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Fishing
Latest Fishing Articles
Many families maintain various types of holiday traditions. For the Dees Family of Fruitdale, Ala., Thanksgiving morning means fishing. “For years, we’ve had a tradition of fishing on Thanksgiving morning,” said Keith Dees. “My son and I have been fortunate to have a lot of great experiences in the outdoors with many of them on…
A Midway man is now tied as a state record holder for sheepshead after the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) certified his catch today. Ben Golden III, 63, landed the 14-lb., 14.37-oz. sheepshead near the Sunbury community outside of Midway on Friday. His catch qualifies as a tie with the existing record of 14-lbs.,…
It is now legal to possess and use blueback herring as bait on Lake Allatoona. The new regulation went into effect earlier last month. DNR approved the change after a public comment period in which some fishermen expressed wishes for the change and others expressed concern, Lake Allatoona WRD Fisheries Biologist Jackson Sibley said. Blueback…
Since last February’s printing of GON’s Georgia Lake and River Records list, we’ve added 44 fish, up from the 33 fish we added in February 2022 and 31 fish that were added in February 2021. GON’s exclusive list is always available at GON.com. You never need to wonder if you have a possible record fish…
It’s almost here. Spring is right around the corner. Warmer weather beckons from just a little ways out now, and cabin fever will be cured soon, for several months at least. We’re fortunate here in the South to only be dealt a mild, though still unbearable winter. I have no clue how our northern brethren…
Bass Fishing
Forty teams of Georgia’s top electric-only bass anglers took to Lake Blue Ridge in the north Georgia mountains on Feb. 25 to battle it out amongst the best of the Georgia Total Electric Championship’s 10 participating clubs from across the state. Vying for a record payout in excess of $20,000 in prizes, the tournament payout…
Fishing a crankbait during the prespawn is one of the best ways to catch quality bass. Bass are gradually pushing shallower and shallower as the water temps start to creep up. And the creek channels and 45-degree banks that the bass use for highways set up perfectly for fishing a crankbait. Typically littered with docks,…
Catch a limit of bass cranking points early, and then fish grassbeds and docks the rest of the day for bigger fish at Lake Sinclair. That is Matt Henry’s recipe for a March tournament on Lake Sinclair, and his methods will work for you this month. Georgia Power’s Lake Sinclair on the Oconee and…
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…
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…
Josh McDonald, of Americus, caught a hybrid bass on April 4 that weighed 7-lbs., 11.84-ozs. that sets a benchmark for a brand-new river record on GON’s Georgia Lake and River Records list. He was spending the day with his older brother Jason and his twin brother Justin. “We are all baseball coaches, so we never…
Striper 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…
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…
The Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International (SCI) was honored to host 25 Purple Heart recipients during its annual Wounded Veterans Fishing Weekend at Lake Lanier July 9-11. The event, which has been hosted for more than a decade by Georgia SCI, provides a full weekend of fishing and fun on Lake Lanier for wounded…
Catfish Fishing
Michael Dollar, of Raysville, said that flathead catfish in the 70-lb. variety in Clarks Hill aren’t necessarily rare, but catching one on a rod and reel isn’t something you hear much about. Taking that one step further, boating one after an hour-long fight using an ultralight crappie fishing setup using just 6-lb. line may have…
Rob Allgood and his dad Robbie decided to fish for catfish at Oconee on Saturday, March 11. Robbie has been fishing for Oconee catfish since the lake was impounded, and he and Rob fish the Middle Georgia Catfish Anglers tournament trail. That Saturday, he said they were “just messing around.” The day was slow, they…
Nicholas Leeson has a new good-luck charm he will be keeping in his back pocket—or at least in the back of the boat—when he fishes the remaining seven catfish tournaments with the M&J Catfish War crew. It was in this tournament trail’s latest event, held on Andrews Lake on the Chattahoochee River, when he boated…
Crappie Fishing
On Wednesday Jan. 11, Kary Davis, of Jesup, managed to set a new crappie record on the Satilla River while fishing with his good friend, Bobby White. “We originally wanted to go to the Altamaha, but it was running too high. It had been a few years since I’d fished the Satilla, and I had…
Gentlemen, start your engines! But more appropriately, get your outboard motors up and running and get ready to fish. Spring is right around the corner, and now is the time to get everything in tip-top shape and ready to hit the lakes, streams and reservoirs of this great state. Yes, we are still in the…
As I am beginning to type this story, what seems to be the last few drops of rain from Tropical Storm Nicole can be heard as they splatter on my roof. Originally forecasted to receive huge amounts of rainfall, my old trusty rain gauge says we only got a little more than 2 inches at…
Bream Fishing
Glenn Settles lives on the Ogeechee River between Statesboro and Sylvania. His riverside home gives him the opportunity to fish several evenings a week. He loves the leisure of fishing for redbreast sunfish. What he rarely catches on the river is warmouth, but June 21 was different. “I was fishing for redbreast sunfish with…
Joshua Barnhill’s day of fishing on the Savannah River didn’t turn out anything like he had hoped. His plans were to use a bobber and crickets to catch bluegill that he would use later in the day to bait his trotlines. What he caught instead was a lot more exciting. “To tell you the truth,…
Dale Williams is the new poster child for where’s there’s a will, there’s a way. His ingenuity recently paid off with him catching his largest bluegill ever. The Vidalia resident’s 1-lb.. 2.56-oz. bluegill was recently certified as the largest ever recorded from the Ohoopee River. “We have a small house on the river that has…
Saltwater Fishing
A Midway man is now tied as a state record holder for sheepshead after the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) certified his catch today. Ben Golden III, 63, landed the 14-lb., 14.37-oz. sheepshead near the Sunbury community outside of Midway on Friday. His catch qualifies as a tie with the existing record of 14-lbs.,…
A Florida woman has tied the Georgia Saltwater Game Fish Record for Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) after her catch was certified by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) this week. Cathy Sanders of Palm Coast, Fla., caught a 1-lb., 7.68-oz. Florida Pompano while surf fishing on St. Simons Island on Oct. 9 that officially…
As cool air begins to blow and temperatures drop this month, the majority of Peach State fishermen hang their poles up in the shed, grab their favorite rifle or bow and head to the woods hoping to knock down a big whitetail. Not Don Driggers. Don fishes the salt year-round, but he says that it’s…
Trout Fishing
If you were looking for a reason to go trout fishing, we have just the ticket. Beginning Nov. 1, trout fishing on Georgia’s delayed harvest trout streams will be in full swing, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD). While trout fishing can be found year-round in Georgia, there are…
Despite losing more than 17,000 trout in a Labor Day Weekend flood at its Summerville Trout Hatchery, WRD is making good on its promise that it will not let the near disaster affect trout stockings in 2023. The hatchery just received 220,000 rainbow trout eggs from Ennis, Montana. It is the first of four egg…
Tom Fox realized a decades-old dream when he broke the Lake Burton record for brown trout recently, but he says the prize was a little bittersweet. GON has confirmed Tom’s 12-lb., 4-oz. brown trout as the largest-ever recorded from Lake Burton. Mixed in with Tom’s joy was a little heartfelt sadness for a young kid.…
Other Georgia Fishing
Many families maintain various types of holiday traditions. For the Dees Family of Fruitdale, Ala., Thanksgiving morning means fishing. “For years, we’ve had a tradition of fishing on Thanksgiving morning,” said Keith Dees. “My son and I have been fortunate to have a lot of great experiences in the outdoors with many of them on…
When you catch a record fish, it’s always good to have credible witnesses. Scott Drennon, who recently caught the largest chain pickerel ever recorded from the Ohoopee River, did so in front of a good one. “I was bass fishing with Treutlen County Sheriff Thomas Corbin,” Scott said. “I was throwing a plastic worm when…
Jeff Smith is not one of those people who moved to Georgia and talks about how much better things were where he came from. The Cleveland, Ga. resident can’t brag enough about the state where he moved to four years ago. Now, he has something else to brag about. Jeff’s 1.88-lb. yellow perch caught on…