MARBEN PUBLIC-FISHING AREA
Moving into Middle Georgia and changing gears from big-water bass fishing to small lakes, the Marben Public Fishing Area at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield offers many choices. The PFA consists of 295 acres of fishable water spread across 20 different lakes and ponds. Some of the larger lakes have concrete boat ramps, while other ponds are reached only on foot. All of the lakes are intensively managed for fishing, and both bank and boat anglers find some great options. Other opportunities on the area include a visitor's center and museum, nature trails, primitive camping, and a shooting range.

Lakes Margery, Bennett and Fox are the largest bodies of water at 49, 69, and 95 acres, respectively, and are favorites with bass anglers. Fishermen find a good mix of habitats to fish, from shallow-water buzzbaiting to combing deep timber with a plastic worm or jig.

The great thing about small lakes is you have the bass hemmed up; there's no need to burn a tank of boat gas running across half a county of water looking for some fish willing to bite. In small lakes, they are all right there in front of you, so you can shortcut the process by spending less time figuring out where they are and spend more time figuring out what they want to eat.

Although the larger lakes draw the most attention, investing some time on the smaller, out of the way lakes can pay off big in trophy bass. The smaller the lake, the fewer fish it holds, of course, but there is nary a small pond that doesn't have at least a few old, wise mossybacks hanging out around a stump or sunken log. These bass have seen it all, but the day you decide to get off the beaten path might just be the day one slips up and gives you a shot at a once-in-a-lifetime bucketmouth.

OCHLOCKONEE RIVER
The Ochlockonee River may not spend much time on the tip of the tongue of Georgia bass anglers, but it makes up a unique piece of the Peach State black bass puzzle. This slow-moving, black water stream offers anglers a shot at both largemouth and Suwannee bass.

Good locations to fish for largemouths are the sluggish flows near shore around Thomasville and the section upstream from the Georgia Highway 93 crossing. Typical shallow-water bass-fishing tactics using spinnerbaits and stick baits should produce.

But you may also achieve something most Georgia anglers haven't accomplished. By targeting swifter water around the main channel, you might catch a Suwannee bass, the most rare of our state's black bass. Small crankbaits, inline spinners, and plastic worms work well for this angling.

Suwannee bass typically run much smaller than largemouths, but the unique nature of this fish makes them an interesting quarry. Suwannee bass often have brown tones with blue coloration on the bottom rear of their bodies. The way to tell the two apart, however, is the Suwannee's jaw only extends to below the eye compared to the largemouth's jaw that extends well behind the eye.

CLARKS HILL LAKE
Clarks Hill Lake is Georgia's largest reservoir at 71,535 acres. This Corps of Engineers impoundment that is officially known as Strom Thurmond Reservoir is located on the Savannah River not far from Augusta. With numerous large creeks feeding the lake, more than 1,200 miles of shoreline, and vast expanses of open water, Clarks Hill is an inland ocean for bass anglers.