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Fishing
Latest Fishing Articles
Chuck McClendon has a passion for fishing. He started off catching bream and bass in small ponds before a fateful day over three decades ago. “A friend of mine took me crappie fishing and started what has become a life-long passion,” Chuck said. Chuck chases crappie in lakes across middle Georgia and for his money,…
Mike Tuten of Augusta, tired of his runner-up finishes in many local bass tournaments, has finally fulfilled a burning desire to make the prestigious Mr. Clark Hill Bass Fishing Championship his first major victory. On October 1 on Clarks Hill Lake, the Richmond County Fire Department lieutenant weighed in five largemouth bass totaling 14.9 pounds…
The breeze put a perfect chop on the water at Dodge County PFA as my 3/8-oz. chartreuse spinnerbait with gold willowleaf blades landed just beyond some standing timber with an audible sploosh. I let the bait sink for three full seconds and began turning the reel handle slowly. I could feel the big blades thumping…
I parked Dale Turner’s truck and boat trailer in the little gravel lot at his Lincolnton neighborhood’s private boat ramp and hustled back down the hill expecting to see him idling the boat up to the dock so I could jump on board to begin a day of crappie fishing at Clarks Hill Reservoir. When…
When GON picks a lake to write a bass fishing feature on, several criteria come into play when selecting an angler — or anglers — to spotlight. Knowledge of the lake and success on it come into play. Notoriety is another aspect that comes to mind. Sometimes the author, in this case yours truly, gets…
Bass Fishing
Back in the day, before internet search engines were around to give anglers instant information, we relied on word of mouth—or we hoped GON might send a writer—when looking for information on small lakes open to public fishing. It’s surprising how many small public lakes there still are where there’s simply no information about the…
November can be a spot-fest at Lake Russell as spotted bass move into coves and ditches feeding on shad. You can load the boat with spots—and a few largemouth, too—by fishing ledges in ditches and coves. Typically in November, the bass will be from the mouths of coves to halfway back. As the days shorten…
If you’ve ever come out of the canal in Mexico Beach, Fla. and run 3 miles south into the Gulf of Mexico along the buoy line and experienced fish busting on top as far as you could see, that’s what it reminded me of—even if I was hundreds of miles from the salt. The scene…
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
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,…
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…
Catfish Fishing
For Buford’s Tyler Kesselring, it was a fishing tournament outcome that he wasn’t necessarily expecting. Fishing in the Lake Lanier Catfish Challenge, he went to the scales at 2 a.m. with a winning weight of 40 pounds. In his catch was a new Lake Lanier record blue catfish that tipped the scales at 19-lbs., 5.5-ozs.…
Terry Denman caught his first catfish 61 years ago on a cane pole while fishing with his grandfather. A lot of things have changed over the years for the Vietnam veteran, but nothing ever could erase the excitement of feeling a catfish tugging on his line. The biggest tug he ever felt came recently when…
It would probably go down as one of the worst days of Eli Carey’s life if not for one thing. That one thing made it all worthwhile. “I had a rough day,” the Lyons resident said. “I had the day off and decided to go fishing on Oconee River, which is about an hour and…
Crappie Fishing
Ever thought about why crappie gravitate to the shallows in the springtime? To spawn, you say? Well, yeah… but why do they do that? Let that swim around for a bit… Let’s get you in those shallows— specifically on Lake Oconee—and looking for crappie in April as they do their thing around brush and rocks…
Aaron Jenkins calls Canton, N.C. home now, but his heart will forever be in east Georgia. He makes the three-hour trip home to crappie fish with his dad, Keith, whenever he can. As far as Aaron is concerned, there’s only one Georgia lake in which to fish for crappie. The 31-year-old grew up fishing on…
Just days after releasing the annual edition of the Georgia Lake and River Records, another river record has already fallen. On Feb. 6, Steven Todd, of Saint George, managed to reel in a 2-lb., 1-oz. black crappie that raised the river-record bar for the species for the second time in the past 13 months. “I…
Bream Fishing
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,…
On Aug. 24, Jacob Crews decided to make a trip to the Alapaha River after finishing his morning shift at the CSX Rice Yard in Waycross. “I had made a trip over there a week or so before, and that was actually my first time fishing the river. I fished out of my kayak and…
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
Starting Nov. 1, five Georgia trout streams begin delayed-harvest regulations that provide chances for anglers to catch some impressive trout. “Trout fishing is available year-round in Georgia, but there are five special streams that follow Delayed Harvest (DH) regulations to enhance angler success,” said John Lee Thompson, WRD Trout Stocking Coordinator. “From Nov. 1 to…
Wading downstream to see how Austin Carpenter and Zac Chapman were faring on their home waters of the Chattooga River, camera in hand, I rounded a bend to see Austin fly casting to the far bank of the river with the expertise of someone far beyond his 20-something age would typically command. Just downriver of…
It was hours—three or more—and the trout fishing was slow from the git-go. Early March can be that way on the upper Toccoa River, where and when the water temperature is still in the mid-40s under continued-cold nighttime skies that leave frost behind at daylight. It can be downright cold—oftentimes, in the low 20s—in the…
Other Georgia Fishing
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…
Emerson Mulhall, of Cumming, caught a yellow perch that has tied the state record. He was fishing Lake Burton on Feb. 18 when caught the 2-lb., 9-oz. fish. “I was not pursuing perch when I caught her,” said Emerson. “I am mainly a spotted bass and largemouth fisherman, and my friend Jake Maddux and I…
Now that April Waldrop has been bitten by the record fish bug, the Hogansville woman has set her sights on something even bigger. April was fishing for gar with her husband, Larry, and her two sons on West Point Lake recently when she landed a lake-record longnose gar that weighed 23 pounds. The 52 1/2-inch…