Fishing the Okefenokee

JHannah92

Senior Member
Thinking about taking a trip out there this year. Anyone fish it? How is it? I've never been, just want to know what to expect. Thanks.
 

FERAL ONE

Shutter Mushin' Mod
roostertails and trickworms will catch all the jacks fliers and mudfish you want !!! it is a blast. make sure to use a mono bite leader to protect against the teeth. the yellowflies are worse than the red cross, they take more than a pint at a time !!!
 

jonkayak

Senior Member
roostertails

x2 take lots of them. Also watch your hands when you bring a fish canoe (boat) side as the occasional gator will sneak up on you. For that sake take a net, the mud fish aka bowfin have a mouth full of teeth so DON'T try to LIP THEM.
 

FERAL ONE

Shutter Mushin' Mod
x2 take lots of them. Also watch your hands when you bring a fish canoe (boat) side as the occasional gator will sneak up on you. For that sake take a net, the mud fish aka bowfin have a mouth full of teeth so DON'T try to LIP THEM.

great advice !!! forgot about the gators !!!
 

jonkayak

Senior Member
We had a few sleigh rides from gators grabbing the bowfin before we got them in the boat. At first it was scary but after the first 2 or 3 times it was just neat. Then it becomes annoying.
 

FERAL ONE

Shutter Mushin' Mod
at the landing my son ethan (GAR KID) had a jack on and a gator came after the fish. ethan ran with the rod and the gator was up on the dry land runnin' with him !!! i jumped the canoe and grabbed my push pole and sort of jousted that lizard in the nose. would have made a great video !!! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

by the way, folks say you can fish whatever color rooster tail you want as long as it is yellow !!! we had good luck on white too though .....
 

jonkayak

Senior Member
at the landing my son ethan (GAR KID) had a jack on and a gator came after the fish. ethan ran with the rod and the gator was up on the dry land runnin' with him !!! i jumped the canoe and grabbed my push pole and sort of jousted that lizard in the nose. would have made a great video !!! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

by the way, folks say you can fish whatever color rooster tail you want as long as it is yellow !!! we had good luck on white too though .....

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

On one trip down there we had a guy fall out of the canoe in about 3' of water as they were beaching the canoe and someone screamed gator and I swear that guy walked on water to get out of there. I have some great memories of that place.
 

ThatredneckguyJamie

Senior Member
mudfish on light tackle are great fun...and in my experience they will eat anything present...they are LOADS of fun on a fly rod but it can get a little tight for casting in some places
 
Look for a Snagless Sally. Great lure for fishing the swamp.

Warmouth are the big target fish. Drag the ditches for crawfish, or get some red wigglers, and fish the stumps and cypress knees.
 

vin-man

Senior Member
Camped and fished from Stephen Foster SP. Fish the cypress knees, with wigglers, and jumpers for brim. Beautiful colored fish, and real good eating. If you are camping, keep your food sealed up. At about dark, the racoons will make an apperance begging for food.
 

huntingonthefly

Gone but not forgotten
Jackfish are the funnest and the best eating- pretty white flaky meat. Stop at Winges in Waycross or Elmos in Douglas. Buy you a large roostertail called a JackKiller- awesome. Other roostertails are good too. Fish them medium fast to fast. For some real excitement troll a jointed Rebel minnow plug behind your boat-- very fast- almost wide open with our 9.9. Use your trolling motor on high if that's all u have.The jacks will rush out into the wake to feed on disorientend and churned up food. The flash, vibration, and speed triggers them. You can load the boat up on the warmer days. For warmouth and fliers- carry u a pole with a Yellow Sally- awesome. In recent years I catch more quality warmouth and flier on a large worm such as a Florida Pink or Big Red. #6 hook, small sinker 8'' up the line (6 lb. test) on a good spincast reel and small whippy rod. NO CORK. Don't ball the worm up- let 'em hang-only hooking a couple of times. Kinda fish it like u would bass- just pitch it around cover and the edges- they can't stand that tantalizing slow fall. Been right behind other boats dropping corks catching nothing and us wearing em out- big ones too. For the best little eatin' catfish in the world- use small cuts of shrimp- fish in the moving water or in the Suwanee nearby- they bite year-round- high or low water. We stay at the Gator motel in Fargo-cheap and a nice little rest. across the street. We alternate fishing the Suwanee, the Sill and Stephen Foster. 1 of the three will definitely load your coolers if not all. We always go in late April thru early June. I don't know why but we don't have much problem with the yellow flies- but carry your thermacells and 100% deet with u- a little dab does us.
 
Jackfish are the funnest and the best eating- pretty white flaky meat. Stop at Winges in Waycross or Elmos in Douglas. Buy you a large roostertail called a JackKiller- awesome. Other roostertails are good too. Fish them medium fast to fast. For some real excitement troll a jointed Rebel minnow plug behind your boat-- very fast- almost wide open with our 9.9. Use your trolling motor on high if that's all u have.The jacks will rush out into the wake to feed on disorientend and churned up food. The flash, vibration, and speed triggers them. You can load the boat up on the warmer days. For warmouth and fliers- carry u a pole with a Yellow Sally- awesome. In recent years I catch more quality warmouth and flier on a large worm such as a Florida Pink or Big Red. #6 hook, small sinker 8'' up the line (6 lb. test) on a good spincast reel and small whippy rod. NO CORK. Don't ball the worm up- let 'em hang-only hooking a couple of times. Kinda fish it like u would bass- just pitch it around cover and the edges- they can't stand that tantalizing slow fall. Been right behind other boats dropping corks catching nothing and us wearing em out- big ones too. For the best little eatin' catfish in the world- use small cuts of shrimp- fish in the moving water or in the Suwanee nearby- they bite year-round- high or low water. We stay at the Gator motel in Fargo-cheap and a nice little rest. across the street. We alternate fishing the Suwanee, the Sill and Stephen Foster. 1 of the three will definitely load your coolers if not all. We always go in late April thru early June. I don't know why but we don't have much problem with the yellow flies- but carry your thermacells and 100% deet with u- a little dab does us.


catch any suwanee bass?
 
fellas are their some big bass in okefenokee. i'd imagine there would be. water temps soar in the summer i bet though, aye?
 

huntingonthefly

Gone but not forgotten
fellas are their some big bass in okefenokee. i'd imagine there would be. water temps soar in the summer i bet though, aye?

Not many bass- only a few shorties thru the years-they don't raise in that tannic acid water very well. Jackfish are your ''gamefish'' there- very abundant, catchable and great to eat.
 

JHannah92

Senior Member
Looking at pictures of that swamp I would have thought it was a bass heaven. Of course I don't mind catching whatever's biting.
 
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