Peach State Autumn Bonanza
“North, East, South, West, fall fishing is the best.” If Georgia fishermen had cheerleaders, their routine might go something like that. No matter which corner of Georgia you live in there is excellent fishing near you this fall.
As the water cools, fish become more active, moving shallow and feeding. Combine that with the lowered fishing pressure and smaller numbers of pleasure boaters and fall is a fantastic time to be on the water.
The variety of fishing available to Georgia fishermen is amazing. You can target fish that pull hard, fish that are great on dinner table or a combination of the two. Freshwater, saltwater, brackish water, lakes, rivers, streams, marshes, ponds and creeks are all available to try your luck. And you can catch fish on any tackle you want to use, from cane poles to the most expensive rod and reel combos.
Some of the best fishing available to Georgia fishermen in their corner of the state might be well known to them, but you might not be aware of what you can catch if you drive to a different area. The following are some of the best fish to target and the areas to catch them in each section of the state for Georgia fishermen.
Southeast – Georgia Coast – Trout and Reds
For some of the best tasting fish anywhere, sea trout and redfish are hard to beat. And a bull red will give you all the fight your tackle can handle. The Georgia coast offers some of the best fishing there is for these species and they are often found feeding in the same areas.
Comer Gheesling ran Little River Marina and Chobys Landing Restaurant on Lake Sinclair for years. He went to the coast to catch trout for his restaurant when the limit was higher and he could bring back enough to sell. He liked that fishing so much that he retired and moved to the coast so he could enjoy fishing for trout and reds all the time.
From Savannah to Cumberland Island our coast is laced with sounds, rivers and creeks. As the water cools trout and reds move from the deeper saltwater into more shallow areas to feed. Comer loves to take advantage of this fishing and has learned places and methods to catch them. He says fall is one of the best times to be on the water.
You can use any 18 to 24 foot boat with a reliable motor for this kind of fishing but a flats boat or similar type boat is best. A shallow draft boat that can get you to the shell bars and other structure where the fish feed, and get you out of the area when you need to leave, is needed. You can use a bass boat but Comer says the mud will be in your carpet from now on.
Comer likes a baitcasting reel loaded with Power Pro braid in 20 to 40 pound test for reds and trout fishing. The reel can handle any of the fish you will catch and the braid works best around the oyster and barnacle shells that can cut mono. Team this up with a seven food medium-heavy rod and you are ready.
For bait use live shrimp and jigs like the Sassy Shad or other shrimp imitations. A cork keeps the bait off the bottom and in the feeding range of the fish. Most of your fishing will be drifting the bait past feeding fish so you don’t have to make long casts.
“Moving water is the key,” Comer said. There is a six foot tide twice a day on the Georgia coast and they control the fishing. A falling tide is best for reds and a rising tide best for trout, but both can be caught on a either tide. Find structure that has water moving on it and you will find the fish.
Structure on the coast means shell beds more than anything else. Oyster bars are excellent and all kinds of fish feed around them. Pilings also hold fish. The key is to find either type place with a rip current moving past it and the fish will feed when the water is moving.
Comer likes to anchor up current from the structure and let his bait drift naturally down stream past the feeding area. The current will carry your bait right to the waiting trout and reds since they position themselves to watch for food being washed along. Hooking a trout takes practice and skill and reds sometimes will jerk the rod out of your hand but other times they can be finicky in their bite, too.
The best time to find shell bars and pilings to fish is when the tide is low and you can see the structure. You can sometimes see the redfish feeding then, too. If you see reds feeding, cast to them for some fast action. Find structure and be ready when the tide starts coming in to fish it. A few hours later you can go back and position your boat on the opposite end to fish the same structure as the tide falls.
It takes some time to learn this type of fishing and your learning curve will be much steeper if you go with someone who knows how to catch them. But if you have patience and take time to learn the tides and how the water moves over structure, and find places to fish, you can catch them.
Be careful. You are not the top of the food chain in salt water and many fishermen have spent long hours stranded in shallow water waiting on the rising tide to float their boat again. If stranded at night you will be amazed at the numbers of blood sucking insects that live there. Watch the water and pay attention to what is going on when fishing on the coast.
Southwest – Flint River – Shoal Bass
Floating the lower Flint River for shoal bass is Georgia’s version of fishing for smallmouth in rivers and fall is an excellent time to catch them. Bigger fish start feeding more as the water cools and all of the fish are hungry and active now. When you hook a shoal bass you can’t help but grin at the fight it will put up.
Ed Lane lives in Albany and works at Albany Lincoln Mercury. He started fishing the Flint in 1976 and has explored most of its secrets from the Lake Blackshear dam to the upper reaches of Lake Seminole. He loves to catch big shoal bass and fall is one of his favorite times to find them.
Floating the river is good way to fish it and you can use small boats and motors to fish and move around as the current carries you down stream. Ed likes a bigger boat and motor so he can also go upstream and not limit himself to where the current carries him, but he knows the river and can run it.
You can choose the length of a float trip by where you put in and take out. It takes all day to float from the Blackshear dam to the next ramp downstream. You can fish for about six hours by putting in at the DNR Marine Ditch ramp and floating to “Punks” landing, a private ramp. Downstream of there the launches are far apart and you need to learn how to come back upstream after floating down unless you plan on camping.
Shoal bass hold on the rocks in the middle of the river and feed on passing crawfish and baitfish. As the water cools they feed more actively and you can catch them on a variety of baits. Ed loves to throw a Pop-R for them and see the hit on top, and October is a good month for topwater action.
Another good bait is a jerkbait like the Rapala X-Rap. Work it with the current and make it flash and shoal bass have a hard time ignoring it. Ed will also Texas rig a Zoom Speed Worm in Junebug red on a 3/16 ounce lead and fish it around the rocks for shoalies.
“Rocks are the key to catching shoal bass, I don’t think I ever caught a shoal bass unless I was within sight of rocks,” Ed said. Fish the rocky shoal areas then motor to the next one for the best action.
In the fall the river is usually low and clear, making it easier to fish. You can see the rocks and fish them better. Use the current to make your bait move naturally. casting upstream or across the current when possible. This time of year the current should be slow enough to give you time to make a couple of casts before moving past a target.
Ed says he catches a five pound shoal bass on almost every trip this time of year, and it is not unusual to catch more then 20 bass in a six hour trip. The action is fast and the bass fight hard. The river is very pretty and not crowded in the fall. It is a excellent way to spent time fishing right now.
The rocks in the Flint not only hold shoal bass, they eat motor lower units, so be careful when fishing it. The current can be dangerous, too. A small boat can be swept under overhanging limbs and capsized or crushed against rocks. Watch what you are doing on the Flint until you learn it.
Northwest – Lake Weiss – Crappie
Georgia fishermen will need an Alabama fishing license on most of Lake Weiss, but it is worth it to take advantage of the fall bonanza of slab crappie feeding now. They have moved shallow from their deeper summer holes and are fattening up for the winter. You can fill up the freezer with some of our best eating fish right now at Weiss.
Roger Buttram works for the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department and lives within 15 minutes of Weiss, where he guides. He says fall is the best time of year to catch big crappie on the lake and they are shallow, making them easier to catch and a wall hanger crappie is a good possibility. “If you have caught crappie at Weiss in the spring, look for them in the same places in the fall,” Roger said. The reverse is also true. If you find a good spot for crappie at Weiss now it will be good again next spring. You can pattern the fish and catch them consistently.
Roger targets docks, brush piles, riprap, shallow humps and stumps in the fall. Some of the best areas of the lake are Cowan Creek, Little River, Yellow Creek and the Coosa River. He uses small tube jigs one to 1 1/2 inches long and will experiment with the colors to see what the fish want. Some of his best colors are black/white, blue/white, chartreuse/silver glitter and red/chartreuse.
The Mister Twister jig is a good one and Roger likes the 1/32 ounce size. If fishing brush he gets the jig heads with the fiber weed guard. It works much better than the metal weed guard on some jigs.
“Stay near deep water,” Roger advises. Find cover in shallow water but with deep water nearby and you are more likely to find the crappie. He gave the example of fishing docks in six to eight feet of water but with 10 to 12 feet of water in front of them.
You can catch fall crappie at Weiss by exploring on your own, but Roger will guide you to them much quicker. You can call him at 256-504-6794 for a guided trip.
Northeast – Lake Hartwell – Hybrids and Stripers
Hybrids and stripers are some of our hardest fighting freshwater fish and they are schooling and active now. The cooler weather has made them search for food and they will be one the move. You can spot them on top tearing up schools of shad and herring much more often now than during the summer, and they are feeding most of the day.
Hartwell is a big lake at 56,000 acres but Georgia and South Carolina stock almost a million hybrids and stripers in it each year. The blueback herring in Hartwell are a favorite food and the hybrids and stripers grow fat on them. The record striper caught at Hartwell weighed 59 pounds 8 ounces and 40 pounders are common. Five pound hybrids are common and eight pounders are caught often.
Fall is a great time to catch stripers and hybrids on top at Hartwell. Ride the big water near the dam and watch for gulls diving on feeding fish. When you see the splashes get close enough to cast but don’t run through them. Throw a big topwater plug like a Zara Spook or pencil popper to them and work it fast.
After the school goes down you can often find them holding suspended off points and humps. Troll a deep diving plug or a curly tail jig at the depth they are holding to pick up more fish. You can also get right on top of them and jig a spoon in the school.
It is hard to beat live herring for bait for stripers and hybrids at Hartwell, especially suspended fish. Many stores around the lake carry them or you can net your own. You need a round aerated tank to keep them alive. Hook a seven inch herring through the eyes or behind the dorsal fin. Use a 2/0 hook Carolina rigged with a one ounce sinker above a swivel with a two foot leader. Drop it down to the schools of fish and the herring won’t last long.
Look for points and humps in the mouth of Powderbag Creek, Lightwood Log Creek, Sadlers Creek, Reed Creek and the Seneca River for hybrids and stripers. A good depthfinder will help you find the fish and stay on them. If you see the fish holding suspended off the structure they are harder to catch but if they are in contact with the bottom they are actively feeding and are easier to catch.
Use tackle that will handle a big striper since you are apt to hook into a 40 pounder at any time. A baitcasting reel spooled with 15 to 20 pound line matched with a seven foot rod will help you fight a big hybrid or striper. Be prepared to follow a big striper with your boat or it will take all your line and then break it.
No matter which way you go in Georgia the fishing is good in the fall. Choose something close to home or drive to a new area for different kinds of fishing. Sample the excellent fall fishing in all the corners of the state for a variety of fish and ways to catch them.