Spring is one of the best times of year for crappie fishing across Georgia, as warming water temperatures trigger fish to move into shallow areas to spawn. Anglers can find success targeting crappie around brush piles, fallen timber, docks, and other structure using live minnows or small jigs. Early mornings and late afternoons tend to produce the most consistent bites, especially when water temperatures reach the mid-60s. Public fishing areas, reservoirs, and smaller lakes throughout the state offer excellent opportunities for both bank and boat anglers. Whether you’re a seasoned fisherman or just getting started, crappie fishing provides a fun and productive way to enjoy Georgia’s waters this spring.

NEWS TO KNOW:

• • The Blue Ridge Trout Festival is April 26, 2026 in downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia. Meet World Fly Casting champion, Rene Hesse. Details and vendor information can be found at blueridgetroutfest.com.
  • New Black Bass Conservation License Plate Available: Georgia anglers can now purchase a specialty license plate featuring a largemouth bass, with proceeds supporting fisheries conservation, habitat improvements, research, stocking programs, and education efforts across the state. Learn more: GeorgiaWildlife.com/licenseplates.
  • Go Fish Harvest Time – Last Weekend! It’s the last weekend of the Spring Harvest at the Go Fish Education Center in Perry. Join us this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for a relaxing time by the water and take some fish home for dinner! Check out our Facebook page for more information at facebook.com/GoFishEducationCenter.
  • The One Day Fish & Learn Program is April 1, 2026, and is open to novice anglers of all ages. This free, beginner-friendly event covers fishing basics and includes hands-on fishing time. Space is limited to 10 participants. Learn more about the event: georgiawildlife.com/flat-creek-pfa 

This week, we have fishing reports from Southwest, North, Central, and Southeast Georgia. It’s finally Spring, so soak up the sun and try your luck on the water this weekend–Go Fish Georgia!

SOUTHWEST GEORGIA

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

LAKE BLACKSHEAR

Try the shallow waters this week. Water temperatures are now within spawning range for bass in the sloughs, so be on the lookout for beds in shallow water in those back water areas. The bass will be pairing up and guarding those beds for a few weeks. Crappie are still on the move around the deeper sections of the lake but are also occasionally hanging around the shallows. And in the next few weeks bream will also be in these shallow water areas spawning. However, don’t limit yourself to just the shallows if you have a boat. Try new areas as the fish in the lake move around more than you think, but once you find them hit them hard and you will have a good haul.

LAKE WALTER F GEORGE 

Bass fishing is very good on Walter F George, Ken Sturdivant with Southern Fishing reports. With the full moon soon lots of bass will be super shallow. Trick works, Senko’s, and Super Flukes are great all-day baits and go shallow. The water is only a little stained so the numbers of bass will be coming on crank baits. Use a variety color of Rapala Shad Raps and McStick jerk baits with the shad patterns being the best. Use a slow retrieve and cast the baits up close to the bank and work the points and bowls thoroughly. The Texas rigged worm green pumpkin has been good all day. A Stanley Jig bite up the rivers is good by flipping and pitching any cover. Crank baits are also working as well around heavy cover and use the Rapala Shad Raps and Bandits back in the shallow creeks and flats. Use a baby bass colored Staysee 90 or the RC 1.5 Rick Clunn crank bait and reel it back slowly. Use the Staysee 90 minnow on the secondary points in the creeks.

LAKE SEMINOLE 

According to Ken Sturdivant at Southern Fishing, the bass are in all 3 stages of the spawn right now and fishing is starting to get really good. There are several different ways to catch bass right now. For spawning fish, look on the main lake bars in between the creek and the Flint River. Use a good pair of polarized glasses and search for bedding fish. While searching use a Big Bite Baits 6 Krietz Tail worm in green pumpkin with a 3/16 ounce Tungsten. Try the Big Bite Baits Real Deal Craw in Watermelon Red with a 1/4 ounce Tungsten. Use Sunline 20-pound test FC Sniper fluorocarbon for both techniques. For post and pre spawn fish look for staging areas that are close to spawning grounds. The best places are the ones where grass is still below the surface and not topped out. Two baits for this that will work for you in this situation are a Buddha Bait Co Swagger Jig in either Sexy Shad or Green Pumpkin and a Jenko Fishing Squared Square bill Crankbait in Gizzard Shad.

BIG LAZER PFA

• Big Lazer PFA Information
• Surface water temperature:   64^oF
• Water visibility:  Visibility is at 29”
• Water level: 1” below full pool
• Big Lazer PFA Fishing Guide

Largemouth Bass fishing is fair, but on the rise. Anglers should begin to have some decent largemouth bass fishing trips very soon as they begin to move to shallower water. Try throwing spinning baits or crankbaits in 6 to 8 feet of water. There have been some reports of good bream fishing due to the approaching spawning season. Anglers seem to be having luck fishing with worms around the fishing piers. This time of year, bream are located in 4-6 feet of water. Try locating woody structure for increased chance of bream bites. Catfish bites are hard to come by right now, but you may have good luck fishing with livers or shrimp near the bottom. The rip rap along the dam and around woody structures will be your best bet of landing a cat. In general, March water temperatures at Big Lazer are starting to warm up and so is the fishing.  Late March and early April are some of the best times to fish Big Lazer as pre-spawn largemouth bass start to move into shallower water followed by bream. Good luck!

NORTH GEORGIA

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

SMALL RIVER REPORT 

Sampling: (Report courtesy of Josh Stafford, fisheries biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division) — WRD staff have been conducting extensive sampling for striped bass on Lake Lanier. Fish have been difficult to locate on the lower end of the lake, but good numbers were encountered in the Chattahoochee River above Belton Bridge.

RESERVOIR REPORT 

LAKE ALLATOONA 

Lake Allatoona Bass (Courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, The Southern Fishing Report) — LAKE ALLATOONA IS DOWN 6 FEET, 60’S- Bass fishing is good. Both the largemouth bass and the spots are heading shallow daily with the warming trends. Early, start on the secondary points and then move towards the backs of coves. They are aggressively feeding on shad early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Anglers are using Alabama rig and fan casting the coves and points to find the schools. Be sure to watch for the larger bait schools as he bass will be very close by. During mid day, the bass move out into the middle of the pockets and cruise. Jerk baits like a sinking Rapala, the ITO Vision 110 and the McStick can be fished shallow and these are the lures to use. The best pattern to catch bass is to fish from 3/4 of the way in to a cove to the back of the cove looking for feeding fish. Carolina rigged worms and shad colored deep diving crank baits have also been catching some fish.

Lake Allatoona Crappie (Courtesy of Red Rooster Custom Baits redroosterbaits.com) — 

• Air Temp: High: 75 – Low: 28
• Wind: 10-15 (Up to 30 mph gusts) mph
• Lake Level: 834′
• Water Surface Temp: 58 – 62
• Water Clarity: North & South is Heavy Stained, Mid Lake Light Stain to Clear
• Area Fished: Clark, Tanyard, Kellogg/Owl Creek & Little River Area
• Jigs Used: Catawba – Slab Dragon, Tre’s Gold – Slab Dragon, Black & Blue – Slab Dragon, VooDoo Bloo – Kic’n Chic’n and Lemonade – Kic’n Chic’n
• Technique: Trolling

What a difference a week makes in March! This past week was not a great week for crappie on Lake Allatoona. We got hit with heavy rains and a severe cold snap after the rains moved through. We were able to get out for a couple of days but then the cold and wind came blowing in and pretty much shut everything down this week. We will be looking forward to next week in hopes that the weather and water temps cooperate for the final push of long line trolling season before April. As we move into the rest of March into April the crappie will start moving shallow as the water temps rise into the mid to high 60’s. There is still a lot of good crappie fishing on the way you just need to keep your eye on the forecast and watch the day/night temps. The water temps will start to rise quickly once the weather warms and stabilizes. If you are reading this we urge everyone to release any crappie over 12″ as larger crappie are what keeps Lake Allatoona stocked for generations to come. We practice a self imposed “slot limit”, meaning we only keep crappie that measure 10″ to 12″. Anything smaller or larger go back in the lake for a healthy spawn. If you do catch a big crappie we ask that you practice “CPR”, Catch – Photo – Release. We know that most folks are keeping some for the freezer but when you can keep only what you can use. Remember 10 crappie equals 20 filets and is plenty for a meal or two.

Even though this past week was not a good weather week we still managed to get on the water a couple of days before the rains, wind and cold snap. We trolled creeks, flats and points looking for schools of pre-spawn crappie. The week before when the water temps were in the mid 60’s we found shallow crappie in depths of 4′ to 6′. This past week the colder temps lowered the water temps back into the high 50’s and the crappie responded by moving out deeper. We found crappie at water depth’s of 8′ to 10′ and suspended in the 6′ to 4′ range. Key thing to remember is Barometric pressure. General rule of thumb, at least from what we have learned, is that if the Barometric pressure is rising the crappie drop towards the bottom. If the Barometric pressure is dropping, the crappie are suspended and up off of the bottom. This may be common knowledge but from the past few years of chasing crappie and observing electronics this has been the pattern that we have seen. This does make a difference when trolling and matching speeds to where the crappie are situated during Barometric cycles. With that said, we were trolling using a 1/24th oz. jig head at speeds of .7 to .9 mph. The bite was very slow on the cold mornings that we got out as opposed to the fast and furious week prior. Black & Blue, Black & Chartreuse, Sour Grape, Lemonade and Tre’s Gold were the most productive colors this past week. We expect that the water will start clearing up soon if we do not experience any downpours so the color selections will change as we move into late March and April.

Our go to colors for heavy stained to stained water are Lemonade, ‘Lectric Chicken, Black & Blue, Black & Chartreuse, Flo Pink Pepper & Bubble Gum. Now if the sun pops out on that muddy to stained water we switch to reflective colors like Tre’s Gold, Green Glimmer and Mardi Gras. There are other colors that we use during the month of March and you can see our article “The Best Crappie Jig Colors For Lake Allatoona In March” for the complete list. 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 color 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. Red Rooster makes 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.

Allatoona Fish Attractors: Find locations of DNR fish attractors and much more information for a variety of water bodies, including Allatoona, at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing-forecasts.

LAKE HARTWELL

Lake Hartwell Bass (Courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, The Southern Fishing Report ) — LAKE HARTWELL IS DOWN 6.2 FEET, 50’S- Bass fishing is good. Back in the coves and creeks the water will be a lot warmer especially by late afternoon. Some coves are showing high 60’s degrees and even warmer by 3:00 p.m. each day. The bass are now chasing shad and feeding on them daily. Some of the larger bass are hitting spinnerbaits out in the mouth of the creeks and on the points. Trick worms and Super Flukes are taking a lot of bass. Be sure to have some baby bass colored plastics all spring. Finding the shad and throwing an olive green X Rap will catch the feeding fish. Plastics on wood and shallow docks will work and also use the Rapala Shad Raps and Glass Raps. Early morning and late afternoon are the best fishing times right now. Chug Bugs and Skitter Walks are now starting to work as some bass are showing top water activity.

LAKE LANIER

Lake Lanier Bass: (Via Phil Johnson, Pjohnson15@hotmail.com (770) 366 8845 via The Southern Fishing Report) — LAKE LANIER IS DOWN 4.8 FEET, 60’S- Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good to very good. The lake is currently a little under five feet below full pool with the main lake clear and some staining in the backs of the creeks and up the rivers. The water temperature was as high as sixty-five last weekend but has dropped back into the upper fifties with the cold snap. Watch for it to rise back up quickly. It’s bedding season on Lanier for both largemouth and the spotted bass. The Largemouth are heading for the shallow areas mainly in the backs of the pockets around some type structure or the edge of shallow docks. This is a visual fishing with the first step being to find the beds in these areas. Once the bed is located pitch some type of creepy crawler bait slightly past the bed and bring it to the middle of the bed. Often a lighter color bait is helpful to be able to see the bait’s location and the bass’s reaction to it. Sometimes it takes a while to aggravate the fish into taking the bait, so be patient. Just on a personal note, I’m not a big fan of this type fishing but if it is done releasing the bass immediately helps ensure out Largemouth population continues to grow. The A Rig is working very well right now for both the Spotted Bass and the Largemouth. Work this bait along the shady sides of the shallower docks for Largemouth and on rocky secondary points, flats and reef poles for the Spotted Bass. The quarter ounce finesse Spot Choker with a Mayor trailer is also producing great numbers of bass in the same area with a cast to the bank and a bottom bumping slow retrieve. Keep the Spot Choker and the A Rig handy and watch for top water action as the bass are starting to push shad to the top mainly in the pockets and creeks. If you like the worm bite, use a wacky rig green pumpkin Senko anywhere back in the pockets. It’s a great time of the year to be on Lanier so get out and enjoy it. Go Catch ‘Em!

Lanier Fish Attractors: Find locations of DNR fish attractors and much more information for a variety of water bodies, including Lanier, at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing-forecasts.

WEISS LAKE

Mixed Bag (Courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, The Southern Fishing Report) — WEISS LAKE DOWN 2.1 FEET, CLEAR, 60’S- Bass fishing is good. Fish are shallow, staging on shallow points and shallow stump flats near the spawning areas. Rat L Traps are producing well as is spinner baits and shallow running crank baits. The water is only a little stained so the numbers of bass will be coming on crank baits. Use a variety color of Rapala Shad Raps and McStick jerk baits with the shad patterns being the best. Use a slow retrieve and cast the baits up close to the bank and work the points and bowls thoroughly. The worm fishermen are finding the watermelon seed is the best color.

Crappie fishing is good and they are being caught long line trolling with Jiffy jigs in colors JJ13, JJ17, JJ20, JJ24 in Little River, Big Spring Creek, Yellow Creek is also producing some good fish, Mud Creek is also producing good. Crappie are also being caught around deeper docks tight lining jigs. With the warming trend look for the crappie to start going shallow to spawn soon

WEST POINT LAKE

West Point Hybrid Bass Report: (This report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant, www.southernfishing.com): WEST POINT LAKE IS DOWN 2.1 FEET, CLEAR, 60’S- Bass fishing is good. Pick any creek and spend the day as the bass are roaming in 3 to 13 feet of water. Use the Shad Raps, the Strike King 3/8 ounce white Colorado and Willow leaf combination and a trick worm in green pumpkin. Work the baits slowly early and the go to the crank bait in case the case the spinner bait bite is not on. Cast a Bill Norman Deep Little N in a chartreuse color to these same fish. Use a stop and go retrieve with the crank bait early morning and a fast retrieve later in the day. A Carolina rig with a 4 foot leader and 3/0 wide gap hook and Zoom lizard in a chartreuse pumpkin seed will work. Use a garlic scent on the lizard and fish it across the points. Spots need to see the Georgia Blade spinner baits with all pearl white blades and a white skirt.

West Point Fish Attractors: Find locations of DNR fish attractors and much more information for a variety of water bodies, including West Point, at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing-forecasts.

SMALL LAKE REPORT 

Small Lake Lunker: (Report courtesy of John Lee Thomson, Region Fisheries Management Supervisor with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division) — Small lakes warm up faster than larger reservoirs and so does the bite. Check out this lunker Miles Hill from Suwanee pulled out of a Gwinnett County private pond. He was using lipless crank bait fishing while fishing with his buddy after school. Don’t dismiss that neighborhood pond, it could be holding a hungry trophy bass looking for an easy meal. Congrats Miles on this nice catch!

Small Ponds on Fire! (Report courtesy of Hunter Roop, assistant chief of Fisheries Management with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division) — The small ponds are on fire this time of year – so much so that me and Marshall decided to dust off the kayak, break out the 5 wt, and pursue shallow bass in a nearby watershed lake here in Jackson County. Marshall had the honor of picking the color of the day and landed on a Boogle Bug mini popper in red – a fine selection that kept them biting all afternoon. We landed ~15 fish total in just a couple of hours, mostly bass in the 1 – 2.5 lb range, with some hand-sized bluegill and a surprise crappie as well. The water temperature and slight stain was perfect for the occasion, and he can’t wait for the next float!

Rocky Mountain Public Fishing Area Report:

• Rocky Mountain PFA Information

(Report courtesy of Chris Smith, fisheries biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division) — Crappie fishing has been excellent this month at Rocky Mountain. Anglers have landed seven Angler Award fish, including a new Public Fishing Area record weighing 3 pounds, 3 ounces. Both jigs and minnows have been effective for catching these slab crappie.

TROUT REPORT 

North Georgia Stocked Trout: (From DNR Trout Stocking Coordinator Chris French) — The 2026 trout stocking season has begun! Several locations across North Georgia have been stocked this week and by the end of the month each of the trout stocking program streams will have been stocked at least once with plenty of 10”+ trout (and some 14” fish released in bigger streams). Stay up to date on weekly trout stockings across north Georgia by signing up for the weekly stocking 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.

Upcoming Trout Festival: The Blue Ridge Trout Festival is April 26, 2026 in downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia. Meet World Fly Casting champion, Rene Hesse. Details and vendor information can be found at blueridgetroutfest.com.

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 Matthew Gerber, 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 

CLARKS HILL LAKE

CLARKS HILL IS DOWN 6.3 FEET, 60’S – Bass fishing is good. The herring are on the move to shallow areas, and the bass are eating them. Watch the sea gulls that are diving into the water and cover this area in the shallows. The numerous small pockets and the points that run out towards the channel are another good place to fish top water and crank baits. The spinnerbait bite is working and the Lucky Craft Redemption lure with all silver blades is best. Use the Rapala Shad Raps in shad color in the cleaner water and the fire tiger or crawdad colors if up into the rivers up the lake. Try the larger #7 or #9 Rapala size for the bigger bass and downsize to the #5 Shad Rap for numbers. Stick with the more natural colors like gizzard shad, silver and blue and shad. Baby bass colors in the crank bait are another good choice as the smaller bait fish move up to the shallower warmer water as well.

LAKE RUSSELL

LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 0.6 FEET, 60’S – Bass fishing is good. The small cuts and shallow coves are sporting low 60’s for water temperatures and this is where the big bass are hiding. Look for the small pockets of warmer water near the main river and this is where the bass are roaming. Use the Strike King Spinnerbaits early in the morning looking for that real big bite but are resorting to crank baits. A green pumpkin Zoom Trick worm with no weight can be an all-day bait. The water is only a little stained so the numbers of bass will be coming on crank baits. Use a variety color of Shad Raps and jerk baits with the shad patterns being the best. Use a slow retrieve and cast the baits up close to the bank and work the points and bowls thoroughly. The worm fishermen are finding the watermelon seed is the best color and it doesn’t matter if you rig it Texas or Carolina style.

LAKE OCONEE

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 60’S – Bass fishing is good. The bass are not everywhere on Lake Oconee right now. Most of the better bites seem to come first thing in the morning around grass, blowdowns and seawalls. Try a buzz bait or frog if the water is calm and warm enough for the fish to chase a top water lure. If the bass seem to be relating to the bottom, try flipping and pitching a jig or Texas rigged lizard around the same types of cover they action is slow a shaky head or drop shot paired with a Zoom Finesse worm will work. Soon the spawn will start, and the bass will move to say areas. Try a Stryke Ryte spinnerbait or a Blademaster Lures Suddeth crankbait in bream or bluegill color patterns to put some key fish in the boat. Keep a Zoom Trick worm rigged weightless and use it on every stop. Mid-day put the trolling motor down and cover water with moving baits. Find active fish and pick it apart. Once the bite picks up with a few bites a Zoom Fluke and Senko are both great choices for finishing off the area and catching the more finicky fish that don’t want to commit to a fast-moving presentation.

LAKE SINCLAIR

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN ONE FOOT, 70’S – Bass fishing is good. Crank baits, spinner baits, and jigs will be the baits of choice for the next few weeks. Fire tiger or Craw colored SPRO Little John crank baits will catch fish consistently the next few weeks on primary and secondary points in the stained water. Shad colors will work best on the lower end of the lake where the water is clear. On windy days a chartreuse Buckeye Lures spinnerbait with gold Colorado blades will produce bigger bites on the docks, sea walls, and grass inside the spawning pockets. Find a pocket holding a concentration of fish, slow down and flip a Texas rigged June bug lizard or a Buckeye Lures mop jig under dock walkways. This will produce a big bite from those lazy pre-spawn females that wouldn’t fall for the reaction baits.

LAKE JACKSON

LAKE JACKSON IS FULL, 60 DEGREES – Bass fishing is good. The water has finally gotten clear enough to fish Jackson this week and the bass are hitting a variety of baits. Look for the early spawners in ten days. There are a lot of bass roaming and looking for that perfect area to start this process. Go mid-way up the rivers and look for the small flats off the main channel. This is the area that will be the most productive this week. A few of the larger bass are taking the white spinnerbaits with much of the bass coming off the cranks. Several anglers like the crawfish color in the Rapala DT10 while most of the locals are throwing the balsa wood crawfish and perch color Shad Raps. A slow to medium retrieve and occasional digging into the bottom seems to be the preferred way to fish the cranks. Points along with docks and the flats off points about midway up the rivers and creeks is the only place limits of bass are being caught.

PUBLIC FISHING AREA REPORT

MARBEN PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of PFA Manager Jamie Dowd)–

• Marben PFA Information
• Water Level: Most ponds remain slightly below full pool; recent rains have improved conditions.
• Water Clarity: Clear to lightly stained
• Surface Temperature: Warming into the 60s
• Marben PFA Fishing Guide

Marben PFA is a great place to shake off cabin fever and enjoy spring fishing. As always, anglers are encouraged to adjust tactics based on daily conditions and water temperatures.

Spring conditions are beginning to take hold at Marben PFA, and warming water temperatures have anglers eager to get back on the water. As daylight increases and temperatures rise, fish activity should steadily improve across all ponds. 

Anglers are seeing the results of warmer spring weather. The bass have moved in the shallows and some have completed the spawn. The crappie are still up shallow as well. Bluegill and shellcracker are beginning to bite. Most bream species are being caught on or near the bottom.

Bass: Bass fishing is expected to improve as water temperatures continue to warm. Fish will begin moving shallower during stable, warming trends. Anglers should focus on soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and shallow-running crankbaits around shoreline cover, woody structure, and pond points during the afternoon hours when water temperatures peak. 

Crappie: Crappie will transition from deeper winter holding areas toward shallow structure as spawning approaches. Target brush, submerged timber, and pond edges with minnows or small jigs. Fishing success should improve significantly with consecutive days of warm weather. 

Bream: Spring is an excellent time to target bream at Marben. Recent bluegill stockings will provide additional opportunities for anglers, and fish will become more active as water temperatures rise. Red wigglers and crickets fished near the bottom around shoreline cover and shallow structure should produce steady action. As spawning activity increases later in the season, anglers can expect even better catch rates. 

Channel Catfish: Catfish activity will increase with warming water temperatures. Anglers fishing cut bait, worms, or prepared baits on the bottom should begin to see improving success, particularly during the evening hours.

MCDUFFIE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Area Manager Chalisa Fabillar)–

• McDuffie PFA Information
• McDuffie PFA Fishing Guide

Anglers at McDuffie are seeing the results of warmer spring weather as well. The bass have moved in the shallows and some have completed the spawn. Folks are pulling smaller bass pretty easily. Though larger bass are moving in the shallows as well, they are pickier about their prey. Bream are hitting on worms and crickets in 4-8 ft of water, especially shellcrackers.

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

• Flat Creek PFA Information
• Water Level: 38.5” below full pool

• Water Temperature: Low 70’s
• Water Clarity: 26″
• Flat Creek PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: Water temps are same as last week and so is the bass activity. Bass are in shallower waters and exhibiting spawning activities. Anglers are reporting catches using swimbaits and spinnerbaits in white/chartreuse

Bream: Red Wigglers continue to produce Bream. Target the treetops next to the boat ramp.

Crappie: The crappie bite has been steady. The treetops to the right of the boat ramp have been a popular spot for crappie.  Minnows continue to be the choice bait.

Catfish: Catfish activity should be picking up soon. 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.

RIVER REPORT

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

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

We are finished spawning bass at the warmwater hatcheries, and it is a good thing, because this mid-week cold front has pushed many fish off their beds in the past week.

FLINT RIVER

Tim and Kim Bonvechio fished a float with Capt. Quint Rogers on the Flint River near Sprewell Bluff WMA on Saturday. They boated 7 shoal bass and 1 largemouth. Despite a bit of a finicky bite, both anglers were able to catch their very first Shoal bass of their life and began their pursuit of the Georgia Bass Slam.  Tim landed 5 black bass (4 shoals and 1 largemouth), including the largest Shoalie of the trip, pulling the scales down to 3.97lbs and 19.75 inches, just short of an angler award.  Tim also landed a respectable largemouth that was 3.92lbs.  Tim was throwing a chatter bait on a Shimano Curado bait caster.  Not to be outdone, Kim fought the wind and landed 3 shoal bass on a 10 foot-7 weight fly rod.  (This section of the Flint is in Central East Georgia).

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

I had a couple of East side reports this week from the Swamp.  Bert Deener took a trip on Friday and boated 4 youth angler awards with his guide party (Josh and Alton).  The caught Flier, Bowfin, Chain Pickeral and FL Gar and had 63 total fish including bowfin that pulled the scales down to 8lbs 5 ounces and 8lbs 4 ounces. Brentz McGhin and his wife fished the East side of the swamp on Sunday afternoon for a few hours and said that the best thing biting is the black flies. They also managed to catch 4 bowfin, 2 chain pickerel, 1 warmouth, and 1 decent flier, all caught on a small inline spinner.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Brentz McGhin and a friend fished the Brunswick area last Saturday and kept 20 nice sized whiting and also caught and released 7 bonnet head sharks and 7 stingrays. They used shrimp on bottom to fool them.

OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA (near Hawkinsville)

• Ocmulgee PFA Info
• Ocmulgee PFA Fishing Guide

On Monday, Ken Burke fished 4.5 hours with no bites and no fish.  Also on Monday, a bass fisherman caught 3 little bass on a wacky rig and one other bass fisherman reported catching a 4.75lb bass on a spinnerbait.

HUGH M. GILLIS PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR DUBLIN)

• Hugh Gillis PFA Information
• Hugh Gillis PFA Fishing Guide

On Tuesday, Ken Burke fished 4.75 hours and caught 9 small bass totaling 12lbs, with his largest at 1.75lbs. Ken caught them all on a weedless rigged 3/16 oz shaky head June bug Zoom trick worm.

DODGE COUNTY PUBLIC FISHING AREA (NEAR EASTMAN)

• Dodge County PFA Information  
• Dodge County Fishing Guide

On Monday the 23^rd, Lossie Wimberly caught 6 redear sunfish (shellcrackers) and 4 black crappie using red wigglers and fathead minnows. On Wednesday the 25^th, Bill Barron caught 4 bass for a total weight of 6lbs, using artificial lures not mentioned.

PARADISE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

• Paradise Public Fishing Area Information 
• Paradise PFA Fishing Guide

Rick Johnson caught a few bass fishing from the shoreline last week at Lake Paradise on Paradise PFA.  He was not specific on what artificial lure he was using.  Anglers are still catching an occasional crappie and bluegill off the Lake Patrick pier.  Take advantage of the new fishing pier now installed on Lake Patrick on the opposite side (East side) of the other pier.