Wow what a week! Hurricane Helene has changed many people’s lives, and much of the southeast is still out of power while I’m writing this.
I’m praising The Lord that I CAN write this, as the winds in the wee hours of Friday morning were unreal at our house in Waycross. Other places had it worse than we did!
Nobody reported going fishing this week (storms help us get our priorities back in line), but I’ll discuss some options below for whenever your world gets a little more back to normal.
River gages Thursday, October 3 were:
• Clyo on the Savannah River – 10.8 feet and rising
• Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 14.3 feet and rising
• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 11.7 feet and rising
• Waycross on the Satilla – 14.9 feet and rising
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 9.3 feet and rising
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 15.9 feet and rising
• Macclenny on the St Marys – 4.7 feet and falling
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 8.7 feet and falling Altamaha/Ocmulgee River – The torrid bass bite will come to an end as the floodwaters work their way downstream. The Ocmulgee and upper Altamaha are already up in the floodplain.
Catfishing in the lower river is the best option, as they usually bite well on a rising river.
St. Marys River – This is the only river in southeast Georgia that was spared the big rains. It should be very fishable for panfish, catfish, or bass – basically whatever you want to fish for.
Okefenokee Swamp – The Swamp did not get as much rain as locations west, so it is fishable. The refuge entrance on the east side is open, but Stephen C Foster State Park (west side) is closed at the time of writing this.
I have not been out yet to see where the trees are down or how far you can get up the various trails, but refuge and park staff will be working to clear blockages.
Local Ponds – If you have a local pond that you can fish, that’s the place to go.
If you don’t have a pond, the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Public Fishing Areas (PFA) are a great option, and these five are open to fishing.
In our area, they include Paradise PFA near Tifton, Dodge PFA near Eastman, Evans County PFA near Claxton, Hugh M. Gillis PFA near Dublin, and Ocmulgee PFA near Hawkinsville.
The fish are breaking out of the summer pattern and are feeding up ahead of the cold weather. You should be able to catch whatever species your favorite pond has in it.
The crappie bite should pick up significantly this month. I’ve had some really good trips for specks in October.
Saltwater (Ga. Coast) – Inshore saltwater fishing is peak in October. Trout, redfish and flounder are numerous this time of year. You should be able to catch them on shrimp or artificials – however you prefer.
First quarter moon is Thursday, October 10. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website (waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/rt). For the latest marine forecast, check out www.weather.gov/jax/.
Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in the Okefenokee Swamp and other southeast Georgia systems 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, you can download it from his website at bertsjigsandthings. com or e-mail him (bertdeener@ yahoo.com).
