Hot Tips and PFA Fishing Reports

Check here for the latest information on what is biting at Georgia PFAs. The information below is based on reports of what anglers have been catching and what they have been using.  Best bets for what to expect for fishing in the upcoming month are presented too. Go fish!

These tips are updated throughout the year. If you do not see a recent report here for a PFA that you are interested in contact the PFA directly for up-to-date information. Click on the links on the right to learn more about each PFA.

Paradise Public Fishing Area
March 2010 Fishing Report         

• Temp: 56 degrees.  Clarity: Lakes lightly stained.  36” Visibility in LakePatrick. Water levels are at full pool.  

• Bass: Good.  Bass are taking June Bug, Red, Black, and Pumpkinseed colored plastic worms in LakePatrick and Bobben.   Also anglers have done well with the white trick worm and Carolina rigged watermelon seed colored plastic worm in Horseshoe 3 and 4.  Best bet is to fish just off shallow ledges in 4 to 5 feet of water early morning and switch to shallows around lily pads after mid morning, if the sun is out.  The red and green lizards or the pig and jig have been a good choice in March. Once water temps get in the low sixties these lures are the standard for targeting bass moving up into the shallows.
• Crappie:  Good.  Crappie are biting in 4 to 6 feet of water using 1/32 to 1/16 oz. float rigged jigs.  Crappie have been hitting blue and white, white and yellow, and chartreuse jigs in Patrick, Tacklebuster, Beaver, and Horseshoe 2.  Best results have been around spillways and just under the edge of lily pads and primrose mats. The best bait has been the green crappie magnet and the white and yellow tube jig along with a Chartreuse Crappie Nibble on the hook.  It is important to go with a light line. 4 lb test line is preferred.

• Catfish:  Fair.  Catfish anglers are reporting catching a few channel catfish in LakePatrick, Tacklebuster, and Horseshoe 1 using pond worms and mullet gut. This should improve as the water temperature rises.
• Bream: Fair.  Bream fishing is starting to pick up. Best bait for redear has been red wigglers fished just off the bottom in 4 to 6 foot depths.  Good catches of half to three quarter pound redear have recently been reported in LakePatrick. Bluegill have been biting crickets around the docks and in heavy cover. Bream fishing should improve thru the next few months and is usually best from March thru June. 

McDuffie Public Fishing Area
March 2010 Fishing Report 

• Overall: Fishing pressure is beginning to increase on McDuffie PFA with several fishermen using the area last weekend: 27-28 February.
• The month of March ushers in warmer weather, which means water temperature will begin to rise. All lakes are above full pool with water temperatures holding around 52 F, which will fluctuate due to changing ambient temperatures.
• All lakes are open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset with the exception of Rod Bender Lake, which is open the first seven days of each month. 
• Lake fertilization will begin when the water rises to 65 F.
• Bass will move toward the banks in preparation for spawning by mid-March and if the warming trend continues bass will be fanning beds. This will increase bass sightings and catch rates for early bass anglers. The other fish species usually spawn later than the bass because bream and catfish like warmer water temperatures. These species can still be caught but in deeper water.

 **All lakes excluding Rod Bender Lake received a supplemental stocking of channel catfish in   Fall ’09.

• Clubhouse Lake: visibility clear"- Angler pressure for bass will begin to pick up on this lake as pressure increases this spring. No active fishing for bluegill or shellcracker. Clubhouse still has some quality bass and is still giving up good catches of bream and catfish throughout the year.
• Bream Buster Lake:  visibility: clear"- No reports of any bass being harvested and light pressure. Catfish have been targeted in February in this lake, but success has been low due to cold water temperatures. No bream have been targeted.
• Bridge Lake: visibility: clear"- Bass bite is slow; however, this will change as the water warms. No reports of striped bass being caught. This should change later in early spring as the water temperature rises and stripers and bass become more aggressive. Bridge Lake is a good catfish and bream lake and receives steady pressure throughout the spring from bank and boat anglers.

• Beaver Lodge Lake: visibility: stained; winter drawn down is completed. Beaver lodge lake should be at full pool in a week. Our purpose for winter drawn is to help crop undesirable fish species from lake and control weeds. Catfish were biting during the drawn down in February. This lake is heavily stocked with catfish but will still offer some good opportunities for bream and bass as the weather and water warms.

• Rod Bender Lake: visibility: stained"- Rod Bender Lake is open to fishing the first seven days of each month. Bass fishing in this lake is catch and release only. Largemouth bass are in very good condition as we saw in the fall electro fish sample. Bass should begin to feed more aggressively on the forage species (shiners, threadfin, small bream) as the water temperatures rise. All reports indicated that the fish were caught in and near the submerged trees where the baitfish is congregated. The baitfish should go the banks to spawn as the water warms and the bass will follow the baitfish. Normal springtime baits like topwater baits, rubber worms, artificial minnows, and spinner baits will catch bass. Rod Bender does have a large population of smaller bream that can be caught from the boat pier and bank.

• Willow Lake: visibility: clear- Bass are deep and feeding for upcoming spring spawning. March weather is here so Willow will receive most of the bass fishing pressure on the PFA. This trend occurs because of the size and number of the bass being caught. Willow lake is a quality fishery that allows the anglers to catch bass 4 pounds and above. No fishing pressure on bream in recent weeks. Catfish are biting liver toward the channel of the lake at 10-12 feet from a boat.

• Jones Lake: visibility: clear"- Bass are beginning to move near the banks and feed for the upcoming spawning season. The bass from last year have grown and should have reached the 14-inch minimum length required on McDuffie PFA. Bream and catfish are not actively biting yet and as the water warms they will start biting.