Suwannee Fishing Charters & Guides

Suwannee Fishing Charters

Made famous first in the "Old Folks at Home" song by Stephen Foster, the Suwannee River starts in Georgia. It drains the mighty Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. Some 246 miles later, it empties into the Gulf of Mexico at Suwannee, a small community on the southern side of the Big Bend in Florida. This community in rural Florida is a nature lover's and fisherman's paradise. Much of the recreation around here is water-based, which makes sense when you see how the Suwannee creates a delta flood plain. Given the layout of the area, Suwannee offers a fishing experience that is not as common in Florida as some people think. You can literally start the day fishing for bass upriver and end it miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, pulling grouper from a hundred feet of water.

Suwannee Freshwater Fishing

The Suwannee River and the nearby Ochlockonee River are home to the Suwannee Bass, Micropterus notius. This bass is found nowhere else in the world naturally. It is one of 14 fish in the Micropterus genus that includes the largemouth bass, which also inhabits this river. Both bass readily take live bait like shad and minnows. Most anglers chase these fish with artificial worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. The river also has a very healthy population of several catfish and panfish species. Panfish, which include the bream family, are caught with worms, crickets or minnows fished on a pole under a cork. Small spinnerbaits will also catch these fish. When the bream are bedding in the spring, anglers can often smell the fish. Once bream beds are found, a cane pole and bucket of crickets will fill a creel in short order.

Suwannee Brackish Water

Where the river and the Gulf of Mexico start to mix, the water turns brackish. In these waters, what you can catch could be a freshwater fish or a saltwater fish. Reds, bass, flounder, shark and more can be found in these waters. Bass hit the usual assortment of lures. The other fish will also hit these lures from time to time. In these waters, you can also add shrimp and shrimp lures to the list of baits. Watch for schooling reds in the shallows over the points and oyster bars. When you see the tails and bronze backs sticking out of the water, you know they are feeding. Gold spoons, live and cut bait and jigs thrown into their midst will catch fish. If the water is deeper, and especially when murky, using a popping cork improves your chances of a connection.

Suwannee Inshore Fishing

Reds and trout are the mainstay inshore fish here. Suwannee fishing charters head out every day, weather permitting, to catch these fish. With the huge number of tidal creeks and distributaries from the Suwannee River, the fish have miles of habitat to explore. When the tide is changing, fishing points and ledges is a good idea. At low tide, find channels and holes to fish. Black drum are also in the channels and cruising the edges of the islands and points. Black drum are not aggressive. Far more are caught with live and cut bait on the bottom than with moving lures and bait. Flounder are common, but are mostly an accidental catch because few anglers know how to catch them. The two best ways to catch flounder are to find ledges and sandy patches out on the flats. Flounder settle below a ledge and let current sweep prey their way. In this case, use as little weight as you can to cast a live shrimp or a shrimp imitator above the ledge. Let the water sweep the lure over the edge and to the flounder. Out on the flats, put a slow retrieve on live or cut bait or shrimp lures and jigs. Bounce your offering along the bottom. If it gets close enough, the flounder will rise up to attack it. Another and very successful way to get flounder is gigging. Gigging can be done during the day or night.

Suwannee Offshore Fishing

Offshore fishing sees anglers chase amberjack, grouper, snapper and triggerfish on the reefs and tuna, mahi mahi, mackerel and others near the surface. Trolling is an effective way to catch most of these fish, including grouper. Most of the reef fish are caught by dropping live and cut bait directly on a reef or shipwreck. Suwanee fishing charters have the coordinates to put you on the fish.

Book A Suwannee Fishing Charter

You are ready to catch fish with a Suwannee charter. FishAnywhere has the charter captains who will put you on the fish. Let's go! The fish are waiting.