Georgia Fishing Report: August 6, 2026

SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR BLOG READERS! Starting with next week’s report, the Georgia Fishing Report is doing a “shake-up” on how we present information to you. In an effort to spotlight more areas, our reports will focus on one region of the state each week. This will give our staff better opportunity to showcase that Region and tell you more stories and information that can help you be more successful on the water. We are excited about the new format and hope you will be too!

Our trout hatchery staff recently did the “trout shuffle”! Catchable trout culture requires regular movement of trout from one rearing space to the next as the fish grow. At the Summerville Trout Hatchery, staff recently “shuffled” tens of thousands of young trout to larger raceways, which allows for their continued rapid growth. It also provides an opportunity to separate (grade) larger, faster growing fish from slower growing individuals that may require less competition and more food to keep pace. All of these steps ensure reliable availability of catchable size trout for Georgia’s anglers. 

NEWS TO KNOW

• Outdoors Fun on the Inside: Beat the heat and come to the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s Buckarama (Aug. 14-16). This expo offer plenty of things to get you excited about being in the outdoors. We will see you there!
• Find Fishing Information: Visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/angler-resources to find tons of fishing information for you to use: fishing forecasts, fish ID, links to angler reward programs and so much more!
• Let Your License Plate Show Your Support!: Georgia Wildlife Resources Division offers two license plates that support fisheries efforts – the largemouth bass tag and the trout tag, so put one on your car today! Learn more at GeorgiaWildlife.com/licenseplates and visit your county tag office to grab yours!

Whether you get to the water while shuffling or walking or running, we are glad that you Go Fish Georgia!

Southwest Georgia report is coming back soon. Until then, think about visiting one of the SW Georgia Public Fishing Areas!

PUBLIC FISHING AREAS:

(Fishing report courtesy of Brent Hess, fisheries biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

RESERVOIR REPORT 

LAKE ALLATOONA is down 1.5 f00t, and the water temperatures are in the 80s. 

Allatoona Bass: (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. Later in the day the jig head soft swim bait and Ned rig work best. Long points in 12 to 15-foot range are where the late afternoon fish are holding. As the water continues to warm the fish have moved back to deeper water and stay there for the majority of the day. The best times to fish during the hot months are early in the morning until about 10:00 a.m. and then again later in the afternoon until dark. Use the Carolina rigs, jigs, jerk baits and green pumpkin Zoom finesse worms on a light Texas rig on the docks. Smaller older docks are great isolated gold mines this time of the year. Fishing the docks is the pattern to follow later in the day. The walkways and the first part of the docks that break off from the walkway has been the pattern for the last month with shaky head magnum worms and plastics. Make sure pay close attention to where the bites come from on the docks. Although the location of the bass on the docks seems to change daily can pattern where they are located on a particular day if pay attention to the first two or three bites of the day. 

Allatoona Fish Attractors: Find DNR fish attractors at Lake Allatoona by visiting the Fishing Forecasts page at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing-forecasts and selecting “Allatoona.”

LAKE HARTWELL: is down 7.7 feet and water temperatures are in the 80s.

Hartwell Bass: (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. Spinnerbait, Chug bug, Pop R bite, spook was excellent early when worked near any type of cover. Most anglers are staying on the main rivers and look for the top water bite early. Buzz baits on structure and trick worms are fair and cove lots of shallow structure quickly. White spinner baits are working but after the sun comes up the best bet is soft plastics and anything green on the main lake points and cuts will get a few strikes. A secret of the locals is Jack’s Juice in the lizard and use lots of it. The Lowrance Structure Scan is the ticket to locating these feeding summertime fish. Fix a scent bag and soak the baits overnight for the best results. The bite may even then be very subtle. Boat docks is another key area to work with worms or small jigs. Creepy crawlers work well throughout the day on points and rock ledges that dropped into the deeper water.

LAKE LANIER is down 5 feet and water temperatures are in the 80s.

Lanier Bass: (This Lake Lanier Bass fishing report is by Phil Johnson Pjohnson15@hotmail.com 770-366-8845) — Bass fishing on Lake Lanier is good. The lake is currently four and a half feet below full pool and the water temperature is running mid to high eighties. The main lake is clear with stain in the backs of the creeks and up the river. It seems we are in the summer holding pattern right now with the top water and drop shot approaches working well. One key now is finding the structure at the correct depth. Look on the humps and long points for structure in the twenty-five-to-thirty-five-foot range for both techniques. For the top water, the Krej, Riser, Skimmer and fluke have all produced while using chrome in the sun and bone on cloudy days. For the Fluke the main color has been some combination of chartreuse. The bass have been positioned in the brush this week so it’s important to use your electronics and get directly over the brush so you can drop it on their nose. Work the Blue Lily, Sweet Rosy and Morning Dawn colors to draw the strikes. The Spot Choker with a bluish back and a shad color belly is also catching bass. You can work this bait over the top or down the sides of the brush to pull the bass out. Another way to fish it requires that you have good abilities with your FFS. Many of the any are just wandering and moving over the deeper water and structure and you’re able to find them with FFS. With the bass moving quickly, it is important to lead the bass with your cast. Let the bait go down to a depth just above the bass and use a steady retrieve to bring it just above them. If you see one react start reeling very fast to trigger the strike. This method takes a lot of trolling motor time for every fish but it will produce some big ones. It’s hot so be careful but Go Catch ‘Em!

Lanier Stripers: (This Lake Lanier Striper report is by Buck Cannon 404-510-1778) — Lake Lanier stripers has migrated into the lower half of the lake and reacted to the summer weather and techniques for trolling are lead core, umbrella rigs and down rigging. The live bait is still popular but keeping it fresh may be a challenge. Lead core back eight colors or 240 feet behind the boat at 2.5 to 3.5 mph, two once chipmunk tipped with alive herring has been producing or the white trailer from Captain Mack Farr umbrella rigs 130 to 150 feet back at same speed and be conscious about the depth when making your turns. Most creek channels that lead to the river should be fished early and you should move out with them. Downlines over river channels in 40 to 80 feet back with blue back or jigging spoons. It’s hot so hydrated often and wear your life jackets.

Notice: Tidwell Park one of Forsyth County’s Lake access points, will be off limits for three years beginning August 3, 2026, until 2029. This is for construction on a new water intake facility on Lake Lanier according to a recent Forsyth County government announcement.

Lake Lanier Fish Attractors: Find DNR fish attractors at Lake Lanier by visiting the Fishing Forecasts page at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing-forecasts and selecting “Lanier.”

WEISS LAKE is Full and water temperatures are in the 80’s

Weiss Bass: (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass fishing is fair. Finding the ledges and deep humps with deep crankbaits can show some very aggressive action quickly. When things slow down going to Choo football head jigs and Carolina rigs can be the ticket to pick up where the deep cranking leaves off. One of the most fun and aggressive patterns for this lake this time of year is fishing at night. Slow rolling big 1/2-to-3/4-ounce Stake King Spinnerbaits at night can create some very aggressive action with some big Coosa River spots. The hit on these big spinnerbaits from these fish can be extremely habit forming and exceptionally enjoyable. 

WEST POINT LAKE is around full pool and water temperatures are in the 80s. 

West Point Bass: (Report courtesy of Ken Sturdivant www.southernfishing.com) — Bass Fishing is good. Using a buzz bait or a Pop R any time of the day. Fish these baits parallel to the bank as close as possible. After the morning bite move to long points and fish a Carolina rigged worm slowly. First use the electronics to see if the bait fish are in the area. Now spend more time riding than fishing but when the bait fish are roaming and then anglers will find fish. Big crank baits are also working well in the same locations. On sunny days flipping a jig and pig under the docks will bring a few bites but they should be good fish. Also fishing a finesses worm on a jig head fished around rocks will get some bites.

West Point Lake Levels: Once again, West Point Lake water levels will be lowered this fall for repair work on the dam. You can find more information about lake levels at West Point at WestPointLake.info/Level/.

West Point Lake Fish Attractors: Find DNR fish attractors at West Point Lake by visiting the Fishing Forecasts page at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing-forecasts and selecting “West Point Lake.”

TROUT REPORT

Trout Stocking: Check the latest weekly stocking report to see if your favorite creek was stocked. Good luck and Go Trout Fish Georgia! See the stocking report, sign up to get it weekly or find more info about trout fishing at https://georgiawildlife.com/Fishing/Trout.

Support Trout Fishing! Want to do more to support trout fishing in Georgia? Consider upgrading to a Trout Unlimited license plate this year. See more info at GeorgiaWildlife.com/licenseplates. Aside from being a great looking tag, each purchase or renewal of a Trout Unlimited license plate directly supports Georgia’s trout conservation and management programs which can be found at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/trout. Hatcheries and wild trout efforts both benefit from the trout tag.

Look to hear from Central Georgia soon. Until then, think about visiting one of the Central Georgia Public Fishing Areas!

PUBLIC FISHING AREAS:

Marben Public Fishing Area 

McDuffie Public Fishing Area 

Flat Creek Public Fishing Area 

(Fishing report courtesy of Joshua Barber with help from Region Staff and Local Experts)

The flounder bite has been firing off this week. The tarpon bite has also been good. The Okefenokee Swamp level is great, and the fish are chewing.

River Gages as of August 6th:

• Doctortown on the Altamaha – 5.5 feet and rising
• Lumber City on the Ocmulgee – 4.8 feet and steady
• Clyo on the Savannah – 4.6 feet and steady
• Statenville on the Alapaha – 4.0 feet and steady
• Alapaha on the Alapaha – 6.5 feet and rising
• Waycross on the Satilla – 6.0 feet and falling
• Atkinson on the Satilla – 5.3 feet and falling
• Quitman on the Withlacoochee – 2.8 feet and rising
• Macclenny on the Saint Marys – 2.0 feet and rising
• Fargo on the Suwannee – 1.4 feet and falling

New Moon is on August 12^th. 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/.

RIVERS

Jim Jurney fished the Little River below Reed Bingham State Park on Friday. He landed 8 bass and a few bowfin. The bowfin and a couple of the bass bit a black Zoom Magnum Finesse Worm. Most of the bass ate a weighted Z-Man Pro Crawz (Canada Craw color) on bottom. Jim O’Conner fished the Withlacoochee River last week. He caught 12 nice bass on a Texas-rigged plastic crawfish (black/blue color). The biggest one of the trip weighed 4.79-lbs. Before your next trip to the river, stop by Satilla Feed and Outdoors located at 2270 US-84 in Blackshear. They have a variety of rods, reels, and fishing tackle. For hours, call 912-449-3001.

LAKES AND PONDS

Justin Harrison and a friend fished at a few private ponds this week and reported that they caught some nice sized bass. I also heard of another good bass report from a pond this week. Jimmy Zinker and a friend fished at a lake this week and managed to catch a few bass on topwater. Anglers have been catching bedding bluegill this week at Paradise Public Fishing Area.

OKEFENOKEE SWAMP

Miller and his grandfather, Butch, fished with Captain Bert Deener on the east side last Saturday. They had a great trip and caught and released 34 fish (bowfin and pickerel) total. Miller caught and released a bowfin that was big enough to earn him a youth angler award from the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division. Lemon-lime, jackfish, and crawfish-brass blade Dura-Spins worked best. The boat ramp on the west side (Stephen C. Foster State Park) is still currently closed due to some renovations that are taking place around the boat basin. They now estimate that it will be reopened sometime in August. Anglers can still launch kayaks, canoes, and small boats from the bank. Captain Bert Deener offers guided fishing trips in the Okefenokee. To book a trip with him, visit his website bertsjigsandthings.com. Latest Swamp level on the east side was 120.25 feet.

SALTWATER (GEORGIA COAST)

Phillip and Daniel Smith and Tony Young fished with Captain Tim Cutting (fishthegeorgiacoast.com) yesterday and caught 31 flounder (some of them were giants). Kim Arnsdorf and Captain Tim fished in the Saint Simons Island area today (August 6^th). They managed to land 22 flounder and a nice tripletail. All of the flounder on both trips were caught on 4-inch Berkeley Gulp Swimming Mullet rigged on McDaniels Tackle chartreuse jigheads. The trout bite has been good around Amelia Island. They have been crushing it first thing in the morning. Sheepshead have also been biting well.

If you have any fishing reports or fish pictures that you would like to be included in this report, email them to me joshuabfishhunter@gmail.com or send them through Messenger on Southern Waters Fishing Report’s Facebook Page.

FISH A SOUTHEAST GEORGIA PUBLIC FISHING AREA! 

PARADISE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

OCMULGEE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

DODGE PUBLIC FISHING AREA

HUGH GILLIS PUBLIC FISHING AREA

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