Shurling Lake Fishing in Johnson County, Georgia

• Overview

  Shurling Lake lies in Johnson County, in Georgia. Everything around it is dry hill. This is a pocket water of some 12 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. You are 0.7 miles from Wrightsville. After that come Tennille at 15 miles and East Dublin at 16 miles. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Shurling Lake

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline instead. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Documented catches and surveys in the area cover chain pickerel, tessellated darter, ironcolor shiner and lake chubsucker. That is what has been logged nearby, not a stocking list, so check local rules before you plan around any one species. At Shurling Lake the water rewards a slow, careful approach.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 81°F and January near 46°F on the long-run figures. The hard part of the year is the heat, not the cold. Heat pushes fish deep from June onwards, so start early. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. That shapes the year on Shurling Lake. Water temperature lags behind air temperature by days, not hours.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Mapping records no facilities at all near this water. Pike mean a wire trace, no exceptions; big spoons and jerkbaits do the searching. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. If the gate is shut, Bell Pond at 1 mile is the nearest alternative. Signs at Shurling Lake carry more weight than any list.