Southern Georgia’s Oct. 24 report: cold snap slows bass, but St. Simons trout and sheepshead fire

The first real cold snap of the fall knocked back the bass bite in south Georgia, but saltwater anglers had little to complain about. That is the main takeaway from Joshua Barber's Southern Waters fishing report, posted Oct. 24, 2026, on Georgia Outdoor News.

The best numbers came from St. Simons. David McMaster fished with Capt. Tim Cutting on Monday and Tuesday, and the Tuesday trip produced 29 seatrout, 39 sheepshead, 20 redfish and 4 black drum on soft plastics and live shrimp. Barber says the trout and redfish bite held up despite high winds. Don Harrison added a Thursday catch of 35 trout and 4 redfish on a Laguna Shrimp Sea Shad.

In fresh water, Greg Shields still caught 13 bass up to 4 pounds on the Altamaha by throwing a gold-blade buzzbait, despite the cooler mornings. In the Okefenokee, Capt. Bert Deener's Oct. 16 outing produced 16 bowfin, all on Dura-Spins, and Matthew's bowfin, just shy of 21 inches, qualified for a Georgia DNR youth angler award.

Barber expects the bass bite to pick back up as temperatures warm next week, and notes the full moon falls on Oct. 26.

Photo: A seatrout caught at Crooked River State Park by a visiting angler from Illinois. Credit: Georgia Outdoor News / Southern Waters report.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: Georgia Outdoor News — Joshua Barber’s Southern Waters Fishing Report, Oct. 24 (Oct. 24, 2026).