Scrapbook – June 2023

Hunter Brandenburg, of Winder, hefts an 8-lb. bass he caught on April 29 while fishing a Walton County lake in Social Circle.

Vidalia’s Kelley Beasley with her gobbler killed on April 22 in Emanuel County. Her husband Brandon roosted him the evening before, and they got set up early and close the next morning.

Brandon Truelove, of Gainesville, with an 8 1/2-lb. Lake Lanier bass caught and released in April.

Tommy Hightower, of Mansfield, rolled this big gobbler April 15 at Clybel WMA during the quota hunt. It had an 11 1/2-inch beard.

Travis Roper, of Pine Mountain, got his opening-morning gobbler with the help of his good luck charms—his wife and son… and the GON hats! Travis said the birds were active in Troup County.

Congrats to Ashley Carden, of Greenville, with her first buck. Ashley downed the Meriwether County 8-pointer on Nov. 17.

“I got to my stand about 3 p.m. thinking the deer would be moving early since it was getting colder. And boy was I right,” said Ben Bartlett, of Bowersville. He shot deer No. 30 that came into the field on Nov. 13—this Franklin County 8-pointer.

This Terrell County 9-pointer had never shown up on camera, but Clinton Hyre, of Dawson, got him on Nov. 25.

Justus Holt, of Hogansville, with his Sprewell Bluff WMA 13-pointer.

Brandon Cook, a GON subscriber from Spalding County, went home with this 8-point buck after a Nov. 14 hunt in Jasper County.

Donna Fielding with just her second buck ever, and it’s a super 13-pointer. Donna was hunting in Henry County.

Garland Peebles killed this red-phase gobbler the morning of May 2 while hunting in Emanuel County.

Kate Silva with a 7.74-lb. bass she caught last summer while fishing a private lake in Oglethorpe County.

Lee McVay and his daughter Allison pose with Lee’s first turkey. He was hunting in Thomas County on opening day when he got the gobbler with a 10 1/2-inch beard and 1 1/4-inch spurs.

Steve Miller with one of two bears he killed with traditional archery gear in the north Georgia mountains last season. This one was taken in very rough terrain on the Chattahoochee National Forest. Steve saw the bear on a trail, and at 25 yards they had a 45-second stare-off. The bear bolted, and Steve followed in that direction. A steep cliff on the other side forced the bear to turn back and cross the trail just 5 yards in front of Steve, and he made the shot.

David Strickland, of Cairo, took out a Grady County coyote (below) on April 17 after it chased the turkeys he was hunting out of a field. David returned to the same field the next day and harvested this nice gobbler.

Congrats to Troy Kent, of Covington, on his first deer, a 5-point buck taken in Franklin County on Oct. 29.

Jerrimie Tolbert holds a 23-lb. striped bass caught on cutbait last October at West Point. A week later, Jerrimie boated a 61-lb. lake-record blue catfish.