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Are WMAs About To Be Changed To Recreation Areas?

If your favorite wildlife management area (WMA) was changed to a “recreation area,” would that make the property more marketable to other users like bikers, hikers and horseback riders? And would that be a good thing for hunters? DNR is seeking public comment at four public meetings next week — and through mailed and emailed…

Changes For WMAs And Hunting on State Land?

Note: The following DNR press release offers no details about what the state is considering. Public meetings are to give people an opportunity to comment, but it is impossible for the public to comment on proposals, alternatives or ideas they know nothing about. GON will provide details as soon as they are made available, so…

Wayward Coastal Gator Spotted 20 Miles Offshore

Researchers conducting North Atlantic right whale work spotted a 5-foot alligator March 9 about 20 miles offshore from the mouth of the Altamaha River. At first, whale observers thought the animal was debris. After getting closer, they realized the gator was very much alive. The researchers snapped a few photos and moved on because they…

Lanier Striper Record Falls

Almost a quarter century ago, Roger Snipes caught a 46-lb. Lake Lanier striped bass that became one of the longest-standing, most sought-after lake records in Georgia. Imagine the hours of striper fishing that have been put in at Lanier since Roger’s catch. On April 3, the Lanier striper record finally fell — and to a…

Forest Service Officer Shot And Killed By Coyote Hunters Using Night Vision

A coyote hunter using night-vision equipment on a .223 rifle shot and killed a U.S. Forest Service law-enforcement officer March 5 at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area of Oconee National Forest in Jasper County. Officer Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, was on patrol at about 11 p.m. when Norman Clinton Hale, 40, of…

Trout Fisherman Drowns On Chattahoochee River

On Monday, March 8, DNR Law Enforcement officers recovered the body of a man who drowned on the Chattahoochee River in Suwanee after his boat flipped following a water release at Buford dam. The body of Ira Braitsch, 64, of Lawrenceville, was pulled from the water just south of McGinnis Ferry Road about 24 hours…

Blue Catfish An 80-Pound Chattahoochee River Monster

Ernest Timpson, of Edison, went crappie fishing on the Chattahoochee River below Lake Eufaula’s Walter F. George Dam on Feb. 2 and came home with a much heavier stringer than he had anticipated. He boated the new state-record blue catfish, a certified 80-lb., 4-oz., 49-inches long behemoth that bests the old record by more than…

Bitter Cold In Early January Takes Toll On Coastal Fish And Shrimp

The new year arrived with a rude surprise — abnormally cold temperatures. The north Georgia mountains saw temperatures in the single digits while the usually balmy coastal counties suffered through several consecutive nights in the mid to low 20s. As the air temperature plunged, so did the water temperature in coastal estuaries and the near-shore…

Legislature Considers Raising Bear-Limit Option To Three

Georgia bear hunters are currently limited to killing one bear per season. If the Georgia legislature passes a bill currently being considered, DNR would have the option to raise the season bear limit to three. The bear-limit legislation, HB 1000, is the only bill of significance on the radar of sportsmen this legislative session, according…

Buck Attacks Teen And Mom In Woods Behind Madison County Home

A 13-year-old Colbert teen and his mom were fortunate to escape serious injury after both were attacked by a 9-point buck on Feb. 11. Kyle Watkins, his twin brother Tyler, and two friends were playing with airsoft guns (used similarly to paint-ball guns) in the woods behind the Watkins’ Madison County home when the buck…