

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 60’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant with www.southernfishing.com): Bass fishing is fair. Using small crank baits or spinnerbait’s around the shallow water and near the docks or any other structure is a good plan. As the lake begins to clear the bite will become better all over. Work a buzz baits early or all day if the weather is overcast. Make sure that and work the back corners of the docks and the area where the walkway goes from the shore to the dock. Try this with the Lowrance split the screens and put sonar on one panel and down imaging on the other. This will make the down scan 4 times wider that sonar. Rocks anywhere on the lake will have shad and usually lots of them and bass will make their way to this structure anytime of the day. It’s hard to beat a Shad Rap, shad color on 10 pound test Sufix Elite line. Bump the rocks with the baits by casting parallel to the rocks.

Tournament Update (courtesy of ABA News at www.americanbassanglers.com): Steve Dobbs of McDonough, GA, took the win at the AFT D72 tournament held on November 15, 2025, on Lake Oconee.  Steve had a five-bass limit that weighed 20.84 pounds to take home the first-place trophy.  He anchored his sack with a 6.32-pound bass which won him additional prize money for the Big Bass pot and the Big Bass trophy! Read the full story at www.americanbassanglers.com.

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 5.5 FEET, 60’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant with www.southernfishing.com): Bass fishing is fair. The recent rains has not changed the lake level so far. There are several patterns working but they depend on the weather conditions. Normally this time of year the lake is lower but for now there are some big fish shallow. Try the Fat Free Shad in silver and green crankbait on secondary points and a jig around brush and docks. The deeper fish are starting to bite on drop shots, Carolina rigs and jigs. There will still be some bass schooling in creeks on humps and points, so always keep a Zoom Super Fluke ready, and watch for baitfish activity or birds diving. As the water cools into the 50s, a jigging spoon and a Blade Runner are the go to bait for active fish as they bunch up in the ditches.

Bass 2 (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Guide Josh Rockefeller (706-513-6152) and tournament angler Tyler Matthews report that in November fish should continue to make their move back into the creeks – although some will stay offshore on the main lake. For shallow water fishermen, square-billed crankbaits should work well around natural rock, and it can also be a good time for flipping jigs around creek docks. Especially at the beginning of the month continue to look out for schooling fish.

Striped Bass & Hybrids (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that this month fish will head up the rivers and into the backs of creeks and the bite should really turn on. Down-line fishing should still be effective, but as the fish get shallower and scattered out in the backs some anglers will switch over to free-lines and planer boards.

Crappie (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Little River Guide Service reports that in November fish should gang up around mid-depth brush piles and submerged timber in the backs. Generally creeks in the middle and upper part of the lake will fish best, and crappie will eat minnows or jigs. The latter part of October was fair and fish were moving around a lot, but they may settle this month.

Crappie GON-tel:  GON’s Arrow3 is continuing to catch slabs roaming open water on Clarks Hill.

Catfish (courtesy of www.dnr.sc.gov): Captain Chris Simpson (864-992-2352) reports that November is one of the best months of the year to catch a big catfish on Lake Thurmond, and he has every expectation that very large blues and flatheads will continue to be caught this month. October was excellent. Anchoring on deep structure is about the most consistent way to catch big fish this month. The creeks can be good depending on whether bait has moved into them, and gizzard shad and white perch are hard to beat for the bigger fish.

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 5 FEET, 60’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant with www.southernfishing.com): Bass fishing is good. Most fish are in the coves and creeks and shallow, although some fish remain deeper in the clearer water. Crank baits have gotten better recently, especially around docks and points mostly secondary ones. Use the Rapala Shad Raps, RS Shad Raps, Bandit, and Bomber Model A. Shad patterns and chrome blue have been good colors in more clear water while the same colors along with crawfish have produced in dirty water. Spinner baits are catching a few fish around wood cover and docks, although this may slow down after the cold front. Try a 3/8 ounce Strike King bait in chartreuse white with gold Colorado blades. Jigs are catching bass especially on days the fish aren’t hitting crank baits or spinner baits very well. Try a 3/8 ounce Strike King Pro Model in black blue, brown, or solid black. Add a Zoom Salty Chunk or Pro Chunk pork chunks are good too as trailers. Work the bait slowly through any wood cover and against dock posts. Texas rig worms are also producing a few fish around the docks. A few schools of deeper fish remain in the clearer water. Depths are from 10 to 20 feet or more and along the sides of humps and points. Carolina rigs and spoons are the primary choices along with jig head and worm, jigs, and tail spinners.

LAKE JACKSON IS DOWN 2 FEET, 70’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant with www.southernfishing.com): Bass fishing is fair. The fish are holding and relating to the wood in the lake while the spots are doing their usual thing and roaming around. Cover a lot of water and use a Rattlin Rapala. This lipless crank bait is an ideal fall bait and will locate and catch a limit of bass each day. With the stained water, use the red crawdad or the red fire crawdad color. This bass will relate to the crawfish colors and attack the bait when it comes across. Work the small rocky banks and cover as much water as possible. Check out the small cuts or bowls in the bank and work to the secondary points back in the coves. Follow up this bait with a Rapala RS Shad Rap or Jointed Shad Rap and work the same areas as before on the return back to the ramp. Stay in the river mouths especially if they are pulling water through the dam. Any current will drive the bass into a feeding frenzy and cranking the back sides of points and rip rap will work.

PUBLIC FISHING AREA REPORT

McDUFFIE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Fisheries Technician Nick Brewer) —

• McDuffie PFA Information
• Water Level: Water Levels are fluctuating with rainfall, currently all PFA lake water levels are down.
• Water Clarity: 24 inches
• McDuffie PFA Fishing Guide

With the recent drop in water temperatures, anglers are having more successful trips at McDuffie PFA.  Anglers are catching bass, catfish and sunfish frequently, and as the weather continues to cool, this trend should continue.  On October 10th, McDuffie PFA hosted a fish-n-learn with 7 participants learning the basics of catfishing and bass fishing. McDuffie staff hosted a Kids Fishing Event on October 25th, with around 50 kids attending—thanks to everyone who came to fish with us! Lastly, McDuffie staff have recently stocked intermediate sized catfish into Willow, Rodbender, Breambuster, and Bridge Lakes to increase catch and smile rates.

Bass: As temperatures cool, bass should be feeding more to prepare for winter.  Anglers should use lures that mimic bait fish in shallows and deeper water.  Plastics on a Texas or Carolina rig are also producing catches.

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Dropping temperatures are making hybrid and striped bass more active!  Anglers should use chicken livers in deeper water if they are targeting stripers.  Areas with lots of bird activity can indicate good areas to target.

Channel Catfish: Many anglers are catching catfish! Use a chicken liver and fish off the bottom of the lakes for the best chance of success.  Other good options are artificial baits and stink baits also fished off the bottom of the lakes. Bridge Lake was recently stocked with nearly 1,100 catchable catfish, which should help boost angler catch rates during the month of November.

Bream: Bream on the PFA are being frequently with worms in and around structure on the lakes.

Reminder: live fish/minnows are not allowed on our PFA.

FLAT CREEK PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Area Manager Amory Cook) —

• Flat Creek PFA
• Water Level: 54” below full pool
• Water Temperature: Low 70’s
• Water Clarity: 20”
• Flat Creek PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: Anglers using watercraft are reporting that the bass bite has been steady with the majority of catches in the 3-4lb range. Target log jams. Anglers are continuing to report that Powerbait Swim Shad are producing the most catches but shallow running jointed square-bill crankbait lures like are landing fish as well.

Bream: Red Wigglers continue to produce Bream. Drop bait right next to the fishing pier instead of casting out.

Crappie: Cooler weather is promising extended catch times for Crappie. Target submerged treetops and use live minnows and jigs.

Catfish: Catfish are being caught on nightcrawlers. Remember the PFA lake record for catfish is still open and the minimum requirement to qualify is 12lbs or 32in long. You must have the catch weighed on a certified scale and properly documented.  Should you land a catfish that you believe to be at least 12 pounds (about 30 inches long), please notify DNR staff.

MARBEN PFA FISHING REPORT (courtesy of PFA Manager Jamie Dowd) —

• Marben Public Fishing Area
• Water level: All the ponds are full or nearly full, except Otter and Little Raleigh.  Margery is still closed till further notice.
• Pond Closures: Margery, Hillside, and Clubhouse ponds remain closed while under renovation.
• Water clarity: Clarity varies but most water bodies have up to 24″-48” visibility.
• Surface temperature: <70 F and decreasing.
• Marben PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: Bass are moving into shallower water as the temperatures decrease this month.  Spinner baits, crank baits, and top water are good.  Try depths from 6’ and less until you determine where they are.

Crappie: The crappie are not up shallow yet. Fishing over suspended brush is your best bet.  Use jigs tipped with minnows.

Bream: Bluegill and some shellcracker are being caught on or near the bottom.  Wigglers and wax worms are good choices for bait.  We’ve seen several nice bluegill and shellcracker that have been caught lately.

Other: Threadfin are schooling on the surface early morning and late afternoon in Bennett and Fox.   Bass and Hybrid bass (where present) are feeding on the schooling shad.

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

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

The bites all over the place have been off the chain after last week’s cold snap. This extended warm spell has fish chewing everywhere. If you at all have the ability to fish before the next cold front, you need to try to do it!

River gages on November 20th were:

• River gages on November 20th were:
• Clyo on the Savannah River – 3.4 feet and falling
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 1.4 feet and falling
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 4.3 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla – 5.2 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 3.4 feet and falling
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 1.6 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 2.0 feet and steady
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 1.4 feet and falling

First quarter moon is November 28th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

ALTAMAHA/OCMULGEE RIVERS

Shane and Joshua Barber fished the lower Altamaha on Friday and caught 10 bass, a pickerel, and a big bowfin. They caught 1 on a spinnerbait and the rest on Texas-rigged plastics. Their biggest bass was 3-lb., 5-oz. Michael Deen and Chad Griffin fished the middle Ocmulgee for about 4 hours Tuesday and caught (and released) 15 really nice bass up to 5.01 pounds. Their biggest 5 bass that day weighed 17.13 pounds. Texas-rigged plastics were the best presentation that day. They returned on Wednesday and caught about a dozen bass (their biggest 5 weighed a little over 13 pounds). They fooled 2 with a spinnerbait and the rest on plastics. Their biggest largemouth was about 4 pounds, and Chad had a 2-pound shoal bass in the mix. Several other Waycross anglers reported catching about a dozen bass per trip on the lower river. Worms, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits were the common thread to the catches.

SAVANNAH RIVER

Tyler Finch put it on the panfish in the lower Savannah. He and a friend caught 108 on Sunday and Monday, and they were mostly bluegills. He was pitching a 3/16-oz. white Perch Hounder spinnerbait tipped with a cricket.

SATILLA RIVER

The river is super-low! Be careful if you try it! Paddle crafts and short float trips are the way to go right now.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

Bob Schramm fished with me on the west side of the Swamp on Thursday in the middle of the day. He caught his first flier ever in the boat basin before we headed out. Pitching a pink Okefenokee Swamp Sally under a foam float duped it. It didn’t take long trolling a crawfish-brass blade Dura-Spin before he caught his first bowfin ever – a 2-pounder. A dozen bowfin later, and he decided to try for a pickerel. He worked for it but finally caught an 18-inch chain pickerel (his first ever) on a jackfish-colored Dura-Spin. We dabbled Warmouth Whacker Jigs around shoreline cover for about 15 minutes hoping to add warmouth to his list to no avail before switching back to trolling and casting Dura-Spins. He picked up another dozen bowfin before we called it quits at a total of 30 fish. Bob has been in the swamp before but has never fished it. We had a blast! The water level Thursday on the west side (SC Foster SP boat basin) was 3.65 feet (it’s getting low, but you can still get out the canal to Billy’s Lake no problem).I forgot to call Okefenokee Adventures before they closed Thursday, but I would imagine that the water level on the Folkston side was around 120.00 feet. Several of the trails are getting low, so they have closed them to cross-swamp paddling. They’re still allowing paddle in – paddle out trips. Boating is still possible in most places, but be careful. I’ve found a couple stumps that I have not found before.

HUGH M. GILLIS PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR DUBLIN)

• Hugh Gillis PFA Information
• Hugh Gillis PFA Fishing Guide

DODGE COUNTY PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR EASTMAN)

• Dodge County PFA Information  
• Dodge County Fishing Guide

Ken Burke fished the area Monday morning and had a good day for bass. He fished about 5 1/2 hours and caught 10 bass. The total weight of all of them was 21.5 pounds. He had a couple in the 3 to 3 1/2-pound class and the remaining fish were from just under a pound to 2 3/4 pounds. The bite turned on and off like a light switch. He caught the first 6 fish in the first hour (total weight 16 1/2 pounds) on a crankbait, but then the bite died for several hours. He caught the other 4 bass in the last hour, and he fooled those with a shaky-head worm. The water temperature rose to 63 degrees by noon.

OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR HAWKINSVILLE)

• Ocmulgee PFA Info
• Ocmulgee PFA Fishing Guide

The crappie bite has picked up on the area. James Canion was fishing a hair jig on a bream buster pole on Tuesday and caught an angler award-sized white crappie. The slab pulled the certified scales down to 2-lb., 2-oz. and earned him a custom hat, t-shirt, and certificate. Bass fishing has been good during this warm-up, but I don’t have any details.

PARADISE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR TIFTON)

• Paradise PFA Info
• Paradise PFA Fishing Guide

LOCAL PONDS

I fished with Tommy Davis in a pond on Friday, and we caught 24 crappie, an 8-pound bowfin, and a small bass. We caught them spider-rigging a 1/16-oz Tennessee shad Specktacular Jig and 1/16-oz. Mirage Jig both tipped with live minnows. Our biggest was 11 inches. The crappie bite has been good in talking with other anglers targeting them. I was surprised to not get more pond reports this week, but I’m sure the bass are biting during this warm-up.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

The best trip I heard about was a couple of Brunswick anglers who caught over 50 trout this weekend. They released 2 TROUT over 25 inches and 3 over 23 inches and kept a few smaller fish. Seth Carter and friends slayed the trout and redfish on Saturday in the Brunswick area. They caught dozens of fish and kept a mess for a meal. Artificials produced their fish. They returned Wednesday to the Brunswick area and caught some really nice trout, oversized redfish, and a doormat flounder. The flounder ate a Gulp Shrimp rigged on a 1/4-oz. chartreuse Zombie Eye Jighead.  Scott Smith and a friend fished the Brunswick area Saturday and caught a bunch of slot redfish and trout. They limited out on redfish in a couple of hours first thing then released the rest. They had a bunch of short trout along with keepers and a couple sheepshead, as well. They fooled a few fish on artificials, but live shrimp produced most of their fish. Capt. Chris Ruff (rccaga.com) said that the redfish bite has been great but trout were hit and miss for him this week in the Brunswick area. Live shrimp produced fish on his charters. Sebastian had the catch of the week – an 18-inch tagged redfish. That catch will earn him a t-shirt from the Coastal Resources Division. Stan Rhodes and Eddie Wade fished behind Cumberland Island on Monday and caught a bunch of short trout and sheepshead on live shrimp and fiddler crabs. They ended up with 15 keepers – 9 trout, 3 sheepshead, 2 redfish, and a whiting. They said that the wind was howling from the northeast all day. After your next trip to the Georgia coast, drop off your fish carcasses in the freezer at the Waycross Fisheries Office at 108 Darling Avenue. The Coastal Resources Division collects most inshore saltwater species so that they can determine age and growth for each species. All the supplies and information cards are in the freezer. Filet your fish then drop off the carcasses in the freezer. Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle in Brunswick is open Friday through Tuesday each week (closed Wednesday and Thursday). They have plenty of lively shrimp and also have live worms and crickets for freshwater. For the latest information and their hours, contact them at 912-223-1379.

KEATON BEACH, FLORIDA

A couple of Brunswick anglers went early last week during the cold snap, and the strong east wind had the water blown out over a mile offshore during low tide. They had a day where they did not get any bites, and the next day they did not catch many. The warmup throughout last week started them moving shallow again, though. Capt. Pat McGriff of One More Cast Guide Service (www.onemorecast.net) scouted Friday and did not do much shallow, but got on a big slug of fish in 4 to 6 feet of water (that’s probably the area the shallow fish moved to during the cold snap). On Saturday his charter caught about 60 trout in the 3 to 5 foot range. They caught them on shrimp under Back Bay Thunder Floats. I fished with Capt. Pat on Monday, and we did very well for trout and black sea bass. We tried shallow first thing but it was very slow. One creek held a couple “perfect” trout just under 19 inches, and we fooled them with stinky pink and pink ghost Assassin 5-inch Shads rigged on 1/16 and 1/8-oz. Assassin jigheads and 1/16-oz. Medusa Jigheads (5/0 Gamakatsu hook). We moved deeper to some 4 to 6-foot rocks and caught a half-dozen black sea bass up to 11 1/2 inches. They hit mostly stinky pink Assassins on 1/8-oz. jigheads. Later in the afternoon on the outgoing tide we moved to some 3 to 4-foot deep grass and smashed the trout on the 1/8 and 1/16-oz heads and stinky pink Assassins. We were getting bites on almost every cast toward the end, and that’s when we caught our biggest trout at 21-inches. We stopped at 61 trout and black sea bass (kept a limit of 10 trout and a few black sea bass), but we probably could have caught another 50 fish if we had stayed until dark. That awesome trout bite should continue until the next cold spell moves them around, so get with him if you want a great trout trip on the Gulf.

Blog Contributor 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).

SOUTHWEST GEORGIA

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

LAKE SEMINOLE

According to Ken Sturdivant at southernfishing.com, bass fishing is fair. The cooler weather is grouping the fish up in schools. The fish are on deeper grass edges on the main part of the lake and in ditches that are at least 7 feet deep. It may take a while to find a school of fish but there are some good fish out there in groups. The best bait for locating fish is a Spro Auki Shad 75. Color doesn’t matter although mudbug red has been doing pretty well. Change the hooks over to #2 Gama katsu EWG’s and these go through the grass better. Remember to change lure colors. Crankbait color is a crucial detail to get right. The best performing color is usually influenced by a combination of water clarity and predominant forage. Pull the baits through the grass instead of jerking it. Once the fish show up, use the Auki Shad until they quit biting. Next switch over to a Texas rig 6 Big Bite Baits Trick Stick in green pumpkin. Use a 1/4 Tungsten weight and a 5/0 Gamakatsu off set shank with 20-pound on Sunline FC Sniper Fluorocarbon.

LAKE WALTER F. GEORGE

According to Ken Sturdivant at southernfishing.com, bass fishing has been slow. The cooling waters and more wind this week will prevail. The bass are shallow later in the day. Start the day and concentrate on the shallows with mostly plastic worms and also jigs and pig with dark colors working the best. Fish the shallow grass early then head to the deeper waters on the ledges mid to lower lake. The fish seem to be slower as the week progresses along with the new moon that is on the way. The water levels are stable, so the grass is still a good pattern and use a plastic rat. Shad schools are a must. Try this with the Lowrance, split the screens and put sonar on one panel and down-imaging on the other. This will make the down scan 4 times wider than sonar. The early shallow water bite has been reliable so use a buzz bait. The ledges are still hit or miss. The crank bait bite has been tough unless the Corps is moving the water fast. Long Carolina rigs and spinnerbaits have been the best bet at getting bit in the deeper water.

LAKE BLACKSHEAR

Crappie are moving around in the lake this week. Some reports have found them in shallower water while others are finding them in deeper water around 20-30ft. However, the folks finding them in deeper water are finding large schools of fish, while shallower seems to be more individuals or small groups. If you are looking for Crappie you might need to put a little more effort into finding where they are this week. Though as the water temperature continues to drop the Morone’s (white bass, hybrid bass and stripe bass) are out more in the lake. If you want to find some of these during the day they are going to be generally deeper open water, then moving into shallow sandbars around 10ft at night. This transition happens right around dusk and dawn, so if your boat isn’t lit for night driving on the lake then try finding a nice sandbar just as the sun is setting for your best chance.

NORTH GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of John Damer, Fisheries Biologist, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE ALLATOONA

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com): Lake Allatoona is down 8 feet,  and in the 60s. Bass fishing is fair. The jig bite and shaky have been best. Numbers are really good right now with 15 to 20 fish not hard to come by. Larger schools of fish have been found in 10 to 15-foot depth range. There has also been a decent spinner bait on long point. A Minnow Rap swims will reach depths up to eleven feet. Rapala X Raps in olive green on the points and over the tops of the brush piles. Look for the brush piles at 28 feet deep and find them with the Lowrance Structure Scan technology. In Little River spinner baits around the rocky islands and on the rip rap. Change colors and sizes of the baits in search for bigger bass. Pearl colored Wildeye Swim Shad is another excellent swim bait in the four-inch size to use when bait fish are present. Don’t overlook that top water bite and watch the birds. Main Lake points with the wind blowing on them is always a good place to start. With the Lowrance split the screens and put sonar on one panel and down imaging on the other. This will make the down scan 4 times wider that sonar. The fish are definitely on the move and feeding up. Hopefully by the end of the month we will see a decrease in water temperatures to fire up the jerk bait bite. Red Top to Iron Hill has been very productive.

Allatoona Crappie Report (courtesy of Red Rooster Custom Baits, www.redroosterbaits.com):

• Air Temp: High: 77 – Low: 39
• Wind: 5-15 mph
• Lake Level: Approx. 831′ and dropping
• Water Surface Temp: 55 – 60
• Water Clarity: Clear Green to Stained depending on area of the lake
• Area Fished: Blockhouse, Kellogg Creek, Victoria Area & S-Turns & Little River
• Jigs Used: ‘Lectric Chicken – Dagger, ‘Lectric Chicken – Slab Dragon, and Fried Pickle – Slab Dragon
• Technique: Casting & Trolling

The weather was back in the 70’s this week and was a great week for chasing slabs on Lake Allatoona. The trolling bite is starting to pick up with the water temps ranging from 55 – 60 degrees. The crappie are starting to school up and move around which is a good indicator it’s time to put those trolling rods to work! We got on the water a couple of times this week, one early morning trip and one later afternoon. The morning bite is by far the best for trolling this time of year. As the temps start dropping in December both morning and afternoon bite seems to be interchangeable. Some folks like to get on the lake early and off by lunch and others like to get on the lake from lunch to sunset. We have done both and did well morning and afternoon. We trolled on our morning trip and netted several keeper crappie trolling 1/16th oz. jig heads at speeds of .7 to .9 mph. The morning we went the crappie seemed to like the jigs moving at .8 mph. The Red Rooster Slab Dragon in ‘Lectric Chicken and Fried Pickle were the colors that they wanted. We pulled a mix of colors as usual but for some reason they preferred those two colors! The crappie schools were suspended in 5′ – 8′ over 10′ to 15’ depths. We targeted flats and points close to creek channels. When the sun came out the bite slowed a bit so we started throwing a Red Rooster Dagger in the ‘Lectric Chicken color and pulled a few out of the brush. We expect the trolling bite to pick up steam over the coming weeks. Check back weekly for updated reports! Lord willing we will continue to have good reports as we move through fall and into winter!

LAKE HARTWELL

Lake Hartwell Fall Sampling Report (courtesy of Fisheries Biologist Kyle Rempe): Low water levels and comfortable temperatures led to some very good catch rates while gill netting Lake Hartwell this year over the course of the last week. A Black Crappie over 14” was sampled near Eastanollee Creek, multiple Blue Catfish over 20 pounds showed up, and there was no shortage of linesides that found their way into our gear for each site. You know it’s been a successful season of standardized sampling for a reservoir like Hartwell when you fill up 5 data sheets worth of length / weight recordings, so there should be no shortage of sport fish for anglers to target no matter their species of choice.

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com): Lake Hartwell is down 5.5 fee, and in the 60s. Bass fishing was a little slow last week with eight to ten pounds of fish taking the honors at the scales. Limits of bass are still being caught, but they are averaging two pounds and under. Buzz baits in the back of dockets and creeks is working, but only in isolated areas. The trick is to find the small shad breaking on the surface and use a 1/4-ounce double bladed buzz bait. Flukes and three-inch pearl colored Wildeye Swim Shad in the front of the deep-water docks are also catching some of the keeper bass. All of this is subject to change with the cold front that will hit the Lake hard on Friday night. Water temperatures will drop a degree or two over the weekend and hopefully stir up some of the bigger Bass that are suspended in thirty to forty feet of water. Spinner baits are just now starting to turn on and should get better over the next couple of weeks. Continue fishing the main lake points and steep rocky banks along with the deep-water docks. Rumor has it the lake could drop another two feet during the next week.

CARTERS LAKE

Carters Lake Fall Sampling Report (From Fisheries Biologist John Damer): For the second successive year, WRD staff from Armuchee partnered with researchers from the Georgia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit to complete annual gillnet sampling at Carters Lake.  The group set and retrieved ten 300-foot nets, as has been done every Fall since the late 1980s.  These nets are used primarily to target walleye, striped bass, hybrid bass, and catfish for routine population monitoring.  In addition to these “normal” nets, they also set and retrieved an additional ten “experimental” nets that were shorter (60 feet), had different mesh sizes, and were set differently (parallel vs. perpendicular to shore).  Georgia Coop Unit researchers will use the two years of data collected to compare the effectiveness of both net types in terms of total catch, size selectivity, and efficiency as part of a holistic evaluation of WRD’s annual reservoir sampling protocols.  Of particular note in this year’s sample, was the high abundance of walleye.  We caught 11.9 walleye per net (in the “normal” nets), which was the second highest catch we’ve ever documented.  Walleye anglers and guides have also reported excellent walleye catch rates this year.  So, this fall would be a great time to target walleye at Carters Lake.

BLUE RIDGE LAKE

Blue Ridge Lake Fall Sampling Report (From Fisheries Biologist John Damer): Fall 2025 marked the 40^th consecutive year that WRD staff have sampled Blue Ridge Lake with gillnets in the Fall.  Unlike most other lakes in North Georgia, Blue Ridge has never been stocked with striped bass or hybrid striped bass, so these nets are primarily used to monitor changes in the walleye population.  This year we collected 8.3 walleye per net, which was well above the long-term average of 3.6 per net, and ranks in the top 5 for walleye abundance across that 40-year period of record.  WRD has been stocking walleye at Blue Ridge since 2017, and our stocking efforts have been hugely successful in reversing negative impacts of illegally introduced blueback herring.  This year’s stocked cohort also seems to have done well, as we found good numbers of small (8-10 inch) walleye that were stocked this spring.

LAKE LANIER 

Bass (courtesy of Phil Johnson (pjohnson15@hotmail.com or 770-366-8845); report via www.southernfishing.com): Lake Lanier is down 5.3 feet, and in the 60s. Bass fishing is good. The lake is currently about five and three quarters feet below full pool and the water temperature is running around fifty-eight degrees. The cold weather we had has changed things a little on the lake, but the bass are still feeding up for the winter. The shad have made a move from back in the pockets to the thirty-five to forty-five foot range. Some of the schools of shad have bass around them while others have Crappie. We have been using two different methods to catch these bass with the first way being a three eights Pro Model Spot Choker with a Colorado blade paired with a three-paddle tail swim bait. Make long cast and work this bait and work it slowly along the bottom in the area where the shad are located. Often the bite will just be a load up on your rod so just keep reeling steady. The second pattern has been with a half-ounce Georgia Blade spoon dropped directly in and around the shad. This method has also been producing some large Crappie as a bonus. There are still plenty of bass in twenty foot or less of water that you can catch with either a White-on-White spinnerbait or a Spro 55 RKCrawler. The spinnerbait is working best when the wind is up, but you can work the RKCrawler on both windy and calm days. Big chunk rock either on points or red clay banks has seemed to be producing the larger spots. Both of these patterns are cover ground patterns but are producing good results. The worm/jig bite has improved and is producing both Spots and Largemouth. Work back in the creeks and target all the docks, rocks and boat docks in twenty feet or less. A three sixteenth’s Shakey head with any green or green pumpkin combination will draw strikes. A three eights green pumpkin and chartreuse/orange jig combination will work well in the same areas. You have the choice of shallow or deep right now so fish to your strength. Go Catch ‘Em!

Lanier Stripers (courtesy of Jack Becker, aka Ga. Waterdog, Aquadog45@gmail.com): Back on Lake Lanier one afternoon looking for Stripers in Flat Creek. I was finding fish up shallow earlier in the week chasing thread-fin shad.  I invited a friend and his wife to go with me in hopes of catching their first Striper. It started out to be one of those days. Marking very little bait and a lot more wind than we expected.  We stayed in the area where I found fish a few days before. We had bluebacks on downlines and both trout & blue-backs 25 feet behind planner boards. Trout on free lines, 75 and 100 feet behind the boat. Most of the time we had to troll into the wind to go slow enough, under .5 mph.  We got our first bite on a downline and to my surprise, it was a yellow perch. Our second bite came on a planer board as we were reeling in slowly to check the bait. It was a striper. Not very big, but still fun to catch. Tired of fighting the wind we decided to call it a day. Jack Becker, aka Georgia Waterdog. Co-founder of the Minithumper Fish Attractor. Check it out at Minithumper.com.

Lanier Stripers Too (This report courtesy of Buck Cannon, Buck Tails Guide Service 404 510 1778 www.southernfishing.com): Lake Lanier stripers are moving north and locate the bait and you’re going to find the stripers. Down lines, flat lines, and planer boards are all working in the back of coves are holding in 20 feet of water. Blue backs, gizzards, and trout are the bait of choice. Top water bite has produced some good results with anything that you can get to them, the Whopper Plopper and Sebile are producing. Creeks and coves near the river are worth looking at. Remember to wear your life jacket.

Lake Lanier Fall Sampling Report (From Fisheries Biologist Josh Stafford): WRD staff were also busy setting and retrieving gillnets on Lake Lanier this week.  With the beautiful weather we’ve had, they enjoyed getting out on the water early, catching the sunrise along with a boatload of nice fish.  Check out these slab crappies!

Find DNR fish attractors at Lake Lanier at  https://gadnrwrd.maps.arcgis.com.

WEISS LAKE  

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com): Weiss Lake is down 1 foot, and in the 60s. Bass fishing is fair. Many fish seem to have already moved to their wintertime mode of not moving much. It will require anglers to put the baits right in front of them. Remember to change lure colors. Crankbait colors is a crucial detail to get right. The best performing color usually influenced by a combination of water clarity and predominant forage. Use with natural colors in clear water and more vibrant colors such as black back chartreuse in dirty water. Use a Palomar knot on square bill crankbaits. Match the hatch seems to be a consistent pattern. Structure on the ledges is best all day and hit them in the head. Drop small spoons and drag dark jigs on the bottom in the creek mouths close to the river and pick them up and drop them about 5 inches at a time.

Crappie (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com): Crappie fishing is fair. The fish are being taken in 16 to 20 feet of water on structure. One of the best places to find structure is out along the old river channel. If the water is moving these deep fish are hard to stay on top of. Fish the old channel edges. One of the best ways to find structure beyond the old channel is to ride around the banks where there are no homes and look for stumps. The brush piles will be on the break line in deep water. Some of the deeper docks are still holding a few fish. Find some docks in deep water at 8 to 10 feet deep, there will be some brush close by. Look at what direction the owner’s chairs are pointed along with their rod holders and find their brush piles. With the cold weather minnow fishing is best. Jigs can be slow until a warmup starts.

WEST POINT LAKE

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com): West Point Lake is down 10 feet, and in the 60s. Bass fishing is good. Yellow Jacket Creek and coves around Highland are producing some really nice fish on 3/8-ounce white Chatterbait. Follow up with a ¼ ounce Weedless Wonder lead head rigged with a finesse worm in Bama Bug or any of the green colors. Look at 5 to 8 feet deep as still the most productive depths to start hunting those largemouth. Mid to down lake fish are biting on drop shots and Carolina Rigged worms. Just fishing the shad balls or brush piles and those should produce some good bites. Creek ledges are producing some good fish on jigging spoons. The #5 Rapala Shad Rap is working around the rip rap and long rocky clay points upriver but cover a lot of water.

Find DNR fish attractors at West Point at  https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories.

TROUT REPORT

The Dredger’s Weekly Report (This report courtesy of Unicoi Outfitters at https://www.unicoioutfitters.com):  Unicoi Outfitters puts out a full fishing report every Friday.  Although this week’s report was not yet posted as of this writing, you should be able to find it at http://blog.angler.management later today.

Trout Fishing Opportunities for Those With Disabilities: These sites are open to the public and offer specific amenities for anglers with disabilities.

Parting Trout Note: Want to do more to support trout fishing in Georgia?  Consider upgrading to a Trout Unlimited license plate this year. See more info at GeorgiaWildlife.com/licenseplates.  Aside from being a great looking tag, each purchase or renewal of a Trout Unlimited license plate directly supports Georgia’s trout conservation and management programs which can be found at https://georgiawildlife.com/fishing/trout. Hatcheries and wild trout efforts both benefit from the trout tag.