Posts by Craig James
Deer Dogging Offers Family-Type Atmosphere
Though I write for GON monthly, this makes the first hunting story I’ve worked on in quite some time, and that’s not by accident. I’ll be upfront and honest. I’m not particularly fond of the direction the hunting sector as a whole is headed, and I haven’t been for a long time. Now, let me…
Read MoreOutdoor Dream Foundation Hunt In Tattnall County
On Nov. 8-9 , Blake Jeffers of the Guide to Georgia Outdoors YouTube channel hosted the fourth annual Outdoor Dream Foundation hunt on his family farm in Tattnall County. Originally slated for the weekend of Oct. 8, the event was rescheduled due to the recent destruction of Hurricane Helene. “It’s been a mess down here,…
Read MorePiedmont NWR Gives Up Giant 173-Inch Buck
On Oct. 31, Chad Hutcheson, of Bladen, managed to take down a massive 14-point buck in the Jones County section of Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge during the area’s annual muzzleloader quota hunt. Like any good hunt story, the events that led Chad to that magical moment were pretty incredible. “Last season was my first time…
Read MoreCrews Makes Most Of His Time, Catches Withlacoochee Redbreast Record
On Sept. 1, Jacob Crews, of Waycross, punched the clock at work and headed for the Withlacoochee River near Valdosta. Jacob arrived at the river around 4:30 or so and quickly unloaded his kayak before beginning to fish. “It’s a good little ride from Waycross, probably an hour and a half or so, and I…
Read MoreSt. Marys River Offers Last Chance For Rooster Reds
You could sum up my priorities in life in a few short words. God, family, work and big rooster redbreasts! I’ll add that work wouldn’t even make the list, but let’s face it, you’ve got to keep the lights on and gas in the pickup truck. When it comes to those big rooster redbreast,…
Read MoreTeen’s Bear One Of Georgia’s Heaviest Ever
A 16-year-old hunter killed one of the biggest bears ever taken Georgia—the second heaviest ever from north Georgia and the fifth heaviest overall. On Oct. 22, Grayson Collins, of Blairsville, managed to take down the bear of a lifetime. The behemoth weighed 620 pounds on certified scales. Grayson was hunting a few miles from Ball…
Read MoreAlapaha River Bass & Bream
Almost every GON fishing story involves a local expert, most often it’s someone with hundreds, if not thousands, of hours spent on the subject body of water. I’ve worked on many such stories through the years with GON, and it amazes me how much you can learn through the experience of others. I’ll go ahead…
Read MoreAlapaha River Redbreast Record Broken Again
On Aug. 24, Jacob Crews decided to make a trip to the Alapaha River after finishing his morning shift at the CSX Rice Yard in Waycross. “I had made a trip over there a week or so before, and that was actually my first time fishing the river. I fished out of my kayak and…
Read MoreOcmulgee River Shoal Bass, Summertime From A Kayak
The phrase “Dog Days” doesn’t quite describe what’s going on in Georgia this month. I just took a quick glance out of my kitchen window at the thermometer that hangs on the corner of my back porch, and at roughly 2 in the afternoon, it’s clocking in right at 97 degrees—in the shade! Even a…
Read MoreSuwannee River Stumpknocker Just Misses State Record
On June 22, 15-year-old Kaden Forsythe, of Homerville, reeled in the spotted sunfish of a lifetime while fishing the Suwannee River near the tiny town of Fargo. The day started out like any other fishing trip, and the 10th grader admits that setting a record was the last thing on his mind. “I was fishing…
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