Need some answers regarding Savannah River fishing

[Troy Dorman]

I've got a cousin who lives in Atlanta and wants to go fishing for redear in the Savannah River. I live in Southern Indiana and want to know a few things before I make the drive down there.

 

When would be a good time to fish the river for redear and a decent location? I'm not asking for any honeyholes, just want general areas. Would oxbows be a good start?What I've read so far leads me to believe we'd be better off going to Augusta and fishing that area or anywhere below Augusta. I've also learned that people catch monster crackers throwing a pink plastic of some sorts.

 

I know some folks on this site fish this river and any tips would be appreciated as I don't want to make the drive and simply not catch anything. Do we need any special registration to fish the river? Any help is much appreciated.

[Tomas Daniel]

oxbows=big gills and crackers....late april through may is the time i like to go. BIG crackers in the section below the clarks hill dam. "pink worms" may be what youre refering to....but they're not plastic, they're live bait. a pinkish colored worm smaller than a nightcrawler but bigger than redworms and georgia crackers love em. they only grow in certain parts of the country....but you can find em in any bait shop in GA usually. id fish structure in the oxbows at several depths til you find em.

[dick tabbert]

I never fished the Savannah River but always wanted to when I was stationed at Ft Gordon.  I did get to Clark Hill Lake. The wife and I fished it many, many, many years ago. We caught a few crappies I took them up shore. I cleaned the fish we started a fire and cooked them on a flat hot rock. Was good eating something that I'll always remember we had crappie sandwiches. Good stuff. Sorry I didn't have and answer but I did have this flash back.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Another area that is a big producer is the "Deep Step" area, just above the Augusta Canal entrance and across the river on the South Carolina side. It is where Stevens Creek empties into the Savannah and is found on geologic maps as 'Deep Step Gully.' SC and GA have reciprocal agreements, so a GA license should be fine.

Some monstruous fish come from there. The best time is to go when the Clarks Hill dam has been releasing water, as this directly affects the depths in the Deep Step Gully. After heavy rains or at other times during spring and summer when the water is up is about right.