Georgia fishing trips for each month of the year
JAN,- Rating: GOOD Species: Crappie Place: Lake Sinclair
Tips: The warm water in Beaverdam Creek makes crappie feed in January. Troll jigs and live minnows from the mouth of the creek to the upper end for a mess of good eating fish.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Largemouths Place: Lake Seminole
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Yellow Perch Place: Savannah River
FEB,- Rating: Good Species: Walleye Place: Carters Lake
Tips: Fish live earthworms, shad and leaches on bait rigs off rocky points on the main lake in deep water. The best fishing will be at night.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Red Drum Place: Coast
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Hybrids Place: Lake Thurmond
MAR,- Rating: Excellent Species: Spotted Bass Place: Lake Lanier
Tips: Big spots move shallow in March and can be caught on a variety of baits. Try spinnerbaits and jerkbaits on rocky points on the main lake. Wind blowing on them helps.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Channel Cats Place: Walter George
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Crappie Place: Lake Thurmond
APR,- Rating: Excellent Species: Largemouths Place: Lake West Point
Tips: Largemouth spawn in April and you can sight fish for some of the biggest bass on the lake. Try the clearer water on the lower lake. Also throw a buzzbait around cover.
No. 2 Rating: Excellent Species: Bluegill Place: Lake Seminole
No. 3 Rating: Good Species: Smallmouth Place: Lake Blue Ridge
MAY,- Rating: Excellent Species: Shellcracker Place: Lake Thurmond
Tips: Fish red wigglers on the bottom around shellbeds from Little River Marina to Raysville Bridge. Anchor in six feet of water and cast out several rods all around the boat.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Dolphin Place: Offshore
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Largemouths Place: Lake Harding
JUNE,- Rating: Excellent Species: Largemouths Place: Lake Weiss
Tips: Head up the Coosa River and pitch a jig to the abundant wood cover along the old river channel. Use heavy tackle, you will hook some quality fish in rough places.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Redbreast Place: Ogeechee River
No. 3 Rating: Fair Species: Rainbows Place: Waters Creek
JUL,- Rating: Excellent Species: Flatheads Place: Altamaha River
Tips: Huge flatheads are caught in deep water in the bends of the river. Anchor your boat upstream of a hole in an outside bend and fish live bream on the bottom.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Spotted Bass Place: Carters Lake
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Shoal Bass Place: Flint River
AUG,- Rating: Good Species: Tarpon Place: Coast
Tips: Tarpon move into coastal rivers and sounds to spawn in the summer. You can spot them surfacing and cast big plugs or live menhaden to them to catch 100 pound plus fish.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Largemouths Place: High Falls
No. 3 Rating: Good Species: Bluegill Place: McDuffie PFA
SEP,- Rating: Fair Species: Redeye Bass Place: Hartwell
Tips: Redeye school up on the big water on the lower lake and this is your best bet for catching one. Look for action over deep open water and work your bait fast.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Spotted Bass Place: Allatoona
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Gar Place: Lake Thurmond
OCT,- Rating: Excellent Species: Red Drum Place: Coast
Tips: Mullet migrate to the Georgia surf in October and big reds follow. This one of the best times for surf fishing with live finger mullet from the beach for bull drum.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Spotted Bass Place: Lake Burton
No. 3 Rating: Good Species: Largemouths Place: Goat Rock
NOV,- Rating: Excellent Species: Crappie Place: Lake Oconee
Tips: Fish the standing timber plots and troll channel breaks with jigs and live shiner minnows for fall crappie. They are plentiful and big at Oconee this month.
No. 2 Rating: Good Species: Largemouths Place: Lake Blackshear
No. 3 Rating: Excellent Species: Brown Trout Place: Chattahoochee River
DEC,- Rating: Excellent Species: Stripped Bass Place: Lake Thurmond
Tips: Big stripers move shallow in the cooler water. Trolling live blueback herring in very shallow water will produce some trophy size stripers.
No. 2 Rating: Excellent Species: Spotted Bass Place: Jackson Lake
No. 3 Rating: Good Species: Hybrids Place: West Point
Few states offer the variety of salt and freshwater fish that Georgia waters hold. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources lists state records for 40 species of freshwater fish, some as old as 1932 and some as recent as 2005. Add to that the 53 record saltwater fish and you get a good idea of the variety of fish in Georgia waters.
And Georgia has lots of water for you to fish. From tiny streams in north Georgia holding native brook trout to reservoirs and rivers with trophy catfish, all Georgians are within a short drive of good freshwater fishing. If it is saltwater you like you can choose small creeks in the marshes or go offshore to troll for huge billfish.
JANUARY
Crappie:
Lake Sinclair
What to Expect: Crappie school up and move into Beaverdam Creek following the shad and warmer water. You can catch good numbers of fish as well as some slabs. Sinclair is in the middle of the state and is easily accessible for many fishermen.
How To: Troll small jigs and live minnows at different depths until you find where the fish are holding, then concentrate all your baits at that depth. Put out several rods to cover as much area as possible. Watch for baitfish and bigger fish suspended under them if you have a depthfinder and work the area they are in carefully.
Contacts: Little River Marina – 478-452-1605
Options: Seminole is far enough south that some largemouth bed in January in warmer winters. Most of the fish will be pre spawn so throw Rattletraps around hydrilla on lower lake flats. Fish fast and cover a lot of area until you find the fish.
Yellow perch run up the Savannah River in the winter and concentrate below the Thurmond Dam. Fish small jigs and live minnows from a boat or the fishing piers to fill your freezer with these tasty fish, there is no limit.
FEBRUARY
Walleye:
Carters Lake
What to Expect: Walleye are a favorite food fish in northern states and they like cold, deep water here. Carters has it in February and is one of the few Georgia lakes where you can catch good numbers of them.
How To: Walleye school up on deep rocky points and will hit live earthworms, leaches and jigs. The best fishing for them is at night. Drop your bait down to the bottom in 20 to 35 feet of water on main lake points and fish it slowly. Walleye bite very gently so be ready to set the hook at any resistance.
Contacts: Bart’s Bait and Tackle – 706-253-2248
Options: Red drum are in coastal waters year round and can be caught during the winter. Fish the black mud flats near shell beds in coastal rivers and marshes for big bull drum with live shrimp and jigs.
Hybrids feed good all winter long and Thurmond is and excellent lake for them. Use live blueback herring or spoons on main lake points.
MARCH
Spotted Bass:
Lake Lanier
What to Expect: Magnum spots move shallow getting ready to spawn at Lanier this month. They are active and chasing bait, and it is early enough that the boat traffic is not quite as bad as it gets later. Some say the next record spotted bass is swimming in Lanier right now and March is a good time to catch it.
How To: Throw white spinnerbaits and chrome jerk baits on main lake rocky points and humps at the mouths of spawning creeks. Fish a lot of different places to find the bigger fish. Wind blowing in on the points and humps makes them much better.
Contacts: Guide Ryan Coleman – 770-356-4136
Options: Warmer waters in Lake Walter George means channel cats are feeding and getting ready to spawn. Fish at night along river and channel edges with live or cut bait.
The button bushes at Thurmond are full of big crappie in late March. Dabble live minnows or jigs in them to catch a limit.
APRIL
Largemouths:
West Point Lake
What to Expect: Warming water in April moves largemouth to the banks to spawn at West Point. The flats on the lower lake will hold large numbers of bass all month long. They will hit many different baits, making this one of the easiest months of the year to catch them.
How To: Run flats and secondary points back in coves with Rattle Traps and Carolina rigs to find fish, then slow down and fish the same baits to catch numbers. Don’t hesitate to throw a topwater lure. West Point Largemouth love a buzzbait in April.
Contacts: Robbie Nichols – Southern Harbor Marina –
334-644-3881
Options: Bream are bedding on Seminole and big bluegill fill the shallows. Look for beds on sandy flats and fish crickets and Mepps #2 spinners around them.
Your best bet to catch a Georgia smallmouth is on Lake Blue Ridge. Try small crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic worms around shoreline cover on rocky banks.
MAY
Shellcracker:
Lake Thurmond
What to Expect: Thurmond, known as Clarks Hill to most Georgians, is full of big shellcracker. They feed year round on the mussel beds but are easiest to catch in May during the spawning cycle. Most of your catch will be in the 1/2 to 3/4 pound range but bigger fish are caught regularly.
How To: Anchor your boat in about six feet of water on a shellbed anywhere in the Georgia Little River arm of the lake. Cast several lines with a #6 hook tied 6 inches below a split shot and baited with a gob of red wigglers. Let your bait sit on the bottom with a tight line to watch for bites. When you catch a good fish, cast other lines to that area.
Contacts: Raysville Marina – 706-595-5582
Options: Catch your own mahi-mahi, also called dolphin, off the Georgia coast. Charter a boat or take your own if it is seaworthy.
Lake Harding, also known as Bartlett’s Ferry, offers good largemouth fishing around shoreline cover with weightless worms this month.
JUNE
Largemouths:
Lake Weiss
What to Expect: Weiss offers some of the best shallow water fishing in the area this month. The Coosa River has miles of shallow flats just off the channel and the edge of the channel is covered with wood. Largemouth move into this cover and feed all month long.
How To: Run up the river to channel marker 84 and start pitching jigs to all the logs in the water. Keep you boat in the river channel and cast to the logs on the edge. Also run a spinnerbait beside all the logs. Use heavy tackle, when a five pound largemouth hits a jig and runs under a log you will need a stiff rod and strong line to pull it out.
Contacts: Guide Tony Hill – 706-517-5082
Options: Put in at any of the public ramps on the Ogeechee River and fish with crickets and earthworms for one of our prettiest sunfish. Redbreast are still abundant along shoreline wood cover on this river.
If you want to fish for a trophy Georgia rainbow trout, go to Waters Creek. You will see some huge trout, but seeing is not catching these smart, wary fish. Trophy water restrictions apply.
JULY
Flatheads:
Altamaha River
What to Expect: Every few years a new state record catfish is pulled from the Altamaha River. Since they were introduced they have grown very fast. The current rod and reel record 83 pounder was caught last year but bigger ones have been taken on limb lines. You can catch a lot of these flavorful fish and might get a new record.
How To: Fish live bream on heavy tackle in the deep holes in river bends. Anchor your boat upstream of a hole and drift a live bream down into it. Use enough lead to hold it on the bottom. For bigger cats use big bait, a three finger bream will catch eating size but you need a big bream for a record cat.
Contacts: Wayne County Tourism Board – 888-224-5983
Options: Fish at night for big spots at Carters. Join the night pot tournaments or go alone. Fish spinnerbaits and crankbaits on main lake rocky points.
Put a boat in at the Marine Ditch ramp south of Albany and fish the shoals with a topwater lure late in the day for a five pound shoal bass.
AUGUST
Tarpon:
Coast
What to Expect: Tarpon move into sounds and rivers to spawn in the summer and you can see them rolling on the surface. You have a good chance to hook one of these 100 pound plus fish this month in any of the sounds and river mouths from Savannah to Kings Bay.
How To: Catch some live menhaden, locally called pogies, with a cast net then drift them either under a big cork or free lined where you see tarpon. You need a needle sharp hook to stick in the bony mouth. For even more excitement cast a big topwater plug to visible fish. Use a heavy rod and a reel that will spool at least 200 yards of 20 pound line to have any chance of landing one.
Contacts: Miss Judy Charters – 912-897-4921
Options: Motors at High Falls are restricted to 10 horse power and boats are not allowed on the water from sunset to sunrise, but you can catch some quality bass shallow on topwater baits and worms in this 650 acre state park lake.
Bluegill bed on the full moon again this month so take some crickets and earthworms to the McDuffie PFA. Find the beds on any of the open ponds for fast action.
SEPTEMBER
Redeye Bass:
Lake Hartwell
What to Expect: This subspecies of bass is somewhat rare and you best for catching one is on Lake Hartwell. They are plentiful there and school up on top a lot this month. They are small but put up a good fight and you can add them to your list of bass species you have landed.
How To: Watch for topwater action all day long in the mouth of Lightwood Log Creek and near Portman Shoals Marina in Twenty and Six Mile Creek. Throw a Sammy, Spook or Fluke to them and work the bait fast. When one hits on a plug with two sets of hooks, fight it slowly to the boat and you can often hook a second fish. You will usually see fish following the one you hook.
Contacts: Guide Tony Moran – 706-779-2234
Options: Although some call it the Dead Sea, Georgia bass clubs report Altoona as the lake with the best catch rate in the state. Fish topwater early around rock walls then try a Spotsticker Jig and four inch worm in the same places.
For a change of pace, fray a 8 inch piece of white nylon string and tie it on a silver spoon. Cast to gar on the surface in Germany Creek for an interesting fight.
OCTOBER
Red Drum:
Georgia Coast
What to Expect: Bull red drum, also known as redfish, move into the surf in the fall as the water cools, following the mullet. You can catch them from the shore this time of year and some of the biggest fish of the year are within reach of fishermen without boats.
How To: Use surf casting rods to launch small live mullet or cut bait as far into the surf as possible. Try to find rips and current breaks and put on a sinker heavy enough to hold your bait on the bottom. Keep your line tight and be ready for a screaming run. Check your bait often and replace it as the crabs pick at it.
Contacts: Golden Isles Charter Fishing – 912-638-7673
Options: The state record spotted bass was caught in Lake Burton and the big spots are moving to the shallows to feed as the lake cools. Try a jig and pig in any wood cover and around rocks on the main lake.
Goat Rock is a small lake north of Columbus and has some quality largemouth in it. Fish the blowdowns on the river channel with a 10 inch worm or a jig and pig.
NOVEMBER
Crappie:
Lake Oconee
What to Expect: Cooling water means crappie move more shallow and bite better than they have in months. Oconee as an excellent population of slab size crappie and you can catch them all over the lake.
How To: Fish the standing timber plots with live shiner minnows and jigs. Night fishing is best early in the month but crappie hit during the day better later in the month. Tie up to a stump sticking out of the water, drop a jig or live shiner down and try different depths until you start catching fish. Start down 10 feet and go down to 20 before moving and hitting another spot. If the timber is topped out below the surface drift or troll your bait at those depths.
Contacts: Guide Al Bassett – 706-485-1280
Options: Lake Blackshear looks like largemouth heaven with all the cypress trees. Drop a Texas rigged worm or jig and pig around the bases of the trees all over the lake this month.
Big brown trout can be caught in the Chattahoochee River downstream of the Lanier Dam. Use big wet flies or small spinners in the deeper holes.
DECEMBER
Stripped Bass:
Lake Thurmond
What to Expect: Big stripers move shallow in the cold water to feed on blueback herring. Fish weighing forty pounds and more are caught each year at Thurmond. The population of big stripers is good and winter is the best time to catch them.
How To: Use planer boards to take live blueback herring in close to the rocks on main lake points. At the same time freeline live herring behind the boat in deeper water to cover a range of depths.
Contacts: Captain Dave Willard – 803-637-6379
Options: Jackson spots like the cold water in December and feed on the rocky points on the main lake. Fish small crankbaits and a jig and pig on steep rocky points from the dam to the Highway 212 bridge.
Look for gulls to point the way to hybrids schooling up on West Point. Cast bucktail jigs to them while they are on top then troll live shad or jigs in the area after they go down.
These are just a few of the trips you can take to enjoy Georgia fishing at its best this year.