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Fishing
Latest Fishing Articles
On Feb. 22, Colt James, of Waycross, managed to wrangle in a 6-lb., 7.68-oz. bowfin while fishing with his dad. The fish measured in at an impressive 26 inches long and was good enough to set the benchmark record for the St Marys River. If Colt’s name sounds familiar, it may be because the 12-year-old…
As most people were driving home from their 9-to-5 jobs the evening of Feb. 17, Aaron Riggins was having the fight of his life on Lake Hartwell. “With whom?” you might ask. None other than a 75-lb. catfish, and it very well could have been the same 74-lb. fish he caught in the area about…
The warming trend that hit Georgia last week had fishermen across the state itching to be on the water, whether pulling jigs for slab crappie or bass anglers hoping to roll a big one that moved up shallow. It sure paid off for GON content contributor Tyler Morgan, of Phenix City, who had a big…
As the sun came up on Feb. 1, Capt. Ken Athon took two brothers out for a casual fishing trip on Goat Rock Lake. The air was cool and a dense fog was set over the water. Despite the conditions, the group was eager to get started, knowing the fish were going to be active.…
Brayden Batchelor and Quinn Williams of Georgia Southern University knew they’d found the spot, and their confidence delivered a two-day winning total of 42 pounds, 3 ounces in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series event at Lake Okeechobee presented by Bass Pro Shops. Edging Kentucky Christian University’s Cameron Dials and Ethan Burnette by a margin of 2-3, Batchelor…
Bass Fishing
Monticello’s Ben Cleary topped more than 700 anglers to win a new Nitro bass boat in the 3rd annual Minn Kota and Humminbird Owners Tournament, which took place from March 28-30, 2025 out of Lake Point State Park on Lake Eufaula. The event featured anglers from 27 states and Canada, awarding more than $230,000 in…
Some might sit and stare, others might run and gun. That’s late April fishing on Lake Hartwell, and it’s what Tyler Campbell expects for the 2025 Whataburger Bassmaster Elite Series tournament. Competition days will be April 24-27 with daily takeoffs from Green Pond Landing at 7 a.m. ET and weigh-ins each day back at Green Pond…
Boater Christopher Wilder, of Macon, caught a five-bass limit weighing 18-lbs., 11-ozs., Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Oconee. The tournament was the second event of the season for the BFL Bulldog Division. Wilder earned $6,641, including the lucrative Phoenix MLF Contingency Bonus, for…
Hybrid Fishing
With a hint of excitement in his voice, Lake Juliette fishing guide Jeff Mooney said, “Watch that pole, it’s going down!” He pointed at the rod next to Bob Turner and, as Jeff predicted, a slight bend in the rod became a deep arc toward the water as the striper pulled out line and the…
From the time I was old enough to crawl into a plywood boat on the Ocmulgee River, there’s one thing I was taught NOT to do: make noise. So why is this striper guide constantly rapping on the floor of his Ranger with the rubber-tipped butt end of a sawed-off walking cane? Because he’s learned…
Live-bait fishing for hybrids and stripers can be crazy good this time of year on Clarks Hill, with limits in minutes when the fish are bunched on points and humps feeding on herring—if you’re there at the right time. If you’d like to see proof, take a look at fishing guide Eddie Mason’s Facebook page…
Striper Fishing
Travis Harrell, of Albany, has just beat the previous Lower Flint River striped bass record with his 52-lb., 0.2-oz. beast caught right below the Albany Power Dam on March 19, 2025. The fish to beat weighed 48-lbs., 5-ozs. caught in 1983 by John Hoffpauir Jr. Harrell and his father Wayne are no strangers to big…
The day of striper fishing on West Point for Mike Steele, of Dallas, was pretty-danged boring until it wasn’t. It ended with him landing a 40-lb. striper that’s a new lake record. He has his buddy Mike Bartlett to thank, and Bartlett wasn’t even the net man. “My buddy and I had fished from daylight…
The Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI) hosted 31 Purple Heart recipients during its annual Wounded Veterans Fishing Weekend at Lake Lanier July 7-9. Georgia SCI has hosted the event for more than a decade, providing a full weekend of fishing and fun on Lake Lanier for wounded veterans and their guests. The three-day event,…
Catfish Fishing
I’ve always been proud of my nephew, Kennon. Being the son of my twin brother, Corey, he was right between us on many of our outdoor excursions. He has shown to be very active and fearless, hunting everything from ducks to alligators. I remember on one occasion, while I was wading through a chilly swamp…
As most people were driving home from their 9-to-5 jobs the evening of Feb. 17, Aaron Riggins was having the fight of his life on Lake Hartwell. “With whom?” you might ask. None other than a 75-lb. catfish, and it very well could have been the same 74-lb. fish he caught in the area about…
As the sun came up on Feb. 1, Capt. Ken Athon took two brothers out for a casual fishing trip on Goat Rock Lake. The air was cool and a dense fog was set over the water. Despite the conditions, the group was eager to get started, knowing the fish were going to be active.…
Crappie Fishing
It’s too easy to get caught up in it all. Oh, I’ve been there; was snared for a couple of years. A jury of my peers would unanimously have found me guilty: Laboring While Fishing. It’s easy to lay it at the fins of that old largemouth, the species that shook fishing’s foundation and built…
Sitting at my kitchen table staring out the window at a backyard that’s been blanketed by the morning frost, I close my eyes for a split second, and I can almost see the dense spring fog floating slowly off the water, slowly making its way up toward the warm morning sun. Yes sir, a month…
Winter can be a tough time to fish with cold temperatures, strong winds and rainy conditions rolling around every few days. You must catch the weather “just right,” says Joe Partenza, an expert crappie angler and a seasoned crappie tournament competitor, who just won one of the most prestigious and highest cash award crappie tournaments…
Bream Fishing
Georgia has a name in the freshwater fish state record books. Wesley Daniels, of Pearson, landed a tie to the current spotted sunfish state record with a 12-oz. on April 15 from the Suwannee River. Wesley’s 8 3/4-inch catch ties the previous state record of 12 ounces caught in 2024 by Jamie Boyett on the…
On Sept. 1, Jacob Crews, of Waycross, punched the clock at work and headed for the Withlacoochee River near Valdosta. Jacob arrived at the river around 4:30 or so and quickly unloaded his kayak before beginning to fish. “It’s a good little ride from Waycross, probably an hour and a half or so, and I…
You could sum up my priorities in life in a few short words. God, family, work and big rooster redbreasts! I’ll add that work wouldn’t even make the list, but let’s face it, you’ve got to keep the lights on and gas in the pickup truck. When it comes to those big rooster redbreast,…
Saltwater Fishing
You never know what you’re going to catch when you head out into the magical waters of the Georgia coast… and apparently you never know how you’re going to catch it either. You’ve heard of fish jumping in the boat, right? Now a big, tasty red snapper would be welcomed, but there are some fish…
A St. Simons Island man is the new state record holder for almaco jack (Seriola rivoliana). James W. Thompson, 21, landed a remarkable 27-lb., 8-oz. almaco jack while fishing offshore near Navy Tower R4 on Sunday, July 28. This impressive catch surpasses the previous record of 23-lbs., 15.04-ozs, established in May 2024 by Jason H.…
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is proud to announce a new women’s state saltwater fish record for jack crevalle (Caranx hippos). Lauren E. Harden, 21, of St. Marys, broke the previous record by landing a 33-lb., 10.72-oz, jack crevalle on May 24, 2024, while fishing on Cumberland Island. The previous record of 30-lbs.,…
Trout Fishing
Thirty-five years ago, the Chattahoochee River—along its course from the Medlock Bridge access site to the McGinnis Ferry Road Bridge in John’s Creek—is where I was introduced to Georgia trout fishing. With fly- and spin-fishing tackle, my buddies and I float-fished the riverway often and caught dozens of trout trip after trip through the northern…
Springtime in Southern Appalachia is a special time of year, much like it is elsewhere in the United States. However, here it’s a little different. The bleak, blustery clutch of winter is gone and surely forgotten. The mountains turn lush shades of green from the bottom of the hollers, meandering slowly toward the top day…
By Tad Murdock The doldrums of winter begin to dissipate across north Georgia as the warmer days in February and March signal the approach of spring. The frigid cold mornings become more bearable with the assurance of a warmer afternoon on the horizon. Georgia’s delayed harvest streams (DH) have hosted thousands of trout anglers since…
Other Georgia Fishing
On Feb. 22, Colt James, of Waycross, managed to wrangle in a 6-lb., 7.68-oz. bowfin while fishing with his dad. The fish measured in at an impressive 26 inches long and was good enough to set the benchmark record for the St Marys River. If Colt’s name sounds familiar, it may be because the 12-year-old…
By Jeffrey James Rowland Lake Cascade in Idaho claims that their lake holds the biggest ones. On Lake Michigan, they catch them in huge numbers off the Navy Pier in Chicago. Thousands are also pulled through the ice every year on Devils Lake in North Dakota. These places and many more across the upper Midwest,…
One of the keys to being a good fisherman is being observant. North Hall High School senior Charlie White was fishing for bass off his grandparent’s dock on Lake Lanier when he noticed a change. “My grandparents have one of those green lights in the water off their pier, and I noticed that the bass…