TIFTON — It’s been quite a few years since fishing was this good on 4th of July weekend. You can pretty much take your pick of what kind of fishing you want to do this weekend and have a good chance of a great catch. The rivers should be at very fishable levels this weekend. Water temperatures have moderated somewhat this week, and most species are still biting well. With the heat, make sure to go early and drink plenty of fluids during the day. The first quarter moon was June 29.

Altamaha River — Connie at Jaycee’s Landing Bait and Tackle said that everyone is catching fish, even folks who usually don’t (she didn’t name any names). Some nice redbreasts were caught this past week on crickets. Channel catfish (the perfect size for eating) are biting well on the backsides of sandbars. She weighed 37 and 45-pound flatheads this week that were caught on rod and reel. Bush hooks are working well for catfish, as well. Live bait (shiners and bream) is working best for flatheads, while worms and shrimp will catch the channels. Bass fishing has been reportedly slow again this past week. I’ve done well for bass this time of year and at this water level skipping pink Bass Assassin Charm worms under the willow trees and twitching them back to me. Also, I’ve caught some nice bass this time of year on buzzbaits in the flooded willows and other shoreline cover. Give the buzzbait a try early in the day and fish the floating worms in the middle of the day when bass are seeking the shade of the willows. Bill Minder at Altamaha Park said the mullet fishing on the back sides of sandbars on the lower river is on fire. Red wigglers are typically the bait of choice. He said that good stringers of flathead catfish and redbreasts were caught this past week. The river levels on Tuesday night were 4.1 feet at Baxley and 4.1 feet at Doctortown. The river was falling at both locations.  

Satilla River — Excellent catches of redbreasts were reported this week. Fish were hitting beetlespins, crickets and worms this week. You should also be able to get them by pitching poppers (bugs) with the water temperatures in the 80s. Worms fished on bottom are catching catfish. The river levels Tuesday night were 5.5 feet and falling at the Waycross gauge and 5.2 feet and falling at the Atkinson gauge.

St. Marys River — Catfish and bass were the best reported catches this past week. Redbreasts are still biting in the upper reaches of the river. Crickets in heavy shoreline cover will work for the redbreasts, and worms or chicken livers on bottom will fool catfish. I’m not sure what the bass were caught on, but my guess would be a gold Rogue or black plastic worm. The river level at the MacClenny gauge was 3.3 feet and falling on Tuesday evening.

Okefenokee Swamp — With the high water, the swamp fishing is still slow. Your best bet is to fish shrimp on bottom in the boat basin at Stephen C. Foster State Park for catfish. Some warmouth were also reportedly caught on worms this past week in the boat basin. The yellow flies have been surprisingly bearable according to park staff, so maybe their population is low this year. If you can find them, fliers will eat a yellow or orange sally either with no weight or under a small float. If you find fish, stay in that area. Fishing should improve as the water drops.

Local Ponds — The bream bite has been great early in the day. The bass bite (generally smaller fish) has been good early in the day, but the big bass have moved offshore and have become lethargic during the summer heat. Fishing big worms on deep cover is your best bet during the day. Black, watermelonseed and green pumpkin are good colors. If your pond is blackwater, give black with gold flake (goldfish from some manufacturers) a try. Bank beating with a floating worm (rigged weightless) or Senko-type worm fished Texas-rigged or weightless around shoreline cover is hard to beat for smaller bass. If your favorite pond has catfish, put a chicken liver on the bottom near dark.  

Paradise Public Fishing Area (off Hwy 82, near Tifton) — Lakes are full pool, and the water temperatures are hovering around 90 degrees. The fishing has been slow this week, but catfish and smaller bream can still be caught early in the day. Lakes Horseshoe 1, Horseshoe 2 and Tacklebuster are good bets for catfish. Best baits are typically worms, chicken livers or mullet gut fished on bottom. Small bream are plentiful, and the larger fish should move shallow again to spawn around the upcoming full moon. Crickets are typically the best bait for bream this time of year. The bigger bass have moved offshore for the summer, but smaller bass are catchable. Lake Bobben is still a good bet for smaller bass. Note: There are special fishing license requirements for the PFA. Most folks will need either a fishing license and a Wildlife Management Area Stamp or a one-day fishing license (the one-day license covers the WMA stamp requirement). For complete license requirements, look at your sportfishing regulations booklet or download a copy at www.gofishgeorgia.com, then “Fishing”, then “Fishing Regulations.”

Saltwater (Georgia Coast) — I heard several good reports of tripletail again this week. Captain Hildreth reported catching five tripletail on Monday and a few redfish on the flood tide. He also reported catching some nice seatrout in the sound on a white body/chartreuse tail Bass Assassin grub fished under a Cajun Thunder Float. Seatrout fishing was great again this past week on the Cumberland Island beach. The Cumberland Island beach is typically fishable on days with a wind from the westerly direction, as the island provides a barrier to the wind. I've had some really rough days (and the water is usually muddier) on south and easterly winds, and fish back in Crooked River when the winds are coming from those directions. Both live shrimp rigs and artificials will catch seatrout on the beaches. The pogies have arrived in large numbers on the Cumberland beach, and tarpon, sharks and other predators are busting through them. Expect the number of tarpon to increase over the next week. I've had some fantastic tarpon catches (jumping up to 25 fish per week) during the last week of June and first week of July. Cast net some pogies and put them out under a Cajun Thunder float at the edge of the pogy pod to entice sharks and tarpon. Also, put a cut pogy on the bottom in the middle of the pogy pod to give the fish another option. Big sharks are still around behind the shrimp boats. The marine forecast is available at www.srh.noaa.gov/jax/. You can call Captain Greg Hildreth at 912-261-1763 to book a trip in the St. Simons area.

Best Bet: This is a great weekend to fish the rivers before they get too low to get around well. Dicky Winge expects the 121 Bridge and downstream section of the Satilla River to be best this week. If you know how to do it, tarpon fishing at the St. Marys jetties and Cumberland beach should be another good option this weekend. Some of my best tarpon catches have occurred near 4th of July weekend.

Captain Bert Deener guides for seatrout and redfish out of Crooked River near St. Marys. He also makes a variety of both fresh and saltwater fishing lures. You can contact him at 912-287-1604 or via e-mail at bertdeener@yahoo.com.