Altamaha River Fishing Report – July 2023

Altamaha River: According to Capt. Bert Deener, “Paul and Steve Williamson fished the middle river recently and did well for panfish. They had a few catfish, but the shellcrackers were the prize. They put worms on the bottom and caught several nice ones. Paul’s biggest was 1-lb., 7-oz., and Steve’s biggest was just a little bit smaller than that. They had a couple fish straighten their hooks, as well. Dan Stone reports from river mile 135 at Charlotteville just below the confluence of the Ocmulgee and Oconee rivers where the  Altamaha starts: “Current river level is 9.78 and cresting after a high jump from a week of heavy rain. Looking ahead, the river is expected to fall back into the banks and steady up in a couple of weeks. A quick ride and fall of the river may pose a challenge to fishermen below the confluence initially as a steady fall slows the feeding of all species. When this is occurring, fishermen should find places in the river where the water is moving out of the small creeks, sloughs and river bottoms as fish will be feeding on the bait exiting these drains into the main river. Prior to the huge river rise, just plain ol’ Louisiana pinks or red wigglers were producing nice channel catfish on the bottom during June and expected to continue right on through July. The channel catfish have spawned and have been on a feeding frenzy. Water temps have risen into the high 70s to low 80s. Fishermen are advised to adjust their lead weight based on the speed of current and depth of their location. The highlight of the area has been the mullet fishing. Fishermen have been catching in excess of 50 to 100 mullet on one salt block. The size of the mullet are ranging from half a pound to 2 pounds but are expected to increase in size in July and August. I accompanied Mr. Ken Parlor, a lifelong resident of Jeff Davis County and known for being one of the best mullet fishermen in the area. One of his favorite spots is not far from my dock downstream one bend behind a huge sandbar just south of the Jeff Davis County Heritage Center. Mr. Parlor drops his salt block next to an expanded metal cage he built and designed himself. Inside the cage is his chum of green rabbit feed that slowly disperses and attracts the mullet to the salt block. Mr. Parlor likes being just behind the sandbar so the water changes direction, thus attracting the mullet anywhere downstream. The depth he likes to fish is normally anywhere from 3 to 5 feet. Mr. Parlor uses and was extremely successful using a No. 6 red hook, and after watching him catch 20 to my three, I was convinced to change my smaller hook to a larger one. His bait of choice is red wigglers. Mullet are one of the exciting fish to catch on a hot, sunny day as you can get in the water about waist deep and stay cool and have the fight if your life.”

Altamaha River Page: Archived Articles,Fishing Report and River Records