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Home › Waters › Georgia › Spring Creek
Spring creek · Southwest Georgia, Seminole and Decatur counties, the Dougherty Plain limestone country above Lake Seminole near Iron City · Georgia

Spring Creek Fishing Guides

A genuine limestone spring creek in the Dougherty Plain karst of southwest Georgia, drained by four hundred and ninety square miles of sinkhole country and running clear into the upper end of Lake Seminole.

A small waterfall stepping through mossy boulders in an eastern hardwood forest
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Spring Creek

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About the Spring Creek

Spring Creek drains four hundred and ninety square miles of the Dougherty Plain, the limestone karst belt of southwest Georgia, and reaches Lake Seminole a short distance below the gauge near Iron City. It is a spring creek in the literal sense rather than the borrowed one. The underlying Floridan aquifer feeds the channel through springs and seeps along its length, and that groundwater contribution is what keeps the creek flowing and comparatively clear through a dry southern summer when surface-fed streams nearby are reduced to pools.

The gauge reads rainfall, discharge and stage. On a karst stream the relationship between those three is worth understanding before a trip, because a rain event on the Dougherty Plain can vanish into sinkholes rather than reaching the channel, and a modest rainfall total does not always produce the rise you would expect. Flow is the number that matters most here, and a steady reading generally means clear water and a good day.

The creek runs over limestone ledge and gravel with sand between, and it holds rock structure of a kind that is scarce elsewhere in the coastal plain. That rock is why shoal bass are present, a species with a limited range centred on the Apalachicola basin and one of the more sought-after fish in the state. Largemouth and spotted bass share the water, redear sunfish grow large on the abundant snails, and bluegill and redbreast sunfish are everywhere. Crappie push up from Seminole in spring, and channel and flathead catfish hold in the deeper bends.

The lower reach backs up into Lake Seminole and is boatable; the upper creek is small, shaded water best suited to a kayak, a canoe or wading where the landowner situation allows.

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Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Spring Creek.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Spring Creek cfs

Now: 302 cfs, read 6:00 pm CDT, Sun Oct 18, 2026 (USGS 02357000, SPRING CREEK NEAR IRON CITY, GA).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Iron City - the closest small town, immediately upstream of the gauge, with basic services.
Colquitt - the Miller County seat to the north, with fuel, food, lodging and tackle.
Lake Seminole - the reservoir the creek enters, with numerous public ramps within a short drive.
Seminole State Park - a developed public park on the lake with camping, cabins and a ramp.
Bainbridge - the nearest city of size, roughly half an hour east, with guides and full services.
Spring Creek Park - a county access point on the lower creek near the lake end.
Donalsonville - the Seminole County seat to the south, with additional lodging.

Seasons

Spring: shoal bass and largemouth turn on over the rock, and crappie push up out of Seminole into the lower creek.
Summer: the spring flow keeps the creek cooler and clearer than the surrounding country, making this one of the better hot-weather options in the region.
Fall: excellent bass fishing as the water cools, with shoal bass holding on the ledges and sunfish still active.
Winter: low and very clear, which makes for technical sight fishing on the shoals and reliable catfishing in the deeper bends.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Spring Creek?

As of Oct 18, 6:00 pm, the USGS gauge SPRING CREEK NEAR IRON CITY, GA reads 302 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Spring Creek?

Anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Bowfin, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Largemouth Bass, Longnose Gar, Redbreast Sunfish, Redear Sunfish, Shoal Bass, Spotted Bass, Warmouth, White Crappie on the Spring Creek in Georgia.

Where can you access the Spring Creek?

Iron City - the closest small town, immediately upstream of the gauge, with basic services. Colquitt - the Miller County seat to the north, with fuel, food, lodging and tackle. Lake Seminole - the reservoir the creek enters, with numerous public ramps within a short drive. Seminole State Park - a developed public park on the lake with camping, cabins and a ramp. Bainbridge - the nearest city of size, roughly half an hour east, with guides and full services. Spring Creek Park - a county access point on the lower creek near the lake end. Donalsonville - the Seminole County seat to the south, wit...

When is the best time to fish the Spring Creek?

Spring: shoal bass and largemouth turn on over the rock, and crappie push up out of Seminole into the lower creek. Summer: the spring flow keeps the creek cooler and clearer than the surrounding country, making this one of the better hot-weather options in the region. Fall: excellent bass fishing as the water cools, with shoal bass holding on the ledges and sunfish still active. Winter: low and very clear, which makes for technical sight fishing on the shoals and reliable catfishing in the deeper bends.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Spring Creek?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Georgia agency site: https://georgiawildlife.com/fishing-regulations