Suwannee River, FL Fishing Report

Algae bloom, making things not good for fishing. Going off shore for amberjacks, few groupers.

Using Live bait working well.

Weather is fairly calm.

Hopefully algae bloom clears soon so we can get back to action.

As quick as the water came up in the upper reaches of the Suwannee, it has already started dropping quickly. The Suwannee bass have been eating spinnerbaits pretty good lately with reports of some 2-3 pounders being caught. A recent tournament on the lower Suwannee that fielded many of the area's best tournament fishermen only took 10 pounds to win. Not bad, but not great for this time of the year either

fish the creeks and canals in and around the mouth of the suwannee for hot action on bass that should be spawning. Spinnerbaits, weightless worms and texas rigged lizards should fair well

spent the past weekend at the mouth of the suwannee and despite the brutal wind, we still managed to catch several bass, redfish, a trout and sheepshead. we also caught some nice channel catfish. zoom trick worms and red shad green glitter texas rigs accounted for most of the bass while the reds and trout were caught using shrimp on the bottom. the catfish were caught using cut bait. the spawn should be in full swing this weekend at the mouth

Fishing is very, very, very tough right now because of the record low water levels. All of the action is happening in the mouth of the river. Folks who are catching trout and redfish are using shrimp and fishing the bottom.

Low water, low water and more low water...that's the problem with the Suwannee right now. Best bets are at the mouth of the Suwannee. Fish the tidal creeks on a high falling tide and fish the deep river bends on the low rising tide. Soft plastic  creature baits in watermelon red and shad or crawfish colored medium to deep diving crankbaits are good.

I had a chance to spend a couple of days at the mouth of the Suwannee River in Suwanneetown last week and honestly, I don't recall ever seeing as many boats on the water during the week as I did on Thursday and Friday. Saltwater species such as speckled trout, redfish were the primary targets for most of the anglers I would suspect. We boated several nice reds, a few smaller trout, a flounder and even a few bass. The best bet is to fish a live shrimp or a gulp on the bottom in the tidal creeks or river bends. The trout aren't in the creeks thick yet because of the warmer weather we have had but the extremely frigid temps we are getting as I write this should change that. For bass I would stay with the basics- a red shad or junebug texas rigged worm. Also a Rapala Shad Rap can be very good for both bass and reds. 

with unseasonably warmer weather lately, I would venture to say that the fishing should improve. typically this is the time of the year that I like to fish a deep diving crankbait. One of the old standby lures on the Suwannee is a Bill Norman Deep Lil N. Crawfish and bream patterns work the best.

Going out to the coast to the mouth of the suwannee river. The trout and reds are biting everything. Top water, jerk baits, anything goes.

I've had several people ask me about fishing the mouth of the Suwannee this past week. Ironic because this is usually the time of the year most avid bass anglers begin concentrating their efforts down that way. Fortunately, most of the lower Suwannee isn't affected by the drought conditions as much as the upper due to the tidal influx. Of course, moon phases will dictate the amount of water movement down that way. Try fishing the canals during the last couple of hours of the incoming and outgoing tides. There are resident fish that inhabit the freshwater canals at the mouth and common lures such as a texas rigged worm or small crankbait usually do well.

water in the suwannee is still low. fortunately, the air temps have started dropping and the fishing should improve as fall approaches. Traditionally, most bass fishermen migrate their efforts towards the mouth of the Suwannee this time of year. You are just as likely to tie into a speckled trout, redfish or flounder down there as you are a bass. Most of the pleasure boaters have called it quits for the year so the river should be less crowded during the next few months. Let's hope we get some much needed rain!

no good news on the water levels...they actually have dropped a little in the last week. The good news is we have been getting a little cooler temperatures here lately so hopefully that will help to cool the water a little and put the fish on a feed. If I were headed out on the river today I would try an 1/8 oz shakey head with a Zoom trick worm and also have a Black and Silver Rapala handy.

our drought conditions haven't improved much, therefore the water has remained extremely low. We did get a great rain yesterday and some areas reported as much as 3 inches. Unfortunately, it's going to take nothing short of a tropical storm to pull the river back up to normal levels. We have gotten some cooler weather here the last few weeks but the fish haven't gotten the message yet. It won't be long though and the bite should turn on. One of my all time favorites during this time of year in a Zoom trick worm fished weightless on a 4/0 Owner wide gap hook. Yellow is a great color but pink and merthiolate will also work. Fish the worm with a jerk-jerk-pause action and give a brief pause before setting the hook.

The water on the river is still very low and the fishing is very tough.  It is so hot that early morning and late evening are the best times to fish. Try using natural colors when fishing.

With the Suwannee River at an all time record low, the fish seemed to have gone on strike! It has taken very little weight to win many of the local bass tournaments and to say the least, bass fishing is extremely tough right now. Obviously, with the extremely hot temperatures and low water levels early in the morning and late in the evening are your best chances of fooling a quality size fish. Topwater baits like a #13S Rapala or a buzzbait are good choices. During the heat of the day concentrate on deep water structure like rock or wood and fish SLOW, using a soft plastic lizard or worm. Choose natural colors as the water is extremely clear. Best bets would be to fish the southern area of the Suwannee from Old Town down to the mouth to take advantage of the tidal fluctuations. Be very cautious of the leaping sturgeon and also the pleasure boaters. Let's hope we get some much needed rain very soon.