As much as we want to encourage everyone to go fish at all times, this weekend may be a great time to hunker down and work on organizing the tackle box and relining some fishing poles. 

NEWS TO KNOW

This week, we have fishing reports from Central, Southeast, Southwest and North Georgia. Be safe out there and get prepared for the next time you can Go Fish Georgia!

CENTRAL GEORGIA

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

This week’s Central Georgia fishing report is brought to you by Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report, and contributions from Region 3 WRD Fisheries staff, local guides, and anglers.

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 1.4 FEET, 50’S 

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is fair. The bass are scattered lake wide. There are bass both shallow and deep. The bass that are shallow are on points 10 to 15 feet deep. Use the Carolina rigs with a green pumpkin finesse worm. Also fish shallow on shaky head with a green pumpkin Zoom u tail worm. They are also out deep 40 to 50 feet but are suspended in 15 to 20 feet of water. Fish the open water in the pockets with an Alabama Rig or Flash Mob Jr. to tempt bites from suspended fish. Keep a jig or shaky head handy to pitch around any wood cover. Fishing rip rap can also produce results this time of year. Deeper fish are biting a drop shot with a watermelon finesse worm and darker color worms since the water is stained from all the rain. There are more changes the next 10 days. Do not expect much change going into February unless the water temperatures rise and water clears up.

Striped Bass on Russell/Clarks Hill (courtesy of local angler Chris Nelson)– Water temperatures continue to decrease with the colder days and nights of January. You can expect to see water temperatures in low 50’s in the main portion of the reservoirs and high 40’s in the backs of the creeks.  Water levels continue to be below full pool at both reservoirs, with Russell being 1.5 feet below full pool and Clarks Hill about 7.25 feet below full pool. Striped bass fishing has been good at both reservoirs. Many fish are being caught on umbrella rigs, bucktail jigs and pulling live herring. Concentrate on the main-lake portion of the reservoir on deeper flats and creek beds that are close to the river channel and about midway back in the larger creeks. Some very nice striped bass have recently been caught. Pictured is Cohen Fortson of Bowman, GA with two nice striped bass he caught at Russell this month and Kerry Partain of Elberton, GA with a hefty striped bass from Russell this past week. Always keep a close eye out for feeding seagulls and loons, as they can often lead you to the fish. The largemouth and Alabama bass are really starting to bunch up with the baitfish and are feeding heavy a couple of times throughout the day.  Bass are being caught in 30-50 feet of water, but you can always find some shallower or deeper.  The key right now is to find the baitfish with your electronics and then look for active schools of bass around them.  Some nice fish are being caught on a jig-head minnow, jigging spoon, and a football jig.  Pictured are Cohen Fortson of Bowman, GA and Chris Nelson of Elberton, GA with some very nice Alabama bass recently taken from Russell. As we head into February, the bass fishing will really depend on the weather patterns.  If we get several days of warm weather the fish will begin to migrate toward the ditches that lead into spawning areas. If the weather stays cold, then expect the bass to hang around the deeper water especially in areas with timber and bait.

Multiple images showing people with caught fish from Lake Richard Russell.

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 7.5 FEET, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is fair. More cold runoff will be flowing this week. A cold front is expected to move through this weekend. This will move the bass back to deeper water or tight to cover. Dead sticking a pearl-colored Ito Vision 110 jerk bait mid lake to the dam. Start off by checking out the ledges and drop offs and slowly work back up to the shallow water. Use the Down Deep Husky Jerks and Rapala DT10 on the ledges and switch to the Rapala DT10 and #5 and #7 Rapala RS Shad Raps later on in the day. Fish the wind-blown points and banks. Go to the Weedless wonder lead head and a Zoom green pumpkin trick worm and pick apart the heavy cover. Lowrance Structure Scan technology can make the search a lot faster. Scan five times the depth of the water with the Structure Scan Side imagining technology and fined the bait and the bass will there close by. Any water temperature change can be a make or break day on the water. Use the Lowrance Heat Map feature on the mapping screen and even 2 degrees can make a difference.

Clarks Hill Updates from a Biologist (Updates courtesy of WRD Fisheries Biologist Aaron Gray): Clarks Hill continues to be a popular destination for bass tournaments, even in the middle of winter! Despite recent cold spells, anglers have found some quality largemouth willing to bite jigs, soft plastic jerkbaits & minnows, and swimbaits. Zach Ramsey took home the win in a recent club tournament, while Jason Bazemore also had a good showing, including the Big Fish of the event. Take it as a reminder to invest in some high-quality cold-weather gear – you never know when a hot bite will happen on a frigid day!

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is slow. The water temperature has dropped and has made fishing very slow. Look for any rip rap rocks that the sun has been shinning on as this area will warmer by a degree or two and is bound to hold a few fish. Big rocks on points down lake are also warming later in the day. Fish the open water in the pockets with an Alabama Rig or Flash Mob Jr. to tempt bites from suspended fish. Keep a jig or shaky head handy to pitch around any wood cover. Fishing rip rap can also produce results this time of year, especially after a warm rain. If it turns off cold and dry during the month. Use small crank baits like a ¼ ounce Rat T Trap in chrome/back or a #5 Rapala Shad Rap in the shad and perch colors. Fish the bait using a slow retrieve using light. Make long casts of the rock areas. The bites are light, so watch the line.

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.5 FEET, STAINED, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is fair. Work the spoons, jigs and worms. Look for the bass in the mouths of the main lake and main river creeks. The lower lake creeks are clearing and use the smaller jigs in black and silver with a small Uncle Josh pork. Fish any bank cover all the way to the boat working the lure s slowly in cover. Any water temperature change can be a make or break day on the water. Use the Lowrance Heat Map feature on the mapping screen and even 2 degrees can make a difference. Find any warming water in the northwest cove s later in the afternoons. Hopkins spoons in 1/2 ounce sizes on and over the old tree lines in the major creeks is also fair just fish them slowly. Try medium all white Rooster Tails at daylight down lake on points. Also use a small green worm or a night crawler fished around the main lake marinas. Stay on the points on the main lake with a small Zoom finesse worms in greens on a Texas rig. Use night crawlers on a 1/8TH ounce jig head and fish vertically.

LAKE JACKSON IS DOWN 1.0 FEET, CLEAR, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of Ken Sturdivant’s Southern Fishing Report): Bass fishing is fair. The lake levels will be stable all week and the fish are not on any firm pattern. Stay down the lake and fish in the creeks and coves around the dam. Flip and pitch black or blue Stanley jigs with a matching plastic Zoom pork style trailer to the docks and heavy bank cover. Use the darker red colors in all worms and lizards and shad crank baits are good casting them right on the banks. Early and late each day use a black Zoom trick worm on the wood and even rip rap on bridges. The bass bite is better later in the day on the docks down lake in the clearer waters. Also bump crank baits on clay banks facing the sun. During the middle of the day the river bass are fair on a Zoom lizard in greens and fish them right on the bank cover. The Zoom watermelon seed lizard and a long 3-foot Carolina rig can draw a few strikes on points down lake.

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

(Fishing report courtesy of Joshua Barber, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

The bass bite has picked up this week and it should continue through the weekend. Rivers and ponds will probably be a good option before the cold front kicks in again.

River Gages as of January 22nd:

  • Doctortown on the Altamaha – 5.1 feet and steady
  • Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 2.0 feet and rising
  • Clyo on the Savannah – 3.7 feet and steady
  • Statenville on the Alapaha – 1.9 feet and steady
  • Waycross on the Satilla – 5.4 feet and rising
  • Atkinson on the Satilla – 3.8 feet and steady
  • Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 1.8 feet and steady
  • Macclenny on the Saint Marys – 2.1 feet and steady
  • Fargo on the Suwannee – 2.1 feet and steady

First Quarter Moon is on January 25. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

ALTAMAHA RIVER

Smiling man wearing a hat and sunglasses and standing in front of a river holds up four caught fish.

Jimmy Hall caught these nice bass out of the Altamaha River on Monday.

Man with head down and not visible holds up multiple caught fish.

Craig James caught these river toads out of the Satilla River last weekend while using a wacky rig.

Jimmy Hall and Brinson Thornton fished in the frigid weather on Monday and caught and released 8 nice bass and a jackfish. Bass fishing should be excellent on the river this weekend. Texas-rigs, crankbaits and jigs will probably be the most productive lures to use.

SATILLA RIVER

Craig James fished the Brantley County section of the Satilla last weekend in the rainy conditions and it paid off! He caught around 15 bass while using a wacky rigged worm, and 10 were over 3-lbs. All of them were caught on a push button Zebco reel. Before your next trip to the river, stop by Satilla Feed and Outdoors located at 2270 US-84 in Blackshear. They have a variety of rods, reels, and fishing tackle. For hours, call 912-449-3001.

Multiple photos in one image show people with caught fish at different locations.

LAKES AND PONDS

Man standing in a boat that is on the water holds up a caught fish in each hand.

Lee Pearce caught these big bass out of a private pond last weekend.

Lee Pearce and a friend fished a private pond last weekend and they caught a total of 13 bass with the biggest weighing 5 pounds. Texas-rigged soft plastics and plastic minnows rigged on a jighead were the ticket. Lee and his daughter went on a short 45-minute trip at Reed Bingham State Park recently and they managed to catch a few bass (biggest weighed 5 lb) while using chatterbaits. An angler fished the pier at Lake Paradise (Paradise PFA) recently and caught 22 crappie.

HUGH M. GILLIS PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR DUBLIN)

DODGE COUNTY PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR EASTMAN)

OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR HAWKINSVILLE)

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

Captain Bert Deener went fly fishing last weekend and he fooled 17 fish (15 bowfin and two pickerel) on a bladed fly. The biggest bowfin weighed 7-lbs., 15-oz. and that is his personal best on the fly. Black/chartreuse-gold blade and electric chicken-silver bladed flies were the ticket. Captain Bert Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip with him, visit his website bertsjigsandthings.com. Recent Swamp level was 120.20 feet.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Young man holds up a caught fish with both hands.

Andrew Spencer landed this 27-inch redfish last Friday on a guided trip with Capt. Tim Cutting.

Two St. Marys area anglers had a great trip on Crooked River this week. They fished on Tuesday and limited out on redfish (and caught some shorts) while using live shrimp. Captain Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) had a few good trips recently in the Saint Simons area. He took Brandon Chonko, Cason Chonko and Andrew Spencer on a guided trip last Friday and they kept 6 trout, 15 redfish, and a black drum. They went back in a small creek to target the reds, and they fired off when they arrived. He went on a solo trip on Monday and caught and released 24 trout (half were keeper sized). He fished with Tom Kirkland on Tuesday, and they landed around 30 trout and a nice flounder. DOA shrimp and swimbaits worked the best on those trips.

Before your next fishing trip, stop by Winge’s Bait and Tackle located at 440 Memorial Drive in Waycross. They have all the tackle you need for a successful trip! For their hours, call 912-283-9400.

If you have any fishing reports or fish pictures that you would like to be included in this report, email them to me joshuabfishhunter@gmail.com.

SOUTHWEST GEORGIA

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

FLINT RIVER

The river has been low and clear but that has changed with recent rains. Water is now up, cold and stained.  The catfish bite has been descent in the deeper slower moving bends of the river where you can drop a rig way down. Use a smelly bait to get those big fishes’ attention. Bass fishing should be descent, but you should use lures with more vibration to help these visual predators locate the lure in the stained water. Also be sure to use red or brown tinged lures to help match the conditions right now. Deep spinner baits, chatter baits and even jerk baits should be effective.      

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER

The Chattahoochee River is rising after the rains with muddy water.  The catfish bite will remain descent but be patient and look to deeper bends. Descent catches of catfish have been recorded when you use a smell bait to lure out those big fish.  Good numbers of crappie are also being caught in deeper water on brush piles. Try using a cricket bait or jig to target those crappie.   

LAKE SEMINOLE

Caught fish are pictured within a boat.

Lake Seminole Bass Catch (Photo Credit: Ryan Higgins)

According to Ken Sturdivant at southernfishing.com, bass fishing is good. The fish are deep into their winter patterns. Spring Creek and Fish Pond Drain are the two best places to fish right now because of the deep water. The bass are suspended in the standing timber and stumps and are grouped up big time. Now it is critical to use the Lowrance electronics and look for the shad. Find the shad the bass will most likely be right underneath them. Two good ways for catching bass are on a jigging spoon and drop shot. For the jigging spoon, use a 1/2 Spro Sushi Spoon in Silver and Black. Use at least 20-pound monofilament for this technique like Sunline Supernatural. Find shad or bass on the electronics and then drop the spoon underneath them and jerk it up and down vertically off of the bottom. The bite will come on the fall so be ready to set the hook. Also try the Sushi Spoon and add a split ring on the front along with a number 4 Gamakatsu EWG Treble Hook. Put a number 2 Gamakatsu EWG on the rear and this will ensure a good hook up ratio. If the jigging spoon bite is slow, then use the drop shot. Use a spinning reel with 8-pound test Sunline fluorocarbon, a size 2 Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse Hook and a 5/16 Drop Shot weight. Use the 4-inch Big Bite Baits Squirrel Tail Worm in Tilapia. Just drop in next to the bigger stumps and shake it and 18 to 20 feet has been the key depth.

LAKE WALTER F GEORGE

According to Ken Sturdivant at southernfishing.com, bass fishing is fair. First thing in the morning go to the Chatterbaits on the grass. Mid-day go to the creek and river ledges with a deep running crank bait. Bass are feeding on threadfin shad around the ledges, and some sort of structure on the ledge really helps. If they do not take the crankbait, try fishing a big worm or a jig very slowly. There are a lot of small 12-to-14-inch fish out there and encouraged anglers to keep these small fish and eat them. Also try any small shad imitating crank baits and be sure to use the smaller sizes. Concentrate on areas about halfway back in the creeks where the creek channel swings in against the bank. Use the Lowrance Down Scan technology to find schools of bait and fish in deep water. 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. Look for shad and fish activity on the surface and pay close attention to the electronics to help pinpoint key areas. The best bet for numbers and quality fish is to throw a crankbait on shallow main lake and creek channel ledges in the 6-to-10-foot range. A Spro Little John MD in the spooky shad color will work where there is a good amount of bait balls.

LAKE BLACKSHEAR

A man and woman, each holding caught fish, are photographed in front of a foggy lake.

Successful crappie catching at Lake Walter F George (Photo Credit: C&S Guide Service)

This past week there has been a whirlwind on the lake, going from nearly 80F to below freezing. These drastic temperature changes have brought lots of wind and early morning fog on the lake, so please take care while driving and bring warm clothes with your boat safety gear on board! Not too much has been reported this week, likely because of the 17mph+ winds and below freezing temperatures. The few folks that are out are still managing to find crappies, generally being on brush piles around 12-15ft. Though this is very dependent on water temperatures. As the weather and water warms in mid-March and early April crappies will be moving into shallow water to spawn. This will be the same with the Largemouth Bass at water temperatures around 60F. So, if you don’t feel like bracing the cold, start prepping your gear for spawning season.

BIG LAZER PUBLIC FISHING AREA

For now, while the water is cooler, continue to fish for largemouth with plastic lures and crankbaits slowly in about 10 feet of water. Also, the deeper water near the metal fishing pier may produce decent bites this time of year. New fish attractors haves also been added near this location. We have had a couple reports this week of nice hybrids and crappie being caught towards the middle of the lake around standing timber.

NORTH GEORGIA

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

RESERVOIR REPORT 

LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 13 FEET, 40’S 

Allatoona Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant via www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. There will be a cold front this weekend to affect the fish. If we were to have pro long cold again we will see bass move slightly deeper. When water clarity allows a jerk bait is worth a try mid-day. But in muddy water it’s much less productive. The bite will be off but try crank baits Jigs and bladed jigs. Use the lipless crankbaits like small Shad Raps and Norman Little N’s in crawfish pattern in the 3-to-8-foot range. The Picasso HD fantasy football head Jig is working great as well. Runoff areas and ditches in creeks are the best areas to target. Brush and rock in these areas help tremendously. Fish the jig on Sunline sniper 14-pound test. Sensitivity is key with the jig bite. The Little River and Kellogg creek areas are producing fish with an occasional largemouth showing up. Any water temperature change can be a make or break day on the water. Use the Lowrance Heat Map feature on the mapping screen and even 2 degrees can make a difference.

Allatoona Crappie (Report courtesy of Red Rooster Custom Baits via www.redroosterbaits.com) —

  • Air Temp: High: 52 – Low: 21
  • Wind: 5-15 mph (Up to 25 mph Gusts!)
  • Lake Level: 830.75
  • Water Surface Temp: 40 – 46
  • Water Clarity: Heavy Stained to Muddy depending on area of the lake
  • Area Fished: S-Turns, Victoria, Kellogg Creek, Blockhouse & Little River
  • Jigs Used: Cajun Chicken – Dagger, CopperHead – Dagger, June Bug – Talon 2.0
  • Technique: Casting

Allatoona Weekly Crappie, Shellcracker & Bluegill Fishing Report: Lake Allatoona is still reeling from the effects of last weeks rain and cold temperatures. That’s the way it goes in January at some point we are going to deal with cold adverse weather conditions. We got out on the lake a couple of days this week when the winds died down towards the end of the week. We saw several schools of crappie but they are not aggressive and slow to bite…if they decided to bite at all. We trolled some areas that are usually productive this time of year and had some success but most of our fish came using FFS and casting to them. We take what we can get in between the cold windy days of January!

Crappie: The water temperature on Lake Allatoona is a balmy 40 – 43 degrees in the afternoon and Jeff “Crappieman” Albright said that he saw 39 degrees on a morning trip he had this past week. Bottom line is the water is cold and muddy to heavy stain and as you can imagine the crappie ain’t to frisky. You just have to keep your eye on the weather and if we get 3 to 5 days in a row of temps above 50+ degrees and the water temp rises upwards to 48 – 50 degrees it could trigger some active days. Now these crappie can still be caught if you can find them as they are still going to eat but the presentation has to be SLOW. In heavy stain to muddy water the crappie come up shallow for two reasons: 1) Shallow water is warmer water and 2) Light penetration is better in shallow water. We stumbled upon something later in the week as we were scanning for crappie using sidescan/ & downscan. We started scanning points adjacent to the river and creek channels and we found several roaming crappie in depths of 4′ to 8′ of water suspended anywhere from 2′ to 4′ in that shallow warmer water. That’s where trolling the 1/32nd oz. and 1/24th oz. jig heads are your go to weights as you can pull them at .5 to .7 mph for the slow cold water presentation and they will swim in depths of 3′ to 8′ per the Red Rooster Long Line Trolling Guide. In this cold muddy water we are trolling (and casting) solid, bright colored jigs to create contrast and profile. Our go to colors for stained/muddy water are Cajun Chicken, CopperHead, ‘Lectric Chicken, Lemonade, Black/Blue & Black/Chartreuse. You want to use anything that is bright and will stand out when fishing this type of water at this time of year. We also believe that it helps to use a bright jig head such as pink, chartreuse, orange and glow white. Red Rooster Custom Baits is your “Long Line Trolling Authority” for all things long line trolling for crappie. If you have questions about when, what and where give us a call or shoot us an email. We make custom jig heads, under spins and we can color match any jig color that you want or need. We love talking about crappie fishing so we are here to help. We also do a Facebook Live most Friday nights unless something comes up.

LAKE HARTWELL IS 6.7 FEET, 40’S

Hartwell Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant via www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. Any water temperature change can be a make or break day on the water. Use the Lowrance Heat Map feature on the mapping screen and even 2 degrees can make a difference. The majority of the bass are still hanging out on the ledges out on the main lake. Carolina rigs with small green pumpkin Zoom finesse worms can work just be patient with the retrieve. The more active bass are still responding to the Rapala DT10’s and Rapala #7 Shad Raps while working the deeper water later in the day. The shad color still seems to be the favorite with most of the fishermen. The Rapala OG8 flat crank bait will get some strikes also. Look for a few fish with Zoom Super Flukes in pearl. The back side of sharp points is also holding good bass. Try the Husky Jerks and Rapala DT10 has been fair in the hot mustard pattern along with the drop shot rigs. On the warmer days expect the fish to be a little more active and move up to feed more often. Lowrance Structure Scan technology can make the search a lot faster. Scan five times the depth of the water with the Structure Scan Side imagining technology and fined the bait and the bass will there close by. 

LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 5.83 FEET, 40’S 

Lanier Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant via www.southernfishing.com – 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 five and a half feet below full pool and the water temperature has dropped into the high forties. The main lake is clear with some staining up the rivers. The bass haven’t changed a lot in the last week and with the lower water temperature they should stay fairly consistent for the winter. Three main techniques have been steadily producing good bags of fish. There are three different ranges to check right now with the less than twenty-five feet being the first. Use a quarter ounce Shakey Head with a Tamale green Trickster worm or a Fork Tail Zoom worm in green pumpkin on the sunny rocky points or shallower docks and walkways. This time of year, there can be some big largemouth living around the shallow docks in the backs of the coves so check those early. As the bass pull out of the backs of coves in the mornings target the twenty five to forty foot areas in the ditches with a three eights Spot Choker with a one aught hook and a two eight Keitech in Electric Shad or Tennessee Shad colors, Work this bait very slowly along the sides and middle of the ditch and watch the FFS for fish to target. The half ounce Georgia Blade spoon has been producing solid fish in the forty-to-sixty-foot range and around any balls of shad. Use a direct drop on the deeper bass and try to stay directly over them. Often there will be only one or two fish moving but once you hook one your screen lights up with others coming off the bottom. Watch for the suspended bass in the top of the structure and adjust the depth of the spoon to catch them. It’s just a three step process each day to find the depth that the bass are active so bundle up and Go Catch ‘Em! Stay Warm!

Lanier Stripers: (This Lake Lanier Striper report is by Buck Cannon 404-510-1778) — Lake Lanier stripers are still biting all over the place, most people are fishing north of brown bridge but most of the creeks have fish inside. Using the electronics and the birds to find the fish and put a spread out using a variety of baits blue backs, trout, gizzard shad and shiners will work so put them in front of the fish. I’ve heard that anglers may need to be creative if they’re bait shy. Try putting the hook in the different areas of the bait, belly or dorsal fin or even the tail, and remember to have a top water plug ready if they come up close to the boat. Water temperature has been fluctuating between low 50s and mid-50s. Remember to wear your life jacket at this temperature you won’t last long if you fall in.

Lanier Crappie: (This Lake Lanier Crappie report is from Captain Josh Thornton. 770 530 6493) — Lake Lanier crappie fishing is good the water temperatures are in the upper 40s, and the lake is still down The Crappie are suspended in open water at 5 to 8 feet deep in open water meat main creek channels and on deep water docks. Minnows are working well and the jig color of choice is d2d by ATX lures its 1.25-inch flat tail green color. For your best fishing experience consider using the following equipment: a one-piece ACC Crappie Stix rod and reel paired with 4- or 6-pound test K9 line with a Atx lure company jig. Further optimizing your efforts with a Garmin LiveScope. 

WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 5.9 FEET, 50’S 

West Point Bass (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. Predicting the fishing has been tough so far this winter. Up and down water temperatures lake levels, clear to muddy water, wind or no wind, generating and not generating all of these varying conditions affect the bite. With the cold weather predicted for late January and early February do not expect a big improvement anytime soon. The shallow bite remains fair at best now, but it could improve, especially with normal lake levels and water temperatures rising. Baits such as Rat L Traps, square bill crankbaits and Chatterbaits are catching some of these shallower fish. Try red or crawfish patterns in the stained water. Try to fish these baits in coves and pockets with small feeder creeks or around schools of shallow baitfish. Fish the open water in the pockets with an Alabama Rig or Flash Mob Jr. to tempt bites from suspended fish. Keep a jig or shaky head handy to pitch around any wood cover. Fishing rip rap can also produce results this time of year, especially after a warm rain. With the cold weather and water temperatures expect lows in the low 50’s or 40’s. Expect schools of spots mixed with hybrids, white bass and stripers to be caught on jigging spoons and drop shot rigs and on shaky head rigs on humps and drop offs. Target deeper offshore structures like brush piles and old roadbeds in 20 to 30 feet of water near the mouths of most major creeks for the best results. Any water temperature change can be a make or break day on the water. Use the Lowrance Heat Map feature on the mapping screen and even 2 degrees can make a difference.

WEISS LAKE IS DOWN 3.2 FEET, 48 DEGREE’S

Lake Weiss Mixed Bag (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) – Bass fishing is fair and they are still on a winter pattern on the river and creek channel ledges. These fish are following the shad that have migrated in with th enew water depths. Get the spoons and jigs ready and work these baits slowly.

Crappie fishing is fair and they are showing up suspended in the river and creek channels 8 to 20 feet deep. Long line trolling with Jiffy jigs is working well and a float and fly is producing. These fish are following shad that have migrated in with the new water depths. Troll minnow tipped jigs in black/chartreuse or pink/white colors. Look for fish to be positioned in the twelve to fifteen feet depths. Troll jigs at depths ten to twelve feet to catch feeding fish.

TROUT REPORT 

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

Trout Stocking: Check the latest weekly stocking report to see if your favorite creek was stocked. Good luck and Go Trout Fish Georgia! Find the report at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/trout.

Trout Fishing Opportunities for Those With Disabilities: Find sites that are open to the public and offer specific amenities for anglers with disabilities at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/trout.

Supporting Trout Fishing: 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 GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/trout. Hatcheries and wild trout efforts both benefit from the trout tag.