Joe Kurz Buck Recovery Helps Hunter Through Difficult Time

It makes this GON editor smile knowing that we played even just a minor part in a hunter recovering his deer, while helping him through a very difficult period in his life. Justin Simpson, of Social Circle, was drawn to hunt the first 2014 quota hunt at Joe Kurz WMA. He was hunting on Oct.…

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Squirrel Numbers Way Down In Mountains

As the fall rolls on, more and more hunters will begin to shift their thoughts from deer hunting to other things, like squirrel hunting. However, this change in thinking comes with a problem, at least if you’re a mountain hunter. Squirrel populations in northwest and northeast Georgia are at the lowest they’ve been since 1968,…

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Giant Buck From Piedmont NWR

A giant, 16-point buck has been killed at Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. The hunter, Joey Bickford, of Valdosta, was drawn for the Nov. 6-8 either-sex quota hunt. On the afternoon of Nov. 6, Joey got in the tree at about 3 p.m. “Joey had been in his stand about 30 minutes when he heard something…

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Clarks Hill Bassin’ in November Centers Around The Bait

Clarks Hill largemouth are a different breed. I was there a couple of weeks ago with Jon Hair, a regular on the tournament scene on this east Georgia reservoir, and we had a blast on an 85-degree afternoon catching topwater schoolies in 50 feet of water over hydrilla beds. There was no difficulty when it…

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Fisherman Rescued From Lake Allatoona

According to Larry Parris, of Acworth, it was divine intervention that a local fisherman was rescued from the chilly Lake Allatoona waters on Oct. 20. Larry, (Crappiepappy on the GON web forum), his wife, Carol, and Stewart Wright (Crappieking), of Euharlee, were fishing for crappie below Little River at about 1:30 p.m. Larry and his…

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The Longest Drag

Some of my fondest hunting memories have come when pursing deer and hogs a mile or more from the truck. My most recent memory is from Altamaha WMA, where I spent several days hunting hogs a few Octobers ago. Between six of us, we hauled 15 hogs out of the woods, with the longest pull…

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Darden Dove Shoot Gets A Visit From An American Hero

As expected, this annual dove shoot had plenty of shooting and a number of limits, but it was a visit from an American hero that made the day so special for the roughly 100 in attendance. Three Star Marine Corps General E.R. “Buck” Bedard with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) made the trip from…

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Potential Seatrout Regs Need More Soak Time If Implemented

Discussions on a potential increase in the minimum-size limit on spotted seatrout that will initially result in fewer fish for the fryer—but over time could greatly improve the quality of these inshore fish—will continue as Georgia’s Fin Fish Advisory Panel (FFAP) gets back together in the first quarter of 2015. “When you compare and contrast…

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Jones County Coyote Attacks Deputy Sheriff On His 4-wheeler

Law-enforcement folks are trained on how to react in scary situations, and it could have been that knowledge that saved the life of a Jones County deputy sheriff after being attacked by a coyote. “On June 4, 2014, around 11 p.m., I was riding my 4-wheeler on my property,” said Deputy Sheriff Paul Hathaway, who…

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Blue Cats In Carters Lake? Lake Record Certified

Gary Turner, of Statham, is the first angler to have a blue catfish entry in GON’s Georgia Lake and River Records list for this north Georgia reservoir. He caught the record fish on Aug. 17 while in the boat with GON Fishing Reports contributor and lake guide Eric Crowley. Gary’s fish weighed 17-lbs., 4.64-ozs. Although…

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