Lake Chehaw Fishing Guide

Lake Chehaw, also called Lake Worth, is a 1,400-acre Georgia Power reservoir on the Flint River and Muckalee and Kinchafoonee creeks in Albany. It is best known for largemouth bass, channel and flathead catfish and native shoal bass, and the tailrace below the dam produces striped bass over 20 pounds most springs.

• SizeAbout 1,400 acres
• Best betsLargemouth bass, channel and flathead catfish, shoal bass
• Trophy chanceStriped bass and flatheads in the tailraces, late March to May
• OwnerGeorgia Power; free public ramps

Getting on the Water

Three public boat ramps serve the lake. Georgia Power’s Lake Worth Recreation Area, on the west side of the Flint River dam in Albany, has a large picnic pavilion, restrooms, a boat ramp and two fishing piers, one on Muckafoonee Creek and one on the tailrace below the dam.

Lake Chehaw Fishing Forecast

These prospects come from Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division fisheries biologists, based on their spring surveys.

Largemouth Bass

Prospect: The average bass in DNR surveys is about 13 inches. Most tournament fish weigh 1 to 2 pounds, with an occasional bass over 5 pounds.

Technique and target: Spinnerbaits, topwater and plastic worms are popular. Fish the islands upstream of Cromartie Beach, the slough above the Highway 91 crossing, the area around the main Flint River dam, and below the dam in spring.

Shoal Bass

Prospect: Most weigh 1 to 2 pounds, with fish up to 6 pounds caught now and then.

Technique and target: Crayfish imitations, plastic twitch baits and topwater plugs. Look to the fast-water shoals of the Flint River and the tailrace below the dam, especially in spring.

Catfish

Prospect: Channel catfish give the most consistent action, with good numbers of 1 to 2 pounders. Flatheads average 3 to 8 pounds.

Technique and target: Live bluegill or shad for flatheads; worms, chicken livers and cut shad or mullet for channel cats. Fish flatheads on channel drop-offs and deep holes in the Flint River arm and both creek arms. Channel cats move to shallow coves and flats near deep water in spring and fall, into deep channel holes in summer, and gather in the tailrace at times.

Striped & Hybrid Bass

Prospect: Stripers and flatheads are the best trophy chances; anglers catch 20-plus-pound stripers in the tailraces each year. A few hybrids are stocked and more come down from Lake Blackshear, mostly 1 to 3 pounds.

Technique and target: Live shad, bucktails, large crankbaits and topwater in the tailraces in spring; slow-troll live bait, small shad-imitating lures or white jigs in late summer and fall. Fish the Albany and Blackshear tailraces from late March through May, and the lower Flint River arm between the main dam and Cromartie Beach in late summer and fall.

Bream

Prospect: Bluegill average 5 to 7 inches and redear 6 to 8 inches.

Technique and target: Red wigglers for redear and crickets for bluegill, or small jigs worked slowly under a bobber. Shallow flats and sloughs near deeper water, including the slough above Cleve Cox ramp and around the Kinchafoonee and Muckalee confluence. Redear peak from late April through June, bluegill from June through September.

Crappie

Prospect: Not a big crappie lake, but modest numbers bite during the spring spawn.

Technique and target: Minnows and small jigs fished 5 to 15 feet deep. Creek mouths and visible cover such as stumps and fallen trees; there is plenty of standing timber in the main basin.

Help Protect the Lake

Lake Chehaw’s shallow areas make it vulnerable to hydrilla, an invasive plant already in Lake Seminole. Clean all plant fragments off your boat, motor and trailer before and after launching. DNR also asks anglers not to release spotted bass, which compete with native shoal bass, and to report any spotted bass catches to the Albany fisheries office. See DNR’s aquatic nuisance species page.

Lake ChehawAlbany, Georgia

Lakeside PathsGeorgia Power recreation areas

Contact

Georgia Power (lake information): 706-317-6042. Georgia DNR fisheries office, Albany: 229-430-4256. A Georgia fishing license is required for anglers 16 and older. Also see Lake Blackshear fishing upstream.