Posts by Nick Carter
Troup County Cougar Is A Florida Panther
On Nov. 16, when a big cat was killed in Troup County west of LaGrange, DNR indicated it was probably a captive-reared cougar. Now that genetic testing has been conducted, it turns out the cat in question came from the endangered Florida panther population, of which there are only an estimated 100 to 120 individuals…
Read MoreThe Swamp Bottom Buck Of Beagle’s Demise
Clark lurched forward and teetered as the mud squelched then gurgled, sucking with a firm grip on his right boot. He dug in hard, pushing with his left leg to free his right, then groaned in frustration as his other knee-high, rubber boot disappeared. With a slurp, he sank thigh-deep in the warm quagmire. “Dangit…
Read MoreIs There a New World-Record Largemouth Bass?
Georgia may soon have to share one of its most coveted claims to fame — the world-record largemouth bass. The details are sketchy, because no one at GON speaks Japanese, but from what we could glean from The International Game Fish Association (IGFA), Internet forums and the Associated Press, a flashy Deps pro-staff angler from Japan, Manabu…
Read MoreCentral Bank Hunting Lost Money After Boater Registration Foul-Up
Problems continue with the state’s new licensing and boater-registration system. This time the headache falls not only on Georgia’s sportsmen, DNR and the company contracted to handle the duties are in the mess as well. For more than five months, from Dec. 23, 2008-May 27, 2009, Georgians who registered their boats through the new online…
Read MoreNew Management Plan Could Expand Hunting At Bond Swamp
Hunting access could expand greatly at Bond Swamp in Bibb and Twiggs counties over the next 15 years, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) wants to hear from hunters in order to do it. The public comment period for a new draft of a 15-year management plan for FWS-managed Bond Swamp ends July…
Read MoreSnapper Ban Delayed As Council Weighs Ban Of Bottom Fishing
The good news first: An interim, 6-month ban on red-snapper fishing on the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida has been put off. Originally slated to begin as early as June, the closure has been pushed back, possibly as late as October, as the measure is reviewed. The bad news: You better catch your…
Read MoreDNR Implements Monthly Furloughs For Employees Except EPD
In tough economic times, decreased revenues at the state level have trickled down. A lack of funding is putting a squeeze on DNR, and the latest spending cut is mandatory furloughs for all DNR employees, except for employees with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD). DNR Commissioner Chris Clark said his department is looking at a…
Read MoreDouglas Angler Catches And Eats Uncertified 18 1/2-pound Bass
The catch-and-release purists might want to take a seat for this one… On May 14, a Douglas angler caught a largemouth bass from a 50-acre Jeff Davis County farm pond that pulled a set of hand-held digital scales to 18-lbs., 8-ozs. If certified scales had taken that weight, there would be a new No. 2…
Read MoreDNR Busts Up Laurens, Dodge Poaching Ring
This week DNR Law Enforcement busted up an extensive poaching ring in Dodge and Laurens counties and served seven individuals with warrants on 113 poaching-related charges. “In my 28 years with DNR Law Enforcement, I have worked a lot of cases, and I have never seen anything like it,” said Section Supervisor Sgt. Keith Byers.…
Read MoreDNR Rangers Investigating Widespread Poaching In Dodge And Laurens Counties
When DNR enforcement officers began looking closer at two men charged with turkey-related violations in south Georgia, it sparked an investigation that could bust up wide-spread illegal-hunting activities in and around Dodge and Laurens counties. On April 18, Ranger Johnny Ashe charged William Stacy Jones, of Eastman, with possession of illegally taken wildlife and hunting…
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