Southeast Georgia Fishing Reports with Capt. Bert Diener – September 15, 2023 – Georgia Outdoor News
Jason Andrick, of Little Orleans, Maryland, visited the Okefenokee Swamp this week and enjoyed a fun fishing trip with a friend. I caught this beautiful pick while casting a catalpa-colored Okefenokee Swamp Sally with a fly rod.
The fall transition period has begun, and it’s not long before some of the best fishing of the year is underway.
Okefenokee Swamp: Jason Andrick visited the Okefenokee Swamp midweek and fished the east side. He and a friend caught 50 bowfin and pickerel (mostly bowfin) and 11 fliers. They fooled pickerel and bowfin by trolling Dura-Spins (lemon, lime and copper blade were the best colors). Posts came by throwing Catalpa Okefenokee Swamp Sallies on a fly rod and throwing Yellow Sallies under a float on bream. Jason had a nice 16 inch cat on the small fly as well. Josh Ward fished the west side of Stephen C. Foster State Park this week and caught about 30 bowfin, four of which were over 5 pounds. Their best preparation was a Dura-Spin lobster. Catfish fishing on the west side has been good, with people putting shrimp or worms on the bottom catching the most. Last water level (Folkestone side) was 120.50 feet.
Local ponds: Jimmy Zenker night fished a Valdosta area pond Saturday night and caught a 7-pound, 3-ounce fish. Bass on a Captain Black Buzzbait (quad blade). He also lost another monster fish. Tripp fished a pond in the Guyton area over the weekend and spent a good morning catching several 2- to 3-pound fish. Bass are on 4-inch Zoom Dead Ringer worms from Green Pumpkin.
Saltwater (Georgia Coast): Jay Turner fished the Savannah area on Saturday and caught a bunch of redfish from very small to very large. About half of his small fish were barely from keepers and the other half were still from bounces. There is another large category of red fish of minimum size. He also had a few nice trout and flounder. He used a redhead Zombie Eye jig and perch-colored Keitech swimbaits for his fish. Tommy Sweeney fished the Brunswick area over the weekend and caught 19 trout and nine redfish (six keepers). He fooled them with a 3/16 oz. I-Jig zombie head and green plastic. Tarpon fishing has slowed down a bit this week, but the cripple bite has picked up, said Capt. Greg Hildreth (georgiacharterfishing.com). Charters also caught a few threes this week. Flounder fishing was good this week on the St. Simons Pier. Several people have caught flounder 16 inches or longer, with the largest I’ve heard of being 22 inches. If you are interested in flounder fishing, check out the Flat Fish Fanatics Facebook page. Ed Zmarzly fished a Brunswick area pier Monday night and caught a few nice perch under the lights while casting a solid fish plug. A new bait shop in Brunswick called Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle will open Friday. They plan to be open every week from Friday to Sunday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. They will have plenty of lifelike shrimp and have live and dead bait for both freshwater and saltwater. They’re on Highway 303 just north of Highway 82 in the same location as the former J&P Bait and Tackle. For the latest information, call them at 912.223.1379.
The new moon is September 15. To monitor all Georgia River levels, visit the USGS website (waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/rt). For the latest marine forecasts, check this out www.weather.gov/jax/.
The river gauges on September 14 were:
Cleo on the Savannah River – 7.2 feet and rising
Abbeville on Okmulgee – 2.3 feet and falling
Doctortown on Altamaha – 7.1 feet and fall
Waycross on Satella – 13.0 feet and fall
Atkinson on Satella – 14.5 feet and falling
Statenville over Alapaha – 5.9 feet and falling
Macclenny on St Marys – 4.0 feet and falling
Fargo on Suwannee River – 4.4 feet and falling
Captain Bert Diener makes a variety of fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check out his magic at Bert’s Jigs and Things on Facebook. For a copy of his latest catalog, call him at 912.288.3022 or email him at (email protected).
