After an icy weekend and a snowy weekend, I am looking forward to some sunshine fishing days coming our way. Where will you be headed? Georgia has 11 Public Fishing Areas managed for excellent fishing opportunities. Find more information at GeorgiaWildlife.com/allpfas and plan to visit one soon!

NEWS TO KNOW:

  • Fisharama/Turkeyrama Time: Head to Perry this weekend (Feb. 6-8) for this exciting event to visit with hunting and fishing vendors and professionals. More info at buckarama.net/fisharama.
  • Still Time to Enter The Fish Art Contest! The deadline to submit entries, in print or digitally, is Feb. 28. Educator curriculum, resources, rules, and entry forms can be found at theartofconservation.org. 
  • Fishing Information: Need to know where to go, what species to target and how to catch them? Visit our Angler Resources webpage at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/angler-resources

This week, we have fishing reports from North, Central and Southeast Georgia (Southwest report will be back next week). Make plans to visit a PFA and Go Fish Georgia!

NORTH GEORGIA

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

RESERVOIR REPORT

LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 11 FEET, 40’S 

Allatoona Fishing Report: (Report courtesy of Captain Joseph Martinelli via https://www.heronoutdooradventures.com/blog) — While we are still hanging in around 15 ft below full pool reservoir-wide, there are some major differences from north to south. The south end is fed by Allatoona Creek. It clears up quicker than the water north of the dam which is fed by the Etowah River. Just in case you are wondering what the E or A designations were on navigation markers. The water here on the south end is crystal clear for the most part, and the deep blue-green hue may be seen from iron Hill to the dam.

And it’s cold. Turning glass and aluminum boats alike into ice breakers first thing in the morning when launching from block house on several of these mornings. Logic then dictates that surface water temps are sub 32° in the morning. Water temps just below the surface have ranged from 34 to 36 on many days through early this week. Traveling through the main channel and into Tanyard & Clark creeks mix, temperatures hit 40° later in the mornings. Today, surface temperatures at blockhouse were ~40°. I fished down there on Monday while doing a little scouting and while I had no visual evidence of shad kill from the banks or open water, some dying shad were observed the next day by one of our community anglers.

The day prior, I can tell you that Tanyard Creek was just absolutely loaded with bait and fish. And it should be noted that the bait was using most of the water column, not just the top few feet.

I captured mostly spotted bass, but there were some pods of crappie, white bass and hybrids running around that each gave me a sampling when I targeted them. Any stripers eluded me that day.

Coming back up north through Iron Hill, all I saw was water. No bait. Maybe there were fish but even with a lot of zigzagging with the electronics, outside of some bass on the ledges, it was barren to me.

Let’s start up on the North end now – Little River temperatures have been even in the high 30s in the afternoons through yesterday. Tons of crappie. Your experienced catfish and crappie fisherman are oftentimes fishing the same water. It is evident that the big fish like to eat crappie too.

Your water is still stained from the S-turns, all through Victoria & Galts, and getting a little lighter yoo-hoo hue (say that 10 times real fast) on the main stretch from Bartow to Stamp Creek.

What is notably different on the North end is that most of the bait is in the top 10 feet of water. Matters not if you are in 10 ft of water or if you are in 70 ft of water. The bait is up high. Surface temperatures in Little River on Tuesday where 34° in the early a.m., however, it should be noted that surface temperatures were 42° to 45° in certain pockets yesterday from Kellogg toward clear Creek.

This stained water maintains heat better, and as cold as the temperatures were, every bait fish in the reservoir is just looking for a Sunbeam to keep them alive as temperatures even around Galts Ferry dropped down to 38° for a couple of nights.

Yesterday I sampled many different areas from Kellogg Creek to clear Creek with the cast net, looking into the health of the bait fish. There’s always going to be some shad that died. For a lot of them it is death by fish on and ongoing basis. In my samplings I captured plenty of smaller 1 and 1/2 in and 2 in threadfin in almost every open water situation. And then I went to targeting larger threadfin and some delicious herring for upcoming live-bait adventures.

As for die off, I am not saying that some didn’t start fluttering and dying this past week up north, I’m just saying that I didn’t see evidence of it. Unless you have some wave action that pushes them up on shore, you don’t often see the evidence of it because they quickly sink to the bottom. Oh, to be a catfish!

It may also be noted that the Gulls are very efficient in picking off fluttering bait before it sinks to the bottom 🙂 The large flocks of Gulls that have taken up temporary residence in Galts Ferry appear to be doing the same thing they’ve been doing for 3 weeks – going on the hunt and hitting bait that is high up the column.

The fishing on the north end has surely had its days these past few weeks. I’ve caught fish in all depths of water. Within the past 2 weeks I landed what may be a 2026 season personal best striper in the 26 lb class. She came suspended off the bottom in 45 ft of water off a piece of structure that I was pretty sure I was targeting a blue cat on. She even had a pal that gave me a good run not even 15 minutes after I landed her. I might not beat that one again for years on the reservoir, though hopeful to find a 35 pounder one day 🙂

Yesterday, I got in the back of a creek and found the magic bite in around 15 ft of water and got overrun by some line-sides in the late afternoon. A couple of days before that, 30 ft of water was magic on the south end and 60 ft bottom was magic on the north end, but staying in the top 15 feet of water.

The crappie are eating. Well, fact is they eat year-round. Before you know it everyone with a boat and motor will be long line trolling the mouths of the creeks taking advantage of pre-spawn staging. There’s no doubt that the seasoned crappie fisherman can get some very good fish right now fishing both deeper structure as well as shallow waters.

So the big mega schools of hybrids and stripers have eluded me for the most part the past 2 weeks. Small exception may be yesterday afternoon, though I had no time to look on the graph and see what was happening or how many fish were around us. I’m pretty sure we knocked out 20 of them though in less than an hour.

While they still may be in and out of that secret underground cavern, my guess is my timing just hasn’t been right. Here’s the thing – I know they’re there. We have a very good population of hybrid striped bass and there are some great numbers in the 5 to 7 lb class of stripers coming up. Earlier this winter, several times we got into some larger schools of stripers in the 7 and 9 lb class which are just great fish for Allatoona.

Also, it may be noted that for the first autumn/winter season in several years, I’m noticing an uptick in the white bass population. Large numbers of larger fish. Plenty of 12-in class fish that are probably a couple of years old and were able to survive everything the reservoir can throw at them, including egg eating alewife and herring.

Let’s just do a quick touch on the spotted bass. The guys that are out here with me for the most part are fishing for spotted bass this end every time of year. Remembering my training from first time I’m through crankbaits in February a couple years ago, I hit the wall opposite Illinois Creek with the old rock crawler and pulled up two spotted bass in maybe 50 casts.

There are better locales to be making those casts and targeting the spotted bass. So much so that I think that’s exactly what I might be doing in the afternoons starting today!  

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

Man standing in front of a boat holds up a caught fish in each hand.

Allatoona Crappie, (Photo Courtesy of redroosterbaits.com)

The first week of February 2026 was not great as we only managed one good day on the water this past week but there were several slabs caught in the 12″ to 15″ range! We are coming out of two back-to-back cold weather weeks with ice and snow and below freezing overnight temps. The water temperature is 38 – 40 degrees all across the lake. There were several areas of the lake that were covered with 1/4″ sheets of ice! Old man winter was bearing down over the last couple of weeks, but the temperatures are headed back in the right direction, and we are ready for it. Keep your eye on the forecast as the overnight and daytime temperatures are set to rise over the next week. The water temps should get back into the mid to high 40’s and trolling will get back in stride.

The water temps on Lake Allatoona were 38 – 40 degrees this past week and the water is stained to muddy all over the lake. Several Red Rooster Pro Staff hit the water this past Tuesday as it was the best day by far to be on the water with temps getting up into the high 50’s. Even though the afternoon temps hit the 50’s the cold sub-freezing overnight temps from the past week put the lake in the freezer. We made a run from Galt’s Ferry up to the Little River area and there was floating ice and sheets of ice from Victoria to Sweet Water creek. After busting through some 1/4″ sheets of ice we decided to head back below Victoria and troll from Victoria into Kellogg and Owl Creek. As expected, the cold water had pushed the crappie out into deeper water. We saw schools of crappie suspended at depths of 10′ – 16′ in 25′ to 30′ of water. Theses crappie were deep and moving slow. We trolled 1/16th oz. & 3/32nd oz. jig heads at speeds of .5 to .7 mph. When the water gets this cold you have to troll SLOW for two reasons: 1) The crappie are deeper and to get your jigs down to their depths you have to move slow and 2) The crappie are not aggressive as the cold water has really slowed their metabolism. BUT…you’re chances of catching some big time slabs are really good as we hung into some 12″ to 15″ slabs that doubled the rods. Several boats were out trolling on Tuesday and each boat had at least one or two 14″ crappie. The numbers were low but every crappie caught on Red Rooster crappie jigs was a keeper over 10″. With the water temps being what they were we were blessed to catch a fish much less some big time Allatoona slabs! We can’t wait until next week as the forecast shows overnight temps in the 40’s and 50’s and daily temps hitting 60’s and 70’s. The next few weeks of February are looking good and we are getting excited? You better have those boats ready and a sack full of Red Rooster jigs because long line trolling season is upon us! 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 during this time of year. We also believe that it helps to use a bright jig head such as pink, chartreuse, orange and glow white.

LAKE LANIER

Lanier Stripers (report courtesy of Captain Ron Mullins via https://thestriperexperience.com/)

  • Lake level: 1065.47 (5.53 feet below full pool)
  • Water temps: 45–47°F
  • Water clarity: clear on main lake to stained in the backs of creeks and up the river arms
Man standing in a boat on the water holds up a caught fish with both hands.

Lanier Striped Bass (Photo Courtesy of Tom Becker)

These temps are right above the norm for this time of year, but hopefully we will get to 43–45°F with the cold we’ll see in the middle of February. If we do, we may see a bait die-off this year.

The winter bite has been the best it has been in years—as good as or better than our summer bite.

Large schools of fish are being found all over the lake and these schools are holding around huge schools of bait in the backs of these creeks, including:

  • Bald Ridge
  • Shoal
  • Flat Creek
  • Ada
  • Gainesville
  • Wahoo
  • Little River
  • Latham
  • Thompson

Depth & Electronics Pattern: Concentrate your graphing in 40–70 feet of water. If you’re running Lakemaster on your Humminbird APEX or XPLORE, two features really matter this month:

  1. Adjust topo lines for the fluctuating lake level by using the lake offset feature so your map shows actual depth (not full pool numbers).
  2. Highlight a specific depth range so you can quickly see your target depths at a glance without staring at contour lines.

What’s Working Best (February Bite)

1) Downlines (Best Bite Right Now): The best bite has been on downlines because these fish are typically within 10 feet of the bottom.

  • Leader: shorten to 2–3 feet
  • Leader material: 12# fluorocarbon
  • Why it works: in cold water, stripers don’t want to chase far—short leaders are the key
  • Best baits: herring and small trout
  • Big-fish option: 4–6” shad can get hammered by larger fish mixed in

Most of these fish will be caught while sitting on Spot-Lock.

2) Slow Moving Search (Planer Boards + Swimbaits): If you move around looking for fish, keep it slow: .8–1.0 mph.

  • Rig: Capt Mack’s Mini Macks
  • Heads: 3/8–1/2 oz Striper Tackle swimbait heads
  • Depth: run them 30–35 feet down
  • Presentation: out to the side on Perfect Planer boards
  • Why this range: keeps you out of the trees while staying down where fish are feeding

3) Jigging Spoon Bite (When They’re Piled Up): When fish are stacked on the bottom, jigging spoons can be excellent.

RIVER AND STREAM REPORT

Flyer with graphics bringing attention to an upcoming event called the Rabun Rendezvous.

Join in the fun at the Rabun Rendezvous!

Stocked Trout: Trout stocking in Delayed Harvest waterbodies continues this week with Morgan Falls tailwater, Smith Creek, Toccoa River, and Amicalola Creek all receiving healthy doses of Rainbow Trout. If you are looking to catch Brown Trout, Smith Creek is the place to go. Stay up to date on the latest trout stockings and locations by visiting the Georgia DNR Trout Fishing page at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/trout. 

Trout Report: (report courtesy of Jeff Durniak, Angler Management; report via Unicoi Outfitters 1.31.26) – The extended forecast suggests that our region will warm back up soon. Remember that a lot of Forest Service back roads may still be closed due to downed trees, so check with the feds before venturing very far off the main county roads.

In the meantime, enjoy some great midwinter events on tap this week. For those of you snow-free in Atlanta, the Fish Hawk Fly Show continues today at their Buckhead Store on Miami Circle. Henry Cowen is on his way back to the show now to tie his striper flies and sell his striper book, with all proceeds going to his “adopted” Lake Lanier family needing shelter from the storms.

Wes’ great interview series returns on Tuesday. Native bass fans shouldn’t miss his Instagram live interview with redeye expert and book Author Dr. Matthew Lewis. Tune in at 7PM.

And on Saturday, the 7th, the Rabunites welcome all comers to their annual bluegrass and BBQ banquet, the Rabun Rendezvous at the county civic center in Clayton. Find out more at rabuntu.org/events/the-rabun-rendezvous/.

Tie some flies, go to the Fish Hawk show, attend some events, and maybe even plan a reunion with your favorite waters at the end of the week. Let’s be thankful for all the power companies who restored our power, and even for this precipitation to recharge our streams. It’s mid-winter and we are weathering January as we should.  Before you know it, March will be here, stripers will chase shad in the shallows, and a few trout will rise to the first bug hatches of spring. Relax now and get ready for that.

Wes’ Hot Fly List: Who are we kidding?  There are no hot flies now. Everything is cold! But some of these will work at the week-end thaw.

  • Dries: parachute blue wing olive, griffiths gnat, little black stone (or #18 gray elk hair caddis, and a small tan chubby or elk hair caddis as the lead fly (a strike indicator for your tiny dry dropper)
  • DH Stockers: twister egg, pheasant tail or Frenchie, sexy Walts worm, rainbow warrior, zebra midge, red tag.
  • Mountain streams: ice auger first, the a zebra midge, soft hackles, prince nymph, frenchie or pheasant tail.
  • Streamers: Black and olive woolly buggers, jig leech, UV polar Jig.
  • Reservoir Bass & Stripers: Cowen’s somethin else. Gray over white clouser minnow, low fat minnow. Or a 0.6 ounce flexit spoon on conventional gear.
Man wearing sunglasses and kneeling by a water body holds up a caught fish.

Smith Creek Rainbow Trout (Photo Courtesy of Jeff Durniak)

Headwaters: They’re low and clear and icy and not worth hitting right now. In fact, many forest roads may still be closed due to downed trees and/or ice.  Both Russell Highway and Smithgall park were still closed. White county roads were open, but I saw where road crews had cut out hundreds of downed trees from them so we could pass. Do your homework before you return to remote mountain streams. Your best bets will be waters very near paved, main roads. Watch the Chattahoochee National Forest Service Facebook page for forest road and recreation area updates at facebook.com/ChattOconeeNF.

Delayed Harvest: Most weren’t very accessible due to icy roads and downed trees. Smith was, however, and anglers had some success, mainly on eggs/nymphs, but some on dries! The stream was 42 F on Thursday at 4PM and slightly stained from the lake. I ran into new flyfisher Anthony, who said he had a stellar Wednesday on his dry/dropper rig, but found slower fishing on that Thursday.  Once he added a heavier anchor fly to sink his two-bug rig, he scored. Smith, Ami, and the Hooch are DH streams near paved roads and should be the first to restore safe access for y’all. Get some small eggs, girdle bugs, and dark nymphs deep and you should find some success when water temps hopefully rise back into the 40’s.

Caution: Rabun County roads are steep, shaded, and curvy. Add some snow and ice and we will all slide off the side of the mountain. Same for the Toccoa in Fannin. Wait until those roads warm up, even in the shady spots, before venturing back to that county’s creeks.

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.

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 2 FEET, 50’S

Bass (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports):  Guide Jerry Kotal (706-988-0860) reports that early in February bass should still be caught deeper in the main lake and at the mouths of creeks around the bait schools where other species including perch are feeding. They will be caught on jigging spoons, drop shots, and jigs. However, later this month anglers will notice bass start to move shallower and take a wide variety of baits regardless of weather conditions are they prepare to stage for the spawn.

Striped Bass (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson (706-283-3336) reports it was a decent January for stripers, but they are hopeful for a better February. This month some striped bass will be caught around the same deep bait schools where other species are feeding, but other striper will be roaming. Following the birds and covering water with free-lines or planer boards is usually the best pattern.

Crappie and Perch (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports): Guide Wendell Wilson reports that in late January a few crappie started to show up again around deep bait schools, and this month they will get more and more common as yellow perch get more scarce. Early in the month they will take minnows fished around deeper schools of bait, while later in the month they will be caught trolling in the creeks as they begin to stage for the spawn.

Catfish (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports): Guide Jerry Kotal reports that February is still not a month when very many people will be targeting catfish, but if you concentrate on deep water you can pick up a few channel catfish on cut herring.

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 7 FEET, 50’S

Black Bass 2 (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports): Guide Josh Rockefeller (706-513-6152) reports that in early February fish will still be related to brush or rock in the creeks and ditches, although very early in the morning they will often be found shallow – and even schooling – in the very backs of ditches. Fishing underspins and jigs will be effective all month, and of course many anglers will be throwing a minnow-type swimbait on a jighead. As temperatures warm this month then fish will start to move towards their pre-spawn and then spawning locations and stay shallower more of the time.

Striper and Hybrid Bass (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service (706-210-3474) reports that during February fish will move around a lot, and one day you could find a big school in one area but then overnight it could be 5 or even 10 miles away. Continue to look for the birds and bait to locate fish. Free-lines, planer boards, and down-lines could all work depending on where and how deep the fish set up.

Crappie (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports): Little River Guide Service reports that February is one of the best months of the year for catching big fish. As the weather warms they will begin to stage for the spawn and can be caught trolling jigs in the backs of creeks.

Catfish (courtesy of SC Fishing Reports):  Captain Chris Simpson (864-992-2352) reports that February should again be a very good month for catfish on Lake Thurmond. Anchoring on channel ledges and fan-casting cut gizzard shad, white perch, and herring will be the best way to target big blue catfish. So far this season the creeks have out-fished the main lake.

LAKE JACKSON IS DOWN 1.4  FEET, CLEAR, 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.

PUBLIC FISHING AREA REPORT

McDuffie Public Fishing Area (courtesy of Fisheries Technician Chalisa Fabillar) —

Waters are cool and mostly clear, with lower lake levels. However, the unseasonable warm days have brought on blooms in Bridge and Bream Buster Lakes.

Bass: Bass bite has been challenging lately with bass moving slowly in deeper waters. Anglers should use slow forage lookalikes and deepwater worms. The key this time of year is low and slow with lures to entice a bite.

Striped and Hybrid Bass: Anglers are seeing the increased cooler weather feeding activity for striped bass and hybrids. Striped bass are in Bridge and Clubhouse Lakes, while hybrids are in Bream Buster and Bridge Lakes.  Anglers should use chicken livers, worms, and shiner-like lures in white, gold, and silvers in deep water for stripers.  Fishing in Clubhouse from the dock, near all the outflow siphons, and in the deeper waters of Bridge Lake this time of year consistently yields good stripers. 

Channel Catfish: Catfish bite is consistently good right now. Anglers are catching creel limits using chicken liver and worms off the bottom of the lakes.  Other good options are artificial baits and stink baits also fished off the bottom of the lakes.   Reminder: Jones, Rodbender, Clubhouse, Bridge, and Beaver Lodge Lakes all got healthy stockings of catchable catfish in November and December. 

Bream: Bream on the PFA has picked up a bit with anglers using crickets near stumps, docks, and other structures. Nice sunfish are being caught around stumps in Willow Lake and near the dock of Bream Buster Lake. 

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

Flat Creek Public Fishing Area (courtesy of Area Manager Amory Cook)–

Woman wearing a uniform and standing on a boat holds up a caught fish.

Area Manager Amory Cook shows off a bass from Flat Creek PFA.

Bass: Anglers are reporting a decrease in bass activity and expect the trend to continue until water temperature begins to rise. Staff collected fish to be displayed at the Fisharama this weekend. All bass collected were found within ten feet of the bank.  

Bream: Red Wigglers continue to produce Bream. Target areas that warm quickly from the sun.

Crappie: The crappie bite has been steady with reports of anglers catching their limit.  Minnows continue to be the choice bait.

Catfish: Catfish activity has slowed significantly. 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.

If you are having difficulty catching fish at FCPFA, try talking to other anglers. Flat Creek PFA receives high pressure, and it can take some time to narrow down techniques and locations where fish are biting.

Marben Public Fishing Area (courtesy of PFA Manager Jamie Dowd) —

Bass: Bass fishing will be slow. Try mimicking lethargic shad or using a jerk bait try looking for feeding gulls as to find where the shad are located.

Crappie: Crappie are in deeper water but will move into shallow water once a week of warmer weather comes through. Jigs and minnows will be a safe bet. Fish around different structures and depths.

Bream: Shell Cracker and bluegill can be caught at or near the bottom, red wigglers are a safe choice for this. Fishing for bream species remains slow at this time of year.

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

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

Reports were limited this week as only a handful of anglers got out on the water in the cold weather. Crappie are probably what I would recommend targeting this weekend. My church (Transformation Church) is having a fish fry next Wednesday (February 11th) at 6:30 P.M. if any of you are interested in coming. The address to the church is 2198 Brunswick Hwy Waycross, GA.

River Gages as of February 5th:

  • Doctortown on the Altamaha – 6.6 feet and steady
  • Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 2.7 feet and falling
  • Clyo on the Savannah – 4.6 feet and steady
  • Statenville on the Alapaha – 2.6 feet and rising
  • Waycross on the Satilla – 6.1 feet and steady
  • Atkinson on the Satilla – 4.0 feet and steady
  • Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 2.5 feet and rising
  • Macclenny on the Saint Marys – 2.0 feet and steady
  • Fargo on the Suwannee – 2.0 feet and steady

Last Quarter Moon is on February 9th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

ALTAMAHA RIVER

I fished the lower river recently on a cold morning and the bite was tough but I managed to catch 9 bass up to around 2 1/2 pounds on chartreuse, crawdad and gray colored crankbaits and a 3/8 oz. flipping jig. An angler fished the lower river this week and caught around 50 crappie (don’t know what lures he used though). Altamaha Outlaws had a tournament last Saturday at Altamaha Park and 1st place went 19.25 lbs., 2nd with 16.20 (also had big fish of 6.60 lbs.) and 3rd with 12.05 lbs.

SATILLA RIVER

David Barber and Ronnie Cox fished the lower river last Friday and landed 30 crappie, a 3 ½ lb. bass, 3 warmouth and a pair of channel catfish while using live minnows and jigs. Most of the fish were caught 10-12 feet deep around structure. A Waycross area angler fished the river last Thursday and caught 37 crappie and a striped bass on live minnows and jigs. 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.

SAINT MARYS RIVER

Jacob Crews launched his kayak in the upper section on the river this week and he boated 5 nice bass. A black jig with a black/blue flake crawfish trailer was the ticket.

LITTLE RIVER (NEAR VALDOSTA)

Man sitting in a boat holds up a caught fish with one hand.

Jim O’Conner caught this lunker bass out of the Little River last Friday

Jim O’Conner went on a short trip last Friday on the rising river. He caught 11 largemouth bass with the biggest measuring 19 inches long. A black 6 inch plastic worm and a black/blue jig did the trick.

LAKES AND PONDS

Anglers have been catching some giant crappie lately at Paradise Public Fishing Area (near Tifton). A few people have reportedly caught angler award sized slabs this week. An angler fished Lake Patrick on Friday and landed 15 nice crappie while using jigs and minnows. Jimmy Zinker fished a Worth County pond on Tuesday in the chilly weather and caught 5 bass up to around 4 pounds on a Bang-O-Lure. He hung a big one that probably weighed around 6-lbs. that got off.

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 took Dr. Jay Shelton on a guided fly fishing trip yesterday on the east side. Jay landed 17 bowfin up to around 4 pounds. A yellow/gold blade, black chartreuse/gold blade and pink/silver bladed flies were the ticket. The water temperature was around 50 degrees (coldest Capt. Bert has seen all winter). Craig and Colt James and Aiden Pittman fished around the boat basin on the east side last Saturday afternoon. The trio caught around 20 bowfin while using speed craws and shrimp on bottom. Another angler fished the east side this week and caught a nice mess of warmouth (don’t know how many he caught though). The boat ramp on the west side (Stephen C. Foster State Park) is currently closed due to some renovations that are taking place around the boat basin. They estimate that it will probably be at least early May before it is reopened. Anglers can still launch kayaks and canoes though. Captain Bert Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip with him, visit his website bertsjigsandthings.com. Recent Swamp level on the east side was 120.24 feet.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Man wearing hat and sunglasses holds up a caught fish with both hands.

Dr. Robert Bringolf caught this 15-inch Weakfish on Tuesday while using a live shrimp rigged on an 1/8 oz. Capt. Bert’s Shrimp Hook

Man wearing a hat and standing in a boat holds up a caught fish with both hands.

Jonathan Fine caught this nice redfish on a guided fishing trip with Capt. Tim Cutting last Friday.

Man standing in front of a water body holds up a large caught fish with both hands.

Adam Cooperman landed this big black drum in the Saint Simons area last week.

Dr. Robert Bringolf and Capt. Bert Deener fished the Brunswick area on Tuesday in search of some seatrout. They couldn’t get a single bite for the first two hours of the trip but then they turned on. They landed 47 fish (44 trout and 3 flounder) while using a 3-inch Tennessee Shad colored Keitech swimbait rigged on a zombie eye jighead and live shrimp on bottom. Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) and Jonathan Fine fished the Saint Simons area last Friday and they managed to catch a ton of short trout but only had 4 keeper sized seatrout and redfish. Most of them were caught on Fourseven 4-inch grubs in Christmas Tree and Stellar Blue color. I heard that anglers have been catching some nice messes of sheepshead lately at the Saint Marys jetties.

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.