Posts by Mike Bolton
Blackshear’s First Shellcracker Record Is A Grown ‘Un
When Robin Van Dette made her first cast of the day on Lake Blackshear, she immediately knew something big had inhaled the red wiggler she was using for bait. Over the next few minutes and hours, her emotions would go from excitement, to disappointment, to incredible excitement. “My husband Mark and I have a place…
Read MoreHolden Hines Aims To Make Shoot-Out History With Macon County Buck
Fifteen-year-old Holden Hines, of Macon, hopes that good feeling he’s having is being caused by all the planets lining up just right. “I’m turning 16 in a few months,” the high school freshman said. “Winning that truck would be perfect timing. I’ve ordered the gun we will be using in the Truck-Buck Shoot-Out. I plan…
Read MoreOconee River Blue Cat Record Broken By 10-Year-Old
If the 5th-grade class at Morgan Elementary School in Madison had show-and-tell a few weeks back, Zackary Mashburn was undoubtedly the winner. The 10-year-old caught the largest blue catfish—38-lbs., 11.52-ozs.–to ever come from the Oconee River below Lake Sinclair. He caught it on April 24. “It took me 15 minutes to get him in,” the…
Read MoreFinally! A Photo For The Lake Jackson Bass Record
There are more than 1.1 million licensed anglers in Georgia. Of that number, only a small percentage have ever had the honor of being recognized by GON as catching the largest fish of a certain species from an individual lake. What are the odds of a fisherman catching two lake-record fish of two different species…
Read MoreTri-State Study Fits 175 Coyotes With GPS Trackers
University of Georgia Wildlife professor Dr. Michael Chamberlain is recognized across the South for his research on the wild turkey and white-tailed deer. Pin him down and he’ll confess that deep in his DNA is also a fascination with coyotes. In his early days of research, the role of the coyote in the lives of…
Read MoreWild In The Kitchen: Orange-Glaze Wild Hog Pork Loin
Orange-Glazed Wild Hog Pork Loins Are you looking for a way to cook a wild pig that wows your family and friends? You can use this recipe and convince anyone that it’s the finest piece of meat from the grocery store. 2 pork loins 1 cup brown sugar Juice from 2 oranges Zest from 2…
Read MoreNew Lake Oconee Flathead Record A Family Affair
John Burnett’s name will appear on GON’s Lake & River Records signifying his recent catch as the largest flathead catfish ever caught on Lake Oconee, but the Conyers angler says it was really a family affair. The 52-lb., 8-oz. flathead caught on April 23 has been certified as the lake record after being seen by…
Read MoreGeorgia Teen Angler Makes Bassmaster High School All-America Team
The unincorporated community of Ellerslie has a population of just 1,053 people. Like all small communities, what happens at the local high school is a really big deal. That is especially true of high school sports. Now, the community is buzzing about officially having a sports celebrity in its midst. Harris County junior fisherman Storm…
Read MoreAnother Tick Threat: Heartland Virus Kills Georgia Man
A tick-borne virus relatively new to Georgia has taken the life of a Baldwin County man, officials confirm. The officials did not identify the man. The virus, called the Heartland virus, hospitalizes many of those infected. Emory University Associate Professor Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, who has studied the virus since it was discovered in 2009, said that…
Read MoreNew No. 3 Multi-Bearded Gobbler In Georgia Records
Finally scoring on a wily old gobbler after months and maybe even years of frustrating chase is one of the most fulfilling accomplishments in hunting. Of course, taking one of Georgia’s top all-time turkeys that you had no idea existed, and doing it without much preparation, can be quite exciting, too. One Georgia turkey hunter…
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