LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST

Dr. Andrew Cox

When you think of West Georgia’s Callaway Gardens at Pine Mountain, Georgia, you probably think of azaleas and native flora during the Spring or swimming at the beach at Robin Lake. Over the last several years, I have been fishing at Callaway Gardens and Resort on a more frequent basis. Though I usually fish here during the cool months of the year, it is certainly a year around fishery.

Callaway Gardens and Resort offers excellent warm water fishing for bass, bream and crappie. However, anglers may not be aware that trout fishing is also available during the late Fall, Winter, and early Spring months. Some of the trout can reach trophy proportions as attested through some of the photographs associated with this article.

Although there are many lakes and streams within the Callaway Gardens grounds, only some are available for angling. The largest lake on the property, Mountain Creek Lake, can be fished without being accompanied by a fishing guide. This lake offers warm water fishing for bass, bream, and crappie that can be accessed through bank or boat fishing. The angler pays a fee to access this lake which includes use of a boat; the angler cannot use their own boat on this lake. If you are looking for fishing on your own, this is a great fishing option.

Some of the other smaller lakes within Callaway Gardens and Resort are open to anglers fishing with one of the approved fishing guides. These include some lakes where the angler will catch primarily bass and bream, some being trophy quality fish. Two lakes are open for trout fishing to include a small and medium size lake. The lake that has the chapel on it is one of my favorite trout lakes. The trout lakes are fly fishing only; however, conventional tackle can be used on the other lakes for warm water fish species.

Callaway Gardens and Resort is a great location to combine fishing with other family activities. The angler can book a one-half or full day of fishing while also enjoying the various attractions within the resort. The resort is also a short drive to Columbus or LaGrange, Georgia. This allows ready access to the attractions in both cities to include Columbus’ museums, the Chattahoochee Riverwalk, Chattahoochee River whitewater rafting and LaGrange’s Great Wolf Lodge and historic Lafayette Square and downtown. Lodging is readily available both on the Callaway Gardens and Resort grounds or close by Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Information on Callaway Gardens and Resort fishing is located on their website (callawaygardens. com) under Boathouse: Fishing and Boating. One of my favorite guides is Tim Frazier. He is a local resident who has extensive knowledge of the Callaway Gardens and Resort waters and techniques necessary to sample both the cold and warm water species found here. This area certainly offers some unique angling opportunities for anglers across Georgia and Alabama.

Dr. Andrew Cox is a contributing writer to outdoor publications and newspapers. His writing interests specialize in angling and travel, human interest, and general fishing technique oriented topics. He is a member of the Georgia Outdoor Writer’s Association. He has been fishing the waters of Georgia, Alabama, and north Florida for over forty years. He has also fished the waters of most states within the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and several Caribbean islands. He enjoys fresh and saltwater fishing for bass, bream, crappie, trout, redfish, and speckled trout using fly, baitcasting, and spinning equipment. Dr. Cox financially supports his fishing habits as Professor Emeritus at Troy University, Phenix City, Alabama. He may be contacted at andrewtrout@aol.com.

Forecast by: Capt. Clay Cunningham www.catchingnotfishing.com

770-630-2673

Finally, we are getting some better weather here on Lanier. It feels like it has been raining for months. Despite all the rain, the water is fairly clear in most areas and the water temperature is surging past 60 degrees into the high 60s.

The stripers are finishing up spawning and topwater time is here. Most of the lake is clear and the fish are looking to eat. Nothing better than watching your Berkley Surge Shad wake across the surface and it vanish as a striper engulfs it. Spool up a seven-foot medium heavy Abu Garcia Veritas PLX spinning rod, paired with a Penn 3000 Conflict with twelve-pound Trilene Big Game line and you are ready for action. If you want a longer cast, spool up with a ten-pound line. Several baits will be needed for casting to the stripers. You will need a wake bait, like the Berkley Surge Shad and a walking bait like the Berkley J-Walker. Look for the bone color and the chrome black back color and you have the two primary colors in the J-Walker and Surge Shad. Twitch the J-Walker so it zig zags across the surface. Once you catch one on a walking bait you will be hooked on topwater stripers for life. If the fish are wanting a subsurface lure, the Berkley Magic Swimmer is a great bait. The chrome Magic Swimmer is hard to beat. Cast these baits to points and humps across the lake and be prepared for some explosive action. If you need a more subtle presentation, rig up a 3/8 Berkley Fusion swimbait head tipped with a white paddle tail. Ev ery day is different in the Spring. Just because it worked yesterday does not mean it will work the next day.

Live herring on a freeline across these same points and humps will also be a great tactic. This is the old reliable technique. Spool up a Penn Fathom II Linecounter 15 series reel with 15-pound Trilene Big Game and a Shakespeare Striper Series rod and you are ready for live bait fishing. Be sure to pick up some Gamakatsu 2/0 Octopus hooks, some Trilene 100% Flourocarbon, and some Spro Power Swivels for your leaders and you are all set. Pull these freelines across these areas at about 1 mph. As the water temperature increases do not be afraid to add a little weight to the freeline to get down a little deeper. As the water temperature increases, look for the fish to go deeper. May should be great weather and great fishing. It is a great month to be on the water before the summer heat. The fish are much bigger than last year. See you on the water.

Stay safe.