Canoochee River Bream Report: April 1, 2025

I fished with Chris Edenfield this past weekend for an upcoming GON story, and we managed to catch some really nice bream with topwater bugs during that trip, even though the water temperature was still hovering in the mid to high 60s.

Look for the action to pick up heading into the weekend as the river begins to plateau and daytime temps continue to rise. The current river level at the Claxton gauge is reading 4.36 feet, and closer to the weekend and into next week, it should begin to fall out. The magic numbers you’re looking for are three and 70, meaning the Claxton gauge needs to be close to 3 feet and the water temperature needs to be at or above 70 to really fire the redbreast and bluegill up.

With the upper section of the Fort Stewart section of the river closed to fishing at this time, your best bets to launch are going to be the Highway 280 bridge and the Highway 301 bridge, respectively. If you choose to launch at Highway 280, running upriver to Lott’s Creek is a good bet as the water in the creek should warm up faster than the main run of the river. For those who try the Highway 301 ramp north of Claxton, launch your boat and start fishing downriver from the ramp. There is a good population of fish in this stretch, so there is no need to make a long run with the outboard.

To make the fish bite, live-bait anglers will do well with crickets and worms fished under a cork, and 18 to 24 inches seems to be the magic depth this time of year. For those preferring to throw artificials, small Beetle Spins and panfish spinnerbaits will be the ticket to the show, especially if the water temperature is at or under 70 degrees. As the month goes on, expect to catch really big redbreast and bluegill by fishing topwater bugs along bluff walls just outside of swift current.

When it comes to color, you won’t go wrong as long as your lure has some chartreuse in it, and the more chartreuse the better.

Hope y’all get out on the water this week, and hope y’all catch them when you do!

Chris Edenfield with a redbreast from the Canoochee River.

The Canoochee River Page