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Fishing
Latest Fishing Articles
If you pay close attention and promise to keep it to yourself, I will let you in on a little known, closely guarded secret in the trout fishing community. Trout anglers are well known for staying tight-lipped about things like this, but here it goes. Whether you are looking for a good place to spend…
If you like fishing shallow for bass in June, Bartletts Ferry Lake is a good choice. It has grassbeds, docks, blowdowns, brushpiles, rocks, and seawalls that all attract bass this month. And the bass are hungry and feeding heavily in all those areas, so they are generally easy to catch. Bartletts Ferry is a relatively…
We had run the boat for only a couple of minutes, scarcely reaching above idle speed as Jerry McClure rounded a bend into a pocket, the back of which ran along a road. Jerry dropped the trolling motor and maneuvered the Ranger into water that seemed too shallow for such a big boat. “This used…
The key to successful blue-water fishing off Georgia is the ability to drop everything when the weather is good and the fishing report is hot. That is exactly what the crew of the boat Hambone, based at St. Simons Island, did on May 12. The boat’s owner, veteran offshore angler Steve Hammock was joined by…
Traveling offshore of Georgia in search of world-class gamefish is not the average angling experience. After all, an average person wouldn’t leave the bed at 2 a.m. just to cross 90 miles of open Atlantic Ocean in the darkness so he or she can be on the fishing grounds at sunrise. A blue-water trip means…
Bass Fishing
It is a dreary, drizzly Monday morning as the throbbing Mercury idles its Ranger bass boat away from Little River Marina on Lake Sinclair. There is one other vehicle besides ours in the parking lot; no trailer behind it. Apparently, we have the lake to ourselves. This end, at least. So, where are we headed?…
It seems counterintuitive to go north in the winter to catch bass, but Lake Chatuge largemouth and spots are moving from winter holes to prespawn structure and cover, and they offer great catching opportunities. February is a good month to land your personal best largemouth or spot on Chatuge. Chatuge is a 7,000-acre, 13-mile-long TVA…
I totally get it—it’s tough to get motivated to hook up the bass boat this time of year. It’s cold, the water likely looks like ketchup, and those runs across the lake can inject a chill into your bones that only a steaming-hot shower and maybe a bowl of Brunswick stew can fix. But I…
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
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
Some people luck into record Georgia freshwater fish. Some people deserve it. Kevin Carey, of Glenwood, earned his new river record. Kevin’s 62-lb., 15.2-oz. blue catfish caught Jan. 12, 2025 on the Oconee River below Lake Sinclair has been certified by DNR and is now recognized by GON as a new river record. It is…
Divers went down at the dam at Clarks Hill to do repairs and came right back up. They said catfish as big as Volkswagens were down there and they would never go down there again. I heard that tale in the 1960s while in high school in Thomson. You can change it to pretty much any…
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.…
Crappie Fishing
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…
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…
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,…
Almost every GON fishing story involves a local expert, most often it’s someone with hundreds, if not thousands, of hours spent on the subject body of water. I’ve worked on many such stories through the years with GON, and it amazes me how much you can learn through the experience of others. I’ll go ahead…
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
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…
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…
Other Georgia Fishing
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…
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…