Posts by John Trussell
Fishing Hot Spots For Big Lazer PFA Bass
Big Lazer Creek PFA in Talbot County may be a hidden nugget among PFAs. For most, it’s a little out of the way, but I believe it’s well worth a visit. It’s centrally located on Big Lazer WMA, and it looks like a huge farm pond. The PFA manager is David Craven, and he runs…
Read More12 Bears Taken On Middle Georgia Hunt
WRD Senior Wildlife Biologist Bobby Bond called it right. He said with record warm temperatures pushing 80 degrees, the bears would be on the move and a high harvest might occur. Bobby nailed it. For middle Georgia’s annual one-day bear hunt, which took place on Saturday, Dec. 13, there were 12 bears checked in. This…
Read MoreFish Live Bait and Artificials For Juliette’s Christmas Stripers
Imagine that you are slowing drifting with live gizzard shad when several stripers start pounding the surface in a feeding frenzy only 20 yards away. Do you try to troll through the stripers, or do you pull out your surface lure and make a long cast into the fish? When opportunity knocks, it’s often best…
Read MoreTruck Stuck? Let The Fun Begin
The situation is usually different, but the results are always the same. You’re heading down some dirt road to that secret honey hole, and there’s been quite a bit of rain lately. Suddenly your hunting vehicle begins to slip and slide as you lose traction on the muddy, rutted road. Quicker than you can say…
Read MoreFish Shallow Hydrilla For Eufaula’s Fall Bass
Jaci Skipper cast her Lew’s baitcaster reel loaded with an Ultra Vibe Speed Worm into a stiff 10-15 mph wind at Lake Eufaula. The worm zipped out as though it was being cast by a seasoned fishing pro. But Jaci is only 17 years old and a student at Rehobeth High School in Dothan, Ala.…
Read MoreFish Up The Rivers To Catch Mullet
As a young boy who often visited his grandparents, Lelia McDuffie and Eddie Tennesse Smith, in Wilcox County back in the 1960s, I thought that mullet was the best tasting fish to ever be pulled from the water and put on a plate. But hey, the pure fact was that I was starving at the…
Read MoreSummertime Catfish Memories at Oconee
The rod sticking off the back of the boat started to gently wave as though a fish might be messing with the bait, and guide Chad Smith urged patience and said, “Wait for it. Wait for it.” Within a few seconds, the rod doubled down in a deep bend, and a big catfish was on!…
Read MoreMore Than One Way To Skin Blackshear Catfish
How many ways can you catch a catfish? There’s a bunch of ways to get them in the boat, and with very liberal limits on channels and flatheads (ok, how about no limit), you can get all you want. With a population that is very prolific in all Georgia lakes, rivers and reservoirs, your chances…
Read MoreSmall Lake Profile: Flat Creek PFA
Build a good Public Fishing Area, and the people will come! In 2014, the DNR reported that Flat Creek had more than 40,000 visitors, and that included fishermen, hikers, archers, scout groups and others who just come out to enjoy the scenic location. Max Wood, the PFA manager, is a 35-year veteran of DNR service,…
Read MoreSmall Lake Profile: Hugh Gillis PFA
Hopefully, a good Public Fishing Area should get better with age, and due to good management from WRD and strong public support, Hugh M. Gillis PFA, near Dublin in Laurens County, is living up to that potential. The 109-acre lake, which opened in 2004, looks like a large fertile farm pond. It’s shaped like a…
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