Georgia Fishing Report: October 18, 2024

That fall weather is hitting right now - and those cooler temps are bringing just the right stuff to start lighting up the crappie bite too!

NEWS TO KNOW

• Continue to Use Caution: Most Georgia DNR WMAs and all PFAs are now open after Hurricane Helene but use caution as staff continue to remove debris. To check for Georgia DNR property closures or issues (WMAs, PFAs, boat ramps), visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/closures. To check for Forest Service Road closures and other alerts (including info about WMAs on Forest Service property), visit fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notices.
• PFA Fishing in the Fall: Check out the "Peach State Fact of the Week" about fall fishing on Georgia Public Fishing Areas on the Georgia Outdoor Adventures website at georgiaoutdooradventures.net.

This week, we have reports from North, Central, Southeast, and Southwest Georgia. Layer up to stay weather appropriate and let's Go Fish Georgia!

NORTH GEORGIA

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

The chill in the air has the bite heating up. The deep summer patterns are giving way to fish moving into the shallows. Reports of great fishing opportunities are a plenty. Just ask Bralan Blanton of Dawsonville. He landed this 4' 7" gar in Lake Lanier. Congratulations Bralan! See below for tips and tricks from local experts and avid anglers.

Lake Allatoona Bass (Courtesy of Georgia Outdoors News) - Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, "Bass fishing on Allatoona continues to be good. I don't want to sound like a broken record, but October really doesn't change much from September. Temps are cooling off, and the lake is lowering. In the beginning of the month, it is just a continuation of September with schooling fish and a productive topwater bite. As we move later in the month, the jerkbait and crankbait bites get really good. We are seeing temperatures slowly cool off, even though we had a few days in the 90s at the end of September. October is a great time to fish your strengths. The spinnerbait, jerkbait, crankbait and jig bites are all good. The next pattern change will come around mid-November. October continues to be a good month for the river pattern up the Etowah. A lot of this could change if we get a tropical storm or a large amount of rain anytime during the month. If we see the water stain up at all, count on the shallow bite to pick up."

Lake Allatoona Crappie (Courtesy of Red Rooster Bait Custom Baits) - The weather is finally starting to cool down and there is a chill of fall in the air that gets our Crappie juices flowing! Team Red Rooster experienced some great crappie fishing on Lake Allatoona this week! The water temps are coming down with the cooler nights and the lake level is on its way back down from all of the rain experienced from Hurricane Helene. Our good buddy and pro staff member Jeff "Crappieman" Albright was out this week and caught several good crappie! He had great success trolling a 1/16th oz. jig head at .9 - 1.1 mph over brush and in open water. The focus was in the mouth of major creeks using several Red Rooster jig styles and colors. Jeff noted that the Red Rooster Small Fry in the 'Lectric Chicken color & Talon 2.0 in the Albright Special color caught several good Allatoona crappie as well as catfish and bass. Trolling this time of year is like a box of chocolates…you just never know what you are going to catch! Our friend Hunter Moore also caught some fine Allatoona slabs casting a Red Rooster Dagger in the Gray Ghost color around docks. We had a late afternoon trip to the north end of the lake where the water had a murky stain to it. We caught some small crappie casting a Dagger in 'Lectric Chicken and Cajun Cricket on 1/16th Glow jig head to brush and laydowns. The crappie were holding tight to structure in the afternoon hours anywhere from 14′ to 18′ deep. We were using bright colors and a glow jig head due to the stained water and late afternoon low light conditions. The trolling bite should be coming around in the next few weeks as the water level drops and the water temperature due to cool fall days & nights. Lord willing Team Red Rooster will bring you another report next week! We now have a years' worth of fishing reports archived on the site. Be sure to check out the archives for October 2023 and see what we were doing this time last year!

Allatoona Sunfish (Courtesy of Region 1 Fisheries Supervisor Jim Hakala) - Even though the nights are cooling, the water remains warm enough for bream to be active. With the lake level falling, the key is finding brush or other structure that is still submerged in the water, preferably 3-6 feet deep. Locate some type of cover in the back or mid-way back in a cove and the bream will be nearby. If that cover is near a creek channel, even better. A worm fished on the bottom in these areas should be the ticket for some late season bream action.

Lake Hartwell is full 70's (Courtesy of Ken Sturdivant of Southern Fishing) - Bass fishing is getting good. With the cooler air temps the water temps are starting at 74 degrees warming up to 76 degrees by the afternoon. The fish are starting shallow first thing in the morning. Try top water baits or a fluke for the first couple of hours at the shallowest part of the points or back in the pockets. Once the sun gets up start looking for the bait. The key here is to pay attention to what depth the bait is hanging out in. Once anglers' figure that out fish that depth on any points, humps, or channel swings near the bait. Key baits here are a jig or a shaky head. The other key is finding the cover in these areas especially any brush that seems to be key. Look to see where and at what depth the bait is in and that will be your starting point. With the water level continuing to fall be careful out there. Be safe and hope to see PP out on the water. Now Bass head shallow feeding on bait fish which makes them easy to target and very active. Keep moving to find the actively feeding schools and use baitfish imitation type lures.

Lake Hartwell Stripers and Hybrids (Courtesy of Guide Chip Hamilton 864 304-9011) - The end of September and beginning of October is always a transition period when fish are on the move, but at the end of September this year most of the fish were still in the main river system. In October schooling activity should increase, and some days fish will school for hours. They will also make a move into the creeks, and in general fish will be related to bait wherever it is in the creeks. Free-lines and down-lines can both work at times, and if fish are schooling topwater lures and flukes will work.

Lake Lanier Bass (Courtesy of Phil Johnson 770 366-8845) - Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good. The lake is currently less than one foot below full pool and still rising slightly. The main lake is clear while the creeks and rivers vary in how much they are stained. Last week was a tale of two conditions with the bass really feeding with the low pressure prior to the front and a slower bite once the front passed and the pressure rose. Now the bass have resumed their normal patterns for this time of year. The top water bite is good and getting better each day. Currently the bite seems to get better as the day goes on. Top water has been the primary technique over humps and long points. If there is structure present it is a bonus, but the main key is to find the shad balls. In the sun chrome has been the key color and during the cloudy times something in either white or bone has worked well. The Lip Thrasin Riser TKO, a Slickstick, a Sebile and an Ima Skimmer have worked well throughout the week. A three-ounce Spot Choker underspin with a three-inch Keitech has worked well on both the schooling fish and the suspended fish. The worm or jig bite around the docks is coming back into play also. For these two techniques either something in the green pumpkin color scheme or cinnamon pepper have worked well. The bass should begin schooling more as the water cools and the bite get even better as they feed up before winter. It's a great time to be out there so Go Catch 'Em!

Lake Lanier Stripers - Lake Lanier is down 1 foot below full pool, (Courtesy of avid angler Jack "Waterdog" Becker) The water temperature on Lake Lanier was 76.6 when I launched at Balus Ramp earlier this week. I picked a day with a forecast for low wind to take a friend fishing in hopes he would catch his first striper. We headed to Flat Creek which is easy to find even without a lake map by the big Spanish mansion on the point. The bait shop I went to was sold out of bluebacks which was a surprise since two other bait shops still had them, but they are a lot further drive from my house & I didn't have enough time to make a trip to get bait and make it to the boat ramp in time to pick up my friend so I picked up a couple dozen medium shiners. Heading further into Flat Creek we saw a lot of threadfin shad bait balls on the surface and more bait on the screen 25 to 30 feet deep than I have seen in a long time. We decided to use planer boards and free lines and only one downline.

Slow trolling at .5 to .7 mile an hour my friend caught two big channel catfish an 8-pound flat head catfish on shiners and a spotted bass on a top water silver and chrome chug-bug. The temperature was getting hot, and it was 1:30. We decided to give it 30 more minutes. We sure were glad when one of the planner boards went skimming across the water. It was only a 10 pounder, but the fight was like nothing he ever experienced in fresh water. We took pictures, released the fish and headed back to the boat ramp.

Lake Lanier Stripers (Courtesy of Buck Cannon, Buck Tails Guide Service 404 510-1778) - Lake Lanier stripers are moving north to the upper creeks and rivers. Locating the fish is only half the work, getting them to bite is another matter. Using blue backs and gizzards are the store-bought bait of choice but the amount of threadfins blowing up on the surface is a popular choice too. Planer boards weighted and unweighted flat lines have started to produce. The top water surface bite using Whopper Ploppers, Mcstick's and any type you have confidence in should be ready at all times because they don't stay up very long. To learn more about the techniques look into your local fishing clubs and get involved. Remember to wear your life jackets.

Lake Lanier Crappie (Courtesy of Captain Josh Thornton 770 530-6493) - The current water temperature is 73 degrees. You can find crappie suspended 10 to 15 feet deep over a 12-to-30-foot bottom. Crappie minnows have been the majority of the bite this week. Set minnows in a rod holder over brush or structure while casting jigs with a slow retrieval. This week I had luck with black and chartreuse color jig and a green and chartreuse hair jig. The gear I recommend for crappie fishing is a Acc crappie Stix 1 piece rod and reel with a 4- or 6-pound test K9 line, along with Garmin Live Scope and Power Pole.

Mountain Trout Fishing - Wild Trout (Courtesy of Steve Hudson) - Check out this article from GA DNR Fisheries Management friend Steve Hudson at On the Fly South. It may provide the intel you need to find a new trout stream.

Wild and Stocked Trout (Courtesy of Colt Martin, Lake Burton Hatchery Manager) - After returning from a debris team deployment to clear roads from Helene, Lake Burton Hatchery ManagerColt Martin, was ready for a relaxing day of trout fishing. He started his fishing trip at the once famed Wildcat Creek. His expectations were low because he knew the creek had not been stocked in years due to road damage. He hiked in about a half mile before he saw a pool that he could not pass up. On his first cast of a 1/8-ounce panther martin he had a take. It was a wild rainbow. As he moved upstream, he found eager wild rainbows in each pool willing to take a shot at the panther martin.

He was having fun with these little wild rainbows, but all this action had him craving trout for dinner. With no chance of catching a pan size trout in this now wild trout stream, he headed out for some leftover stockers. Colt knew if he wanted to land some holdover stockers, no better place to try than Tallulah River. After a quick ride he was back at it with his trusty panther martin. First hole and bam, quick strike, but another wild rainbow about 5 inches. He tried the same hole again and found what he was after, a nice 11-inch brown trout.

Colt knew that other browns in that hole would likely be spooked now so he moved downstream. He didn't have to go far until he found another promising hole. It wasn't long and he picked up a 12-inch rainbow and his dinner plans were set.

The takeaway is that if you want to target leftover stockers, target streams that are scheduled to receive stockings throughout the summer. If you are targeting wild fish, you have an endless number of trout streams that will produce hungry trout due to the lack of forage, but size will be always be a challenge.

October Trout (Courtesy of Georgia Wild Trout North Georgia Flyfishing and Guide Service) - Fall has arrived. Cooler morning temperatures and shorter days have allowed the trout to start moving around and begin to eat more. With the recent rains, water levels are up from the normal fall lows. This has also caused many brown trout to begin their spawning runs on many of the North Georgia tributaries. More rains should really push these trout further up as the low water can inhibit much of their progress. Be looking for these fish staging around creek confluences as they move further upstream. Dry flies continue to produce on the higher elevation streams while nymphs are a bit more productive in larger waters. Overcast days have been the days to be on the water as the bluebird/high pressure days leave the trout inactive and spooky. As fall continues, we look forward to seeing more insects emerging as the terrestrials dwindle. More prolific midge hatches have been coming off the water along with some caddis, BWOs, and PMDs in some of the North Georgia streams. If you're coming to the mountains to escape the bustle of the city, be sure to avoid the tourist heavy areas that are drawing large crowds on the weekends. Oktoberfestin Helen, along with apple picking in Ellijay, and other fall festivals in Blue Ridge, Blairsville, and Clayton can back up traffic heading to some of the best trout waters in North Georgia.

CENTRAL GEORGIA

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

RESERVOIR REPORT

This week's Central Georgia fishing report is courtesy of Ken Sturdivant's Southern Fishing report and other contributions by WRD Fisheries staff, guides, and local anglers.

CLARKS HILL IS FULL, 70'S

Bass: Bass fishing is good. The lake is low so be careful. Down Deep Husky Jerk baits along with Rapala DT10 and DT14 will get deep enough to catch the deeper bass on the ledges lake wide. Use these baits early in the morning and work them slow. Making five, six or more casts to the same area is not uncommon. These bass need to see the baits many times before they react. By using the Lowrance down Scan technology now pinpoint the exact area the bass are holding in. Start off by using the hard baits, and then switch to either a Carolina Rig or drop shot rig to finish the job. Use the slow presentations mid-day and anywhere there is some wind blowing down a bank use the Ito Vision 110 jerk bait and hits any structure.

Stocking Update (courtesy of Walton Hatchery and WRD Fisheries Tech Greg Abercrombie): This week's intermediate largemouth bass stocking went well. In all, we stocked just over 9,200 total largemouth at an average 5-inches long. All these fish were produced by the hatchery staff at Walton Hatchery. We stocked in two different locations in Cherokee Creek around the waterwillow that we had planted. Anglers will hopefully see a nice little boost in largemouth numbers in Cherokee Creek in the coming years!

Striper and Hybrids: The linesides are progressively migrating out of the deeper channels. Bait is moving shallower into the top 10-15 feet of the water column now, leading to more surface activity, and fish are relating to the sides of humps in 25-35 feet of water.

Boat Ramps Re-opened: (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Tech Greg Abercrombie): Greg reports, "Yesterday (10/16) I was able to get the Broad River and Fishing Creek ramps in Tignall cleaned up and reopened." Check out his before and after photos from the Broad River ramp-great work, Greg!

Habitat (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Biologist Aaron Gray): Mark and I collected several hundred Eelgrass (Vallisneria americana) plants from Lake Juliette. These plants will be trimmed and grown at the Walton Greenhouse for planting in Clarks Hill in 2025. These efforts are part of a Clarks Hill habitat improvement grant in coordination with USACE, GADNR, GA BASS Nation, and the Clarks Hill Committee bass clubs.

LAKE RUSSELL IS DOWN 1.7 FEET, 60'S

Bass: Bass fishing is fair. Big cold front this week. With the temperature drop of more than a few degrees it affects fishing whether it's good or bad. As these cold fronts over the next few weeks roll in fishing is great on the own set. With this front the bait will start piling up in the creeks in search of warmer water. The morning bite has been tough to figure out. Spotted bass are roaming up on the points and flats all during the day and retreating to deep water stump beds. Either way, these bass can be caught all day long. The shallow water fish can be easily caught with Bandits and Shad Raps. Try the deeper water for some of the bigger Bass. The Rapala DT10 and DT6 in shad or hot mustard slowly retrieved over heavy cover caught some bigger fish. Also try the green tiger and use a stop and go retrieve during the slow periods to trigger a strike. Carolina rigs can also be used on the ledges and deeper water structure. Zooms green pumpkin u tail worm will work all day.

Striped Bass: Significant cooling of water temperatures in October will restore quality habitat lakewide and challenge Russell's striper anglers to locate schools of schooling striper that will tend to spread out and move into shallower waters, typically less than 30 feet. Freelining blueback herring while slowly trolling around points mid-lake can be an effective tactic this time of year. Use your electronics to locate the bait and the stripers will be nearby.

Crappie: Russell's crappie are moving shallow onto brush and can be targeted with jigs or minnows. Target depths in the 15′ - 10′ range and look for large structure or brushpiles loaded with crappie.

Catfish (courtesy of anglersheadquarters.com): Guide Jerry Kotal reports that fish should move shallower this month where they can be caught on cut herring in less than 15 feet of water.

LAKE OCONEE IS FULL, 70'S

Bass: Bass fishing is good. The main lake is clear, lightly stained up the rivers. The water has cooled, and the bait and bass have move in the back of the coves and creeks. Start the day fishing a white old nelly buzz bait from the middle of the creeks and coves working their way to the back. Bass fishing is good. The main lake is clear, lightly stained up the rivers. The water has cooled, and the bait and bass have move in the back of the coves and creeks. Start the day fishing a white old nelly buzz bait from the middle of the creeks and coves working to the back. After the sun gets up change over to a small crank bait. A #7 Rapala Shad Rap in a shad pattern or a rattle trap in the same pattern fished around docks or any structure in these creeks or coves. After the sun gets up change over to a small crank bait. A #7 Rapala Shad n a shad pattern or a Rat L Trap in the same pattern fished around docks or any structure in these creeks or coves.

Linesides (courtesy of Doug Nelms with Big Fish Heads): Doug reports that the cold weather has repositions the linesides back to their familiar locations on Oconee. They have become very active since last weekend and should stay active through winter. On the last two trips, they have boated 29 and 33 fish on half-day outings. The ticket recently has been dropping spoons and trolling mini-macks, with most fish weighing around 3.5 lbs, but some larger fish are present as well.

LAKE SINCLAIR IS DOWN 1.7 FEET, 60'S

Bass: Bass fishing is fair. Big cold front this week. With the temperature drop of more than a few degrees it affects fishing whether it's good or bad. As these cold fronts over the next few weeks roll in fishing is great on the own set. Most quality bites are coming from near the mouth of coves to halfway back in coves. Blow downs, brush, stumps, and shallow dock posts have been the best targets for the last few days. Spinner baits have also fooled a lot of fish lately from the same cover. If buzz baits and spinner baits don't produce, try jigs and soft plastics around the same wood cover. A 3/8-ounce jig in black blue with a Zoom Fat Albert Twin Tail works well as a swim bait. The same jig with a Zoom Pro Chunk works well when slowly working the bait through the cover.

Bass 2:Lake Country'sJL reports that the baitfish are plentiful mid-lake up to Murder Creek in secondary channels. The fish appear to be adjusting to the sudden temp changes. The lake has dropped six degrees in the last 48 hours. No shallow bite last week, and fish were hugging the bottom on humps and ledges. Look for deep pockets with 15-20 nearby where the topwater bite is still decent in the AM. After the sun goes up, the fish move to the outer sections of docks with 10-15' close. After the early bite the noisy baits seem to die off and more quiet baits such as Flukes, creature baits, shaky head or even plastic frogs seem to work better with a subtle approach. SLOW IT DOWN WHEN THE SUN IS UP.

Linesides & More: Lake Country's JL also reported that following shad on the main lake points in early October produced 15 keepers. He fished the ledges where schools of hybrids are chasing the shad in the afternoon fishing window.

LAKE TOBESOFKEE (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Technician Amory Cook and Fisheries Biologist/Region Supervisor Hunter Roop) -

Mixed Bag Report: Fort Valley District Fisheries Tech Amory Cook and I conducted electrofishing surveys on Lake Tobesofkee near Macon last week. Water temperatures were still hanging in the upper 70s and water clarity was moderate-to-clear depending on the sampling location. Tobesofkee contains a grab bag of traditional sportfishing including largemouth bass, bream (primarily redear sunfish, bluegill, redbreast, and warmouth), crappie, channel catfish. Other species available include stocked hybrid bass and pickerel. Bass abundance is on the rise in this 1,750-acre lake, and most fish sampled were between 12″ - 20″, but some lunkers like this 22″ largemouth as present as well. Redear sunfish (aka shellcracker) were the most abundant bream species and demonstrated a variety of sizes, with most ranging between 6″ up to 10″. Fishing worms tight to the bottom around docks will put redear on the stringer this time of year and are an excellent pursuit on this reservoir. Crappie are also present in good numbers in the upper reservoir this time of year. We also netted this nice chain pickerel, I would have much preferred to have caught on a frog on topwater this time of year, but I'll leave that up to you all.

LAKE JACKSON IS DOWN 3.7 FEET, 60'S

Bass: Bass fishing is fair. Spotted bass are after the spinnerbaits on windy points. Schooling activity on high spots near main river and creek channels is improving Use the Zara Spooks, Sammy's, Sebile swim baits, a double fluke rig, Pencil Poppers and Chug Bugs. Fish them fast. On these the same locations. Tecas rigs and small works and the drop shot rigs on any brush on these points is working well for numbers of bites. All of this type of fishing should continue to improve this month. There just isn't much in the backs of pockets so concentrate on main lake and creek mouths points.

PUBLIC FISHING AREA REPORT

McDUFFIE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

• Helene flattened the fish cleaning station at McDuffie PFA!

  McDuffie PFA Information

• McDuffie PFA Fishing Guide

McDuffie PFA has re-opened for anglers! After weeks of cleanup from Helene, we are happy to announce that access (including boat ramps) to McDuffie's PFA ponds has been restored and anglers are welcome to return and enjoy fishing during this wonderful transition to fall. Some facilities including the bathrooms, campground, and central office remain closed due to storm damage; however, we have temporary bathrooms available on-site for our anglers. We look forward to seeing you back at McDuffie PFA soon and bring your own fish cleaning supplies because our fish cleaning station is currently out of commission!

Reminder: Live fish/minnows are not allowed on our PFA!

FLAT CREEK PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of Fisheries Technicians Amory Cook and Deven Thompson)

• Flat Creek PFA Information
• Water Level: 67" below full pool
• Water Clarity: 23"
• Water Temperature 67.4 F
• Flat Creek PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: With the

transition to fall, the bass bite has been finicky but successful. If you find the right bait and pattern you will catch fish. Best bets will be shad mimicking lures such as spinner baits, chatter baits and lipless crankbaits. White buzz baits, frogs, and poppers may also produce fish in low light conditions.

Bream: The bream bite has been decent this past week with good eating sized one being caught. Worms and crickets will always produce fish. Bread around fish feeders will also produce keeper sized fish.

Crappie(info courtesy of Angler Larry Brudnicki): The fall crappie bite is getting closer but has not yet kicked off although fish catches are still possible. Overnight anglers are using the dock lights and landing plentiful fish in the 8-11 inch range. Jigs seem to be the most effective in red/chartreuse and black/orange. Fishing around deeper structures during the day can definitely produce fish.

Catfish: Despite cooling temperatures, the catfish have still been around. Fishing chicken livers and cut bait on the bottom will be your best bet. Anglers have been reporting 15-20 pound catfish being caught; however, we have yet to see photos. If you catch one of these memorable fish please share your photos!

ATTENTION ANGLERS: Flat Creek PFA staff are conducting an annual angler (creel) survey on the lake this year. If you are approached by a PFA staff member after your fishing trip, please take a moment to answer their questions and share information about your fishing success (or, lack of success, whichever may be the case). These surveys are a valuable management tool that can improve our understanding of the fishery and ultimately improve fishing quality on the reservoir.

MARBEN PUBLIC FISHING AREA (courtesy of WRD Fisheries Technician Jacob Landry)

• Marben PFA Information
• Water Level: All the ponds are full or nearly full with the exception of Otter, Lower Raleigh, Little Raleigh, and Upper Raleigh. Margery is under renovation and closed till further notice.
• Water Clarity: Clarity varies but most water bodies have up to 23-26" visibility.
• Surface Temp: mid-60s.
• Marben PFA Fishing Guide

Bass: Bass are moving into shallower water as the temperatures decrease this month. Bass will respond well to spinner baits and crank baits this time of year.

Crappie: The crappie have not moved to shallow water yet. Fishing over suspended brush is your best bet. Use jigs tipped with minnows or a "search-style" bait such as a curly tail jig.

Bream: Bluegill and some shellcracker are being caught on or near the bottom. Red wigglers and wax worms are a good choice for bait.

Other: Shad have recently been moving into shallower water. Shad-style lures would likely be good for both largemouth and hybrids. Using soft plastics, crank baits, jerk baits, and live bait have produced good results for harvest.

MISCELLANEOUS REPORT

Fish and Learn: Region 3 staff from Marben PFA and McDuffie Environmental Education Centerspent the weekend with Charlie Elliot Wildlife Centerstaff to conduct the annual Fish-n-Learn. Eleven families from throughout the state spent the weekend learning about the tradition of fishing, fish biology and identification, fishing techniques, and how to prepare and cook their catch. All the kids participating caught fish, many for their very first time! These families left equipped with the knowledge of how to fish and are looking forward to testing their new-found skills and fishing equipment in their local waters. If you know a family that would like to participate in the next Fish and Learn program, learn more at GeorgiaWildlife.com/mcduffie-environmental-education-center.

McDuffie Environmental Education Center: The MEEC staff were invited to host an education and craft event for children and their families in the town of Dearing as school was still closed due to storm damage. Children and parents interacted with Kimberly and a MEEC volunteers, learning about Georgia wildlife with the animal skins and live snakes. Children especially enjoyed making bug jars and homemade slime! The MEEC also visited Mary Willis Library in Washington and provided a program for Pre-K children. Topics included camouflage design, entomology, reptiles, and of course the mammal furs were a hit with the little ones. MEEC staff helped the rest of the week with continuing clean-up of storm damage to the McDuffie PFAand Hatcherysite. To learn more about the MEEC and how they can serve your central Georgia community, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/mcduffie-environmental-education-center.

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA

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

I didn't get many reports from freshwater, but the saltwater reports were fantastic this week. The Okefenokee, St Marys River, ponds, and saltwater are the places to fish right now.

River gages on October 17th were:

• Clyo on the Savannah River - 6.5 feet and falling
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee - 4.0 feet and steady
• Doctortown on the Altamaha - 10.0 feet and falling
• Waycross on the Satilla - 10.7 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla - 11.7 feet and falling
• Statenville on the Alapaha - 12.9 feet and falling
• Macclenny on the St Marys - 4.2 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee - 7.3 feet and falling

Last quarter moon is October 24th. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website. For the latest marine forecast, check out weather.gov/jax/.

SATILLA RIVER

I fished the extreme lower Satilla on Sunday evening for striped bass. I got a nice one to eat a 3-inch chartreuse pearl Keitech swimbait on an 1/8-oz. Zombie Eye Jighead, but it shook its head, stripped off drag, and made a run around the cover before breaking me off. Another angler putting shrimp on the bottom caught some nice white catfish. He said that he caught an 8-pound keeper striped bass the previous Friday evening, so there are some nice stripers around in the lower rivers right now.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

The Okefenokee entrances are all back open after being closed around Hurricanes Helene and Milton. There are very few trees down, and I was able to check the east side (Folkston entrance) on Friday with my wife, Teresa. It basically looked exactly the same as before Hurricane Helene - we were shocked! We mostly just rode around, but we fished for about an hour. We trolled the canal and fooled 5 bowfin to 4 pounds with fire tiger-chartreuse blade and lemon-lime Dura-Spins. We then anchored up and cast cut flier on one of my new prototype weedless hooks and caught the biggest of the day - a 5-pounder. The flowers are getting spectacular, as usual in October. The most recent water level (Folkston side) was 121.36 feet.

LOCAL PONDS

I didn't receive any reports this week from pond anglers. These cooler temperatures should get the crappie chewing!

SALTWATER (GA COAST)

Saltwater fishing has been great this week on the days folks could get out, but the wind forecast, and the big tides are pretty nasty for this weekend!

Blake Edwards and I fished out of our own boats but near each other on Monday. We did pretty well for trout first thing, catching about 20 of the specks on perch-colored 3.5-inch Keitechs rigged on 3/16-oz. Zombie Eye Jigheads and suspended underneath Equalizer Floats. Our biggest was 18 inches, and we caught about 2 throwbacks for each keeper. We switched to targeting redfish once the tide got off the shells, and we slammed them pretty good. We had about 2 dozen of the spottails - mostly by pitching live shrimp on Redfish Wrecker Jigheads (both 3/16-oz., 3/0 and 3/8-oz., 5/0 models). Blake had a couple bait-stealers peck the live shrimp and get it, so he threaded a tougher Gulp shrimp on the hook and got a couple redfish to take it. After I ran out of shrimp, I bounced rootbeer 4-inch Keitech swimbaits on a 1/4-oz. Zombie Eye Jighead on the bottom and caught a half-dozen oversized fish. Along the way, Blake fooled a big 20-inch class flounder that jumped out of the net and got away. We also had 3 big black drum that were invited to a fish fry in Waycross. It was an awesome trip, and Blake caught, tagged, and released his personal best redfish - a 26-incher! Seth Carter fished the Brunswick area on Saturday and caught at least 40 trout (mostly shorts). Brandon and Richard Young fished the Brunswick area this weekend. Despite the wind, they hammered the trout and redfish - catching over 100 fish (released most of them) in a 3-hour span. Their biggest redfish was a 29-inch bull, and they also had a 30-inch class black drum come off right at the boat. They caught their fish on live shrimp under a popping cork and rootbeer-chartreuse paddle tails on 1/4-oz. jigheads (after they ran out of shrimp). Capt. Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) said the bite was off the chain on Saturday. They used Rapala X-Raps and Fourseven Lures plastics (agitator color) to fool over 100 fish total that day. The bite slowed on Sunday, but they still had one limit of trout and 20 slot reds along with a couple bull reds. The bite remained good Monday and dropped off a little Tuesday with trout, reds, and a few flounder and black drum mixed in. Wednesday, he teamed up with another guide and between them caught 30 bull redfish. Capt. Greg Hildreth (georgiacharterfishing.com) said that he's been crushing the bull redfish this week. He fished for trout Wednesday and caught 35 (16 keepers) on live shrimp under Harper Super Striker Floats. Shrimp have been moving a bunch toward the sounds with this cooler weather. Flounder have been lower in numbers but huge in size. One angler targeting flatties reported catching three over 23 inches this week on live bait. The bite on the St. Simons Pier has been hit-and-miss. Ed Zmarzly caught a doormat 7.3-pound flounder from the pier before the hurricanes. Monday there wasn't much going on, but an angler did catch a big 25-inch seatrout on a live pinfish. Ed took his young nephews fishing on the pier this week, and they caught big bull redfish just about as big as they are. Lots of redfish have been caught from other piers, and a few sheepshead and black drum have been lurking, as well. After your next trip to the Georgia coast, drop off your fish carcasses in the freezer at the Waycross Fisheries Office at 108 Darling Avenue. The Coastal Resources Division collects most inshore saltwater species so that they can determine age and growth for each species. All the supplies and information cards are in the freezer. Filet your fish then drop off the carcasses in the freezer. Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle in Brunswick is now open every day. On Mon-Thursday their hours are 6:30-10am and 2 to 5pm and Friday through Saturday from 6:30am to 5pm, and Sunday 6am to 5pm. They have plenty of lively shrimp and also have live worms and crickets for freshwater. They're on Hwy 303 just north of Hwy 82. For the latest information, contact them at 912-223-1379.

Blog Contributer Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in southeast Georgia and makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check his lures out at Bert's Jigs and Things on Facebook. For a copy of his latest catalog, call or text him at 912-288-3022 or e-mail him ([email protected]).

SOUTHWEST GEORGIA

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

BIG LAZER PUBLIC FISHING AREA

• Big Lazer PFA Information at GeorgiaWildlife.com/big-lazer-creek-pfa
• Surface water temperature: 75° F
• Water visibility: Visibility is about 19"
• Water Level: full pool
• Big Lazer PFA Fishing Guide

Largemouth bass fishing is fair right now but there have been a few decent catches reported. When targeting bass, try shad as well as other fish look-alike baits at a variety of depths. In cooler waters, try slowing down your plastic baits to increase chances for bites.

Bream fishing is generally good this time of year and that trend should continue with the cooler water temperatures. Woody structures in shallower water all around the lake are good target areas. Live bait such as crickets and worms are extremely productive.

The water is still warm enough that catfish are biting fairly well. Channel catfish are located throughout most of the lake but for best results try locating the channel in the upper end of the lake or the rip rap along the dam.

** With hunting season in full swing, you may notice a dip in fishing pressure around the lake. This could be very beneficial to the more dedicated fisherman.

SILVER LAKE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

• Silver Lake PFA Information at GeorgiaWildlife.com/silver-lake-pfa

Silver lake surface temps are in the mid to upper 70s. We have seen some 6+ pounder bass fooled by large swimbaits and jigs on deep water structure and humps. Crappie are schooling on standing timber in 10+ feet of water with the occasional pound bluegill being caught along with the crappie.

FLINT RIVER

Flows are back to normal after Hurricane Helene. Water temps are cooling off and fishing is picking up. White bass fishing is good below the Lake Blackshear Dam. Fish small topwater lures or small jerk baits. White bass aren't large, but the action can be fast and furious, and they pull good on light tackle. Remember that striped bass season is still closed below Albany Dam. The river temperatures are cooling off and striped bass may be encountered but cannot be harvested. Bass fishing will be picking up with the cooler temperatures. Fish will be more aggressive, so use topwater lures and jerk baits for some fast action.

CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER

The Lower Chattahoochee River flows have regulated back near normal. Catfish have been caught in deeper bends recently. Crappie fishing is picking up also. Target blowdowns and brush piles in deeper river sections. Striped bass season is still closed south from Columbia Lock and Dam.

LAKE BLACKSHEAR

Lake conditions are almost back to normal this week, with the water clearing up a fair bit. Fishing reports of good crappie bites are coming in with this cooler weather. Some folks are having luck finding them around brush piles using sparkly jigs, while others are finding them by trolling around 8-12 ft of water.

LAKE SEMINOLE (Report courtesy of Captain Paul Tyre with Lake Seminole Fishing Adventures and Georgia Outdoor News) - Capt. Paul Tyre, with Lake Seminole Fishing Adventures, reports, "The bass fishing on Lake Seminole has been excellent this fall with the arrival of cooler weather and falling water temperatures. The bass, stripers and hybrids are feeding up for the winter. The big largemouth have been feeding heavily on bream, while the schooling bass are feeding on shad. We have been catching bass on a variety of lures from topwater to moving baits. A buzzbait has been generating some explosive strikes! The crappie have been schooling up in 15 to 20 feet of water. November is an excellent month to catch some big crappie as the water temperature continues to cool down."

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