Savannah River Fishing Report - Fall Bite Fires Up, Bass Crushing Shad, Crappie on Brush Piles

Artificial Lure here with your Saturday, October 25th, Savannah River fishing report, dialing in for you folks on both the Georgia and South Carolina side! We’re kicking off with **weather and tides**: Today brings classic fall conditions—cool in the early hours, warming nicely by afternoon. Skies look mostly clear, light northeast breeze at 5 to 10 knots, and seas around 2 feet, so it's real comfortable if you’re heading out by boat. Sunrise was at 7:34 AM, sunset comes at 6:39 PM. Tidal action’s steady: low tide rolled in at 4:45 AM, then we’re expecting a 7.37-foot high tide at 10:59 AM, a 1.36-foot low at 5:30 PM, and another high at 11:15 PM, according to tide-forecast.com. That means you’ve got a sweet window on the incoming through late morning, and again as water dumps this evening—plan your trips to hit that moving water! **River stage at Clyo is 4.5 feet and still falling,** Capt. Bert Deener notes. Water’s clearing up nicely and those falling conditions push bait and gamefish out from flooded banks to more predictable edges and creek mouths. **Fish activity is on fire.** Cooler temps have set off the fall bite, and folks up and down the Savannah are reporting solid catches. **Largemouth and spotted bass are schooling up on channel humps, main river points, and along creek mouths.** Schooling fish are crushing shad in 15 to 25 feet. Go for chrome topwaters, white or silver flukes, and chrome jerkbaits for best results—especially on the morning and evening feed, which has been steady all week per the Georgia DNR and regional guides. **Catfish are big right now,** especially blues and flatheads, with the big fish bite really firing up as temps drop. Anchor up on deep structure or creek mouths—gizzard shad and white perch are the go-to baits for trophy seekers. **Crappie are holding on brush piles and submerged timber in 15–25 feet of water, especially in creeks mid-river and above.** Early morning and dusk are solid. Folks are yanking limits on both small minnows and 2-inch jigs in chartreuse or white. **Best baits and lures:** For bass—chrome or white topwaters at dawn, then switch to shad-colored jerkbaits or crankbaits once the sun’s up. If the bite slows, toss a Carolina rig with a green pumpkin soft plastic around drop-offs. For crappie—live minnows or those chartreuse jigs. For catfish—it’s hard to beat cut gizzard shad on a bottom rig. **If you’re after inshore species near the mouth, like redfish and specks:** Live shrimp under a popping cork or mullet on a Carolina rig are pulling bites, especially around bluff banks and creek mouths, as reported on local saltwater boards. Bridge pilings near the port and swing bridges are hot for stripers and trout—try Bass Kandy Delight jigs in chartreuse or white, or float live mullet down-current as described by local experts in Sport Fishing Mag. **Hot spots today:** - **Houlihan Bridge:** Deep pilings are loaded with striper, redfish, and black drum as the tides move. - **Back R This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.