Advertisement
Catfish Fishing
A lazy, yawning, stretching sun is warm, finally, as it peers across treetops bordering Crooked Creek. Winter’s bite has clung on tenaciously this year. After months of chilling winds, rain and more rain, Lake Sinclair almost feels like home again on this Monday, the second week of April. The old faded vest that has weathered…
Flathead catfish are spawning on rocks at Clarks Hill right now, and you can have fun catching them for the next two months. Go after a mess to eat, or try to break the lake record—but be forewarned, breaking a catfish record at Clarks Hill will require a monster fish! The flathead record was set…
Just how big are some of the catfish swimming in the waters of Lake Sinclair? We can confirm right at 80 pounds! A new Lake Sinclair record blue catfish was caught this weekend by Guy Covington, of Social Circle, that pulled the certified scales to 79.5 pounds. And Guy released the beast back into Sinclair…
On the afternoon of Jan. 26, long-time buddies Brandon Pitts and Kenny Scott set out on Lake Sinclair in hopes of wrangling some big stripers. Finding gizzard shad of a suitable size for bait proved to be difficult, forcing the anglers to alter their game plan. Unbeknownst to them, it put them on a path…
DNR Fisheries staff recently captured non-native flathead catfish while sampling in the Ogeechee River. WRD staff conducts annual catfish sampling in coastal rivers to monitor native species and detect any potential non-native species. In December 2021, a single flathead was caught by a commercial fisherman. Until then, no flatheads had been reported in…
The world moved slower a hundred years ago in south Georgia. Life was simpler; but, truly, times were hard. There was little industry. No “town” jobs to speak of in a spot as sparse as Soperton. Willie T. Barwick was struggling just to get by in the year 1920, at wit’s end. That’s when he…
A blue catfish tagging project on the Satilla River is underway, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) researchers need your help. Discovered in this waterway a few years ago, fisheries managers hope to use this study to learn more about this non-native species and better assess its impact. “As a large…
Dennis Johnson and his crew won first place and a check for $7,500 in the 100% payback Brandon Key Catfishing Tournament on Lake Sinclair June 10-11. The 8th annual tournament is a fundraiser for 30-30 Ministries, a 501c3 non-profit organization youth ministry whose mission is to use hunting and fishing as a platform to share…
About twice a month, James Rowland likes to go to Lake Sinclair with his fishing buddy so they can stock their freezers with good eating-size catfish. The Hartwell native never imagined that he’d ever catch a single blue cat that would seemingly feed half of his hometown. James is the new Lake Sinclair record holder…
One evening, Seth Shoults headed out to the Etowah River specifically to set a new waterbody catfish record. He didn’t just break a record. In fact, he established two new records in less than an hour of each other with two different species. The angler from Cartersville regularly fishes the Etowah River in northwestern Georgia.…
Catfish Recipes
Smoked Catfish Dip We had some company coming over to watch some football recently and my wife asked me to pick up an appetizer at the grocery store. A smoked fish dip sounded nice, so I checked out the offerings at Publix. It was $8.99 for a small tub of dip, and I would probably…
I caught six small catfish recently and realized after cleaning them I had no peanut oil. It was late, so I decided to blacken them with Cajun spices instead of frying them. They were incredible. But trust me, don’t try this inside the house! Catfish fillets, skinned 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder…
I must admit, I first thought putting catfish in a taco might result in my man card being revoked. For me, fried or blackened catfish was the only way to go. I was pleasantly shocked just how good a catfish taco is. I plan to make my own next time when my buddies aren’t around…