Tropical Storm Debby Blows Southeast Georgia Rivers Out For Weeks

Capt. Bert Deener had a good trip last week before Tropical Storm Debby when he fished a Waycross area pond with his fly rod. He caught a dozen big bluegill and this 5-lb. channel catfish. They were chewing a catalpa (black/chartreuse) Super-Sally on the trip.

We just thought evening pop-up thunderstorms could blow out a river. And they can! But, a tropical storm that spins and rains for three days isn’t even in the same ballpark as scattered thunderstorms! The gauges on the lower end of ALL the coastal plain rivers in southeast Georgia were record high flows for the date on Thursday. The rains making their way down the southeast Georgia rivers will blow them out for weeks. Ponds and lakes and saltwater (where there is not a huge freshwater inflow) will be the places to fish this week.

Altamaha/Ocmulgee River: This river system might actually be in decent shape once the local rains work their way downstream after the next week. Once that happens, the lesser flows from upcountry (where they did not get significant rains) will be the main flow. For this week don’t bother, unless you want to catch catfish. Two-Way Sportfishing Club is hosting a catfish tournament on Sept. 21-22. It will be a rod-and-reel only tournament. For details, contact tournament directors Jamie Hodge (912.271.8589) or Tiff Thompson (229.938.4789).

Okefenokee Swamp: The bite was good until this week. But, expect it to all shut down as the fish are spread out into the newly flooded prairies. The most recent water level (Folkston side) was 121.97 feet (the water is up over the docks in the boat basin at the refuge).

Local Ponds: A couple of anglers reported fishing a pond after church on Sunday. They caught 10 bass on topwater plastics. Most were 1 to 1 1/2 pounds, but they had a 6-pounder—the biggest I heard of caught in our area this week.

Joshua Barber fished several ponds this week and had some good trips. On Tuesday after the storm, he fished a pond and fooled three bass up to 3 1/4 pounds on bubblegum floating worms. On Wednesday, he fooled three bass and a crappie with live minnows in a local pond.

Jimmy Zinker fished some Midwest US lakes last week and caught 14 bass up to 6-lbs., 14-ozs. while getting over 50 bites on topwaters at night. Since he got back, he’s been fishing local south Georgia lakes and has been catching a lot of small fish—most with a Jitterbug. The big fish were not eating his baits this week.

Saltwater (GA Coast): The tarpon bite was really good before the storm all along our coast, but the slugs of water and bait moving around will reset the nomadic fish. Expect the fresh water to push them out closer to the sounds, if not into the ocean again. After your next trip to the Georgia coast, drop off your fish carcasses in the freezer at the Waycross Fisheries Office at 108 Darling Avenue. The Coastal Resources Division collects most inshore saltwater species so that they can determine age and growth for each species. All the supplies and information cards are in the freezer. Filet your fish, and then drop off the carcasses in the freezer.

Wat-a-melon Bait and Tackle in Brunswick is now open every day. On Monday to Thursday their hours are 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. They have plenty of lively shrimp and also have live worms and crickets for freshwater. They’re on Highway 303 just north of Highway 82. For the latest information, contact them at 912.223.1379.

First quarter moon is Aug. 12. To monitor all the Georgia river levels, visit the USGS website (waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/rt). For the latest marine forecast, check out www.weather.gov/jax/.

River gages on Aug. 8 were:
Clyo on the Savannah River – 13.3 feet and rising
Abbeville on the Ocmulgee – 8.1 feet and falling
Doctortown on the Altamaha – 12.6 feet and rising
Waycross on the Satilla – 17.9 feet and rising
Atkinson on the Satilla – 16.2 feet and rising
Statenville on the Alapaha – 24.3 feet and rising
Macclenny on the St Marys – 19.1 feet and falling
Fargo on the Suwannee – 13.1 feet and rising

Capt. Bert Deener guides fishing trips in the Okefenokee Swamp and other southeast Georgia systems and makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. Check his lures out 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].