# Fishing the Okefenokee



## JHannah92 (Jan 29, 2009)

Thinking about taking a trip out there this year. Anyone fish it?  How is it?  I've never been, just want to know what to expect.  Thanks.


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## dpoole (Jan 29, 2009)

Mosquitoes   big and numerous !!!!


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## JHannah92 (Jan 29, 2009)

Noted...how about the fish? They big and numerous also?


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## FERAL ONE (Jan 29, 2009)

roostertails and trickworms will catch all the jacks fliers and mudfish you want !!! it is a blast. make sure to use a mono bite leader to protect against the teeth.  the  yellowflies are worse than the red cross, they take more than a pint at a time !!!


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## jonkayak (Jan 30, 2009)

> roostertails



x2 take lots of them. Also watch your hands when you bring a fish canoe (boat) side as the occasional gator will sneak up on you. For that sake take a net, the mud fish aka bowfin have a mouth full of teeth so DON'T try to LIP THEM.


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## FERAL ONE (Jan 30, 2009)

jonkayak said:


> x2 take lots of them. Also watch your hands when you bring a fish canoe (boat) side as the occasional gator will sneak up on you. For that sake take a net, the mud fish aka bowfin have a mouth full of teeth so DON'T try to LIP THEM.



great advice !!! forgot about the gators !!!


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## jonkayak (Jan 30, 2009)

We had a few sleigh rides from gators grabbing the bowfin before we got them in the boat. At first it was scary but after the first 2 or 3 times it was just neat. Then it becomes annoying.


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## FERAL ONE (Jan 30, 2009)

at the landing my son ethan  (GAR KID) had a jack on and a gator came after the fish.  ethan ran with the rod and the gator was up on the dry land runnin' with him !!!  i jumped the canoe and grabbed my push pole and sort of jousted that lizard in the nose.  would have made a great video !!! 

by the way, folks say you can fish whatever color rooster tail you want as long as it is yellow !!!   we had good luck on white too though .....


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## jonkayak (Jan 30, 2009)

FERAL ONE said:


> at the landing my son ethan  (GAR KID) had a jack on and a gator came after the fish.  ethan ran with the rod and the gator was up on the dry land runnin' with him !!!  i jumped the canoe and grabbed my push pole and sort of jousted that lizard in the nose.  would have made a great video !!!
> 
> by the way, folks say you can fish whatever color rooster tail you want as long as it is yellow !!!   we had good luck on white too though .....



  

On one trip down there we had a guy fall out of the canoe in about 3' of water as they were beaching the canoe and someone screamed gator and I swear that guy walked on water to get out of there.  I have some great memories of that place.


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## ThatredneckguyJamie (Jan 30, 2009)

mudfish on light tackle are great fun...and in my experience they will eat anything present...they are LOADS of fun on a fly rod but it can get a little tight for casting in some places


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## Twenty five ought six (Jan 30, 2009)

Look for a Snagless Sally.  Great lure for fishing the swamp.

Warmouth are the big target fish.  Drag the ditches for crawfish, or get some red wigglers, and fish the stumps and cypress knees.


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## vin-man (Jan 30, 2009)

Camped and fished from Stephen Foster SP. Fish the cypress knees, with wigglers, and jumpers for brim. Beautiful colored fish, and real good eating. If you are camping, keep your food sealed up. At about dark, the racoons will make an apperance begging for food.


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## huntingonthefly (Jan 30, 2009)

Jackfish are the funnest and the best eating- pretty white flaky meat. Stop at Winges in Waycross or Elmos in Douglas. Buy you a large roostertail called a JackKiller- awesome. Other roostertails are good too. Fish them medium fast to fast. For some real excitement troll a jointed Rebel minnow plug behind your boat-- very fast- almost wide open with our 9.9. Use your trolling motor on high if that's all u have.The jacks will rush out into the wake to feed on disorientend and churned up food. The flash, vibration, and speed triggers them. You can load the boat up on the warmer days. For warmouth and fliers- carry u a pole with a Yellow Sally- awesome. In recent years I catch more quality warmouth and flier on a large worm such as a Florida Pink or Big Red. #6 hook, small sinker 8'' up the line (6 lb. test) on a good spincast reel and small whippy rod. NO CORK. Don't ball the worm up- let 'em hang-only hooking a couple of times. Kinda fish it like u would bass- just pitch it around cover and the edges- they can't stand that tantalizing slow fall. Been right behind other boats dropping corks catching nothing and us wearing em out- big ones too. For the best little eatin' catfish in the world- use small cuts of shrimp- fish in the moving water or in the Suwanee nearby- they bite year-round- high or low water. We stay at the Gator motel in Fargo-cheap and a nice little rest. across the street. We alternate fishing the Suwanee, the Sill and Stephen Foster. 1 of the three will definitely load your coolers if not all. We always go in late April thru early June. I don't know why but we don't have much problem with the yellow flies- but carry your thermacells and 100% deet with u- a little dab does us.


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## JHannah92 (Jan 30, 2009)

Thanks.  I'm gonna give it a whirl sometime this spring.


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## Old Dead River (Jan 31, 2009)

huntingonthefly said:


> Jackfish are the funnest and the best eating- pretty white flaky meat. Stop at Winges in Waycross or Elmos in Douglas. Buy you a large roostertail called a JackKiller- awesome. Other roostertails are good too. Fish them medium fast to fast. For some real excitement troll a jointed Rebel minnow plug behind your boat-- very fast- almost wide open with our 9.9. Use your trolling motor on high if that's all u have.The jacks will rush out into the wake to feed on disorientend and churned up food. The flash, vibration, and speed triggers them. You can load the boat up on the warmer days. For warmouth and fliers- carry u a pole with a Yellow Sally- awesome. In recent years I catch more quality warmouth and flier on a large worm such as a Florida Pink or Big Red. #6 hook, small sinker 8'' up the line (6 lb. test) on a good spincast reel and small whippy rod. NO CORK. Don't ball the worm up- let 'em hang-only hooking a couple of times. Kinda fish it like u would bass- just pitch it around cover and the edges- they can't stand that tantalizing slow fall. Been right behind other boats dropping corks catching nothing and us wearing em out- big ones too. For the best little eatin' catfish in the world- use small cuts of shrimp- fish in the moving water or in the Suwanee nearby- they bite year-round- high or low water. We stay at the Gator motel in Fargo-cheap and a nice little rest. across the street. We alternate fishing the Suwanee, the Sill and Stephen Foster. 1 of the three will definitely load your coolers if not all. We always go in late April thru early June. I don't know why but we don't have much problem with the yellow flies- but carry your thermacells and 100% deet with u- a little dab does us.




catch any suwanee bass?


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## Old Dead River (Jan 31, 2009)

fellas are their some big bass in okefenokee. i'd imagine there would be. water temps soar in the summer i bet though, aye?


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## Twenty five ought six (Jan 31, 2009)

> fellas are their some big bass in okefenokee.



Not many big bass in the swamp.


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## JHannah92 (Feb 1, 2009)

Thanks for the info everyone.  Maybe I can catch a few before the skeeters tote me off.


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## huntingonthefly (Feb 1, 2009)

Old Dead River said:


> fellas are their some big bass in okefenokee. i'd imagine there would be. water temps soar in the summer i bet though, aye?



Not many bass- only a few shorties thru the years-they don't raise in that tannic acid water very well. Jackfish are your ''gamefish'' there- very abundant, catchable and great to eat.


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## JHannah92 (Feb 1, 2009)

Looking at pictures of that swamp I would have thought it was a bass heaven.  Of course I don't mind catching whatever's biting.


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## jonkayak (Feb 1, 2009)

JHannah92 said:


> Thanks for the info everyone.  Maybe I can catch a few before the skeeters tote me off.



Skeeters never seemed bad to me on the water but step out on land and your toast. 

Also I though the begging raccoons were bad but we had an armadillo raid the cooler one night and he was an angry little sucker. I think even the Crocodile Hunter would have though twice about this little varmint.


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## JHannah92 (Feb 1, 2009)

Wonder how well armadillo meat works for fishbait?


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## jonkayak (Feb 2, 2009)

Check this out. So much about what we talked about and with pics.

I guess there are bass in the swamp.
Bowfin AKA Cypress Trout. He lipped it  
Jack fish

http://atlantakayakfishing.com/foru...t=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=bowfin


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## slightly grayling (Feb 2, 2009)

Hopefully Mr. Holt can chime in and provide some information.  He lived for years in the Waycross area and is a wealth of information.
-SG


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## Vernon Holt (Feb 2, 2009)

Ten four.  There are bass in the swamp, but it is not notorius for big bass.

When I fished there (1956-1989), I fished mostly on the interior lakes which were accessible from Race Pond.  Race Pond is on US #1 between Waycross and Folkston.  The lakes were: Ohio Lake, Mall Hammock, and Double Lakes.

On high water, boat trails were open enough to allow the use of a small motor.  With any lack of rain, one would need a 12 foot push pole for locomotion.

Bass do not reach lunker size in the swamp due to the effect of serious drough.  The swamp will dry up everywhere except the deeper lakes.  Gators and otters will concentrate in the deeper water and take serious toll on the bass population.  The swamp is notorious for its ability to rebound after serious drought.

Early spring and fall are the favored times for visiting the swamp since the weather is moderate at this time. 

Visiting the swamp is always a rewarding experience.


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## JHannah92 (Feb 2, 2009)

Thanks again everyone for the info.


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## cotton top (Feb 3, 2009)

Mr. Holt are you related to the John Holt that used to be the concessioner at the swamp canal in Folkston?
He was a for real swamp man. Also about the time was a ole friend named Doc Ryder, now they LIVED the swamp. [sorry for stepping on your thread]


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## Vernon Holt (Feb 4, 2009)

I knew of John Holt, but our paths never crossed.  We are not related as far as I knew.

I knew many of the swampers who lived in Charlton County.  They are great story tellers.  Numerous books have been written about the lives of these people.


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## ssmith (Feb 4, 2009)

*Book on Swamp*

Reading all this made me think of a book on the swamp Ihave ,written in 1938 by Hamp Mizzell. Pictures etc.
Vernon, you might remember the book or have a copy.


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## cotton top (Feb 5, 2009)

I know or used to know a lot of the people we read about now days. It sure does make a person feel old. I live here in Charlton Co. Right next to the swamp canal. I spent many a day in that place before it became such a tourist attraction. 

 If you are going fishing better go before it gets warm enough for all the tour boats. Have a good summer and be careful, thanks for reading.  BSM


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## Mac (Mar 10, 2009)

Thanks for the info, I am planning a trip down toward the end of March


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## Tim L (Mar 10, 2009)

Are there any parks are public land down there with enough space to bank fish?  What are the criiters (blood sucking insects) like in winter?


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## massafibassa (Mar 10, 2009)

I have fished the Suwanee Canal and other parts of the swamp many times form 1975 to 1990 , hav'nt been there in quite a while. Bass fishing is very tough largest bass we ever caught maybe 3 lbs, even the dinks are scarce. Your best bet would be Warmouth - crayfish or pinks for bait, Jackfish - any floating plug or rooster tail. Catfish and Fliers. You will catch Mudfish on just about any bait you try. Sorry about the Bass just absolutely one of the worst places to catch them.


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## fredw (Feb 28, 2019)

Bringing this old thread back up for any other information.

Carolyn and I have reservations at Stephen C Foster in May and want to fish.  There's a lot of good info in this thread.  Anyone have a photo of the yellow sally that folks use here?  I fly fish and am aware of the yellow sally that trout fishermen use.  Same thing or no?


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## oldguy (Mar 1, 2019)

Twenty five ought six said:


> Look for a Snagless Sally.  Great lure for fishing the swamp.
> 
> Warmouth are the big target fish.  Drag the ditches for crawfish, or get some red wigglers, and fish the stumps and cypress knees.


Any time I see somebody chuncking a yellow or white Snagless Sally I ask how the mudfish bittin'? I know they catch bass too but the mudfish can't leave 'em alone!


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## joepuppy (Mar 1, 2019)

Thanks for bringing this back up. I am thinking about a weekend trip this year to the swamp. The last drought was in spring 2017 when the western side burned. I spent 2 weeks down there on a fire crew. It should have recovered nicely by now.


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## Big7 (Mar 2, 2019)

Holy OLD Threads !

I went once. NEVER AGAIN. Maybe in the dead of winter. If it's warm or hot, don't wait for me.?


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