Georgia Gets 12-Deer Limit, Antler Rule For 2002

Major changes to deer-hunting regulations enacted by the General Assembly will take effect for the coming deer season. Significant was the change that allows deer hunting to begin one week earlier in September. The upshot is that firearms season will be one week longer than normal. Statewide, archery season will open on September 14, P/W…

Read More

History Of NWTF’s Georgia State Chapter

“And the winning number of the chapter gun, this brand new Mossberg in Advantage camo, is…!” Not mine. As NWTF Regional Director Ricky Peek finished calling out the rest of the winning ticket number, I tossed my little green ticket onto the table, right next to my door-prize number card, and my blue ticket for…

Read More

Black Shoals Crappie

Tim Guthrie, of Lithonia, never guessed that when his turn at fishing fame came around, it would be a result of catching crappie. Having been a serious bass fisherman for 30 years, and a crappie fishermen for a little more than one, Tim doesn’t quite fit in with your average crappie fanatic found on Georgia…

Read More

Jack Scott And Bubba’s Gobbler

Jack Scott, of Cochran, remembers clearly the first time he ever took Bubba Browning turkey hunting, and he remembers the gobbler Bubba killed that morning in the mid 1980s on Ogeechee WMA. He also remembers the last gobbler he ever called in for Bubba. Those stories, along with the hunt for every gobbler Bubba killed…

Read More

Sportsmen Hit By WRD Budget Cuts

In the first week of the 2002 General Assembly, Gov. Roy Barnes revealed his budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2003, unveiling at the same time his picks from among DNR’s list of budget-cut offerings. Though the bite taken out of the Wildlife Resources Division could have been worse, and there is still a likelihood that…

Read More

Clarks Hill Early Spring Crappie

Billy Murphy’s success as a crappie fisherman on Clarks Hill, and his local reputation as someone who knows where the crappie are and whether they are biting or not, comes from several factors. One is the fact that he has been fishing the lake full time since it was impounded, first with his father and…

Read More

Georgia Quail, BQI And Bob Lane

During the last five years, Georgia hunters and fishermen have enjoyed strong leadership for their interests in the state legislature, and the list of results is impressive. From organized efforts to restore wild quail, to elevating the legal status of hunting from a “privilege” to a “right,” outdoorsmen have witnessed an unusual amount of energy…

Read More

Georgia Giant Catfish: Top 4 Destinations

The places you can go in Georgia to catch a catfish are unlimited — in fact, try to find a state Public Fishing Area, big public reservoir, river or pay lake that does not have catfish of some kind and see what you come up with. But if a trophy rod-bender is your target, the…

Read More

Georgia Bream Hotspots

May and June are special months in Georgia for fishermen — the time of year when bream fishing is at its best. Watching a bobber, or tossing a spinner to bream beds, is extremely fun whether you are seven or 70. It’s a great way to load up a livewell for the church fish-fry, or…

Read More

Lake Weiss Cold Snap Bass

October 10, the coldest morning Georgia had seen this fall, and here I was going bass fishing. Terrific. In the dawn light, as I headed west through Floyd County toward Lake Weiss, I could see frost on the grass in the pastures. A great morning to be sitting in a deer stand, I thought, but…

Read More