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Fishing
Latest Fishing Articles
The typical Georgia bass angler isn’t thinking about prespawn patterns for January fishing. But Lake Seminole bass are well ahead of other Georgia lakes, and as the New Year begins, they are already in a hungry, prespawn mood. You can take advantage of this early prespawn mode to catch numbers and quality bass on Georgia’s…
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…
Alright. This isn’t going to be a super-formal article, but instead, I genuinely hope to open your eyes and hearts and allow you to learn from my mistakes. I have been pacing back and forth in the kitchen for about three hours now, and I’ve finally found the fortitude to sit down and become somewhat…
Except for the die-hards, bass fishing might not be on the top of the outdoors to-do list in December. But Lake Blackshear might change that focus back to the water. Due to low water levels, shad migrations and cooler water temperatures, Lake Blackshear bass are stacking up on predictable structure and cover. You can catch…
Colt James has struck again, raising the bar on another GON Lake and River Record. If the 11-year-old’s name sounds familiar, it should. Colt currently possesses four record fish on three different south Georgia rivers. His latest catch is a 12.16-oz. redbreast that bested his previous river record he set on the river earlier this…
Bass Fishing
Catch big Carters Lake spotted bass that are eating spawning shad early in the morning, and then target the spots on spawning banks after the sun gets up. That simple plan will offer you some fast action and possibly a personal best spotted bass if you make a trip to Carters in April. Carters Lake…
One of the things I love most about our state is variety. Especially when it comes to outdoor pursuits. Think Dahlonega. Then Savannah. See? For at least the first half of this year, I’ll be on impoundments, rivers, PFAs, ponds, creeks… and very possibly an oversized swamp. Those are the ones I know of. Three—Sinclair,…
March is a great month to catch big largemouth and spotted bass up shallow in a prespawn mode. And one of the best bass bites occurs at a lake on the Chattahoochee River you might not even know about. Lake Oliver is a small Georgia Power lake north of Columbus. You can see the Oliver…
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
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…
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…
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
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…