The Angler Magazine | May 2022 | Atlanta Area Edition by Coastal Angler Magazine

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The Workingman’s Drum By CAM Staff

Young angler Hayes Grinnell did battle with this big black drum while fishing the Texas coast with Slinging Mullet Guide Service and Get Em Guide Service.

n some circles, black drum don’t get the respect they deserve. Maybe it’s their appearance? With weird chin barbells and a humped head, they hug the bottom, looking like the hunchbacked cousins of the sleeker redfish inshore anglers adore. Or maybe it’s their reluctance to take a lure? Black drum feed primarily by scent, and while you might catch one slinging a spoon, targeting them requires bait, which is more effort than plug and paddletail aficionados are willing to put forth. However, for anglers who aren’t too prissy to get their hands dirty, black drum have a whole lot to offer. They are the workingman’s drum, found nearshore and inshore throughout the Gulf of Mexico and up the Atlantic seaboard to New England. Black drum pull hard, with powerful bulldogging runs regardless of size. And they grow quite large, reaching weights well over 100 pounds. On top of that, they provide consistent action in a wide range of areas where they can be caught. Shore-bound anglers can target them from docks, bridges, jetties and piers, where drum hunt crustaceans around structure. Surf anglers often connect with them on quartered blue crabs cast outside the breakers. From a boat, passes and inlets are prime feeding grounds as is nearshore structure. Shallow-water anglers find younger specimens way up in the estuaries tailing like redfish for fiddler crabs in tidal creeks.

Their movements are seasonal, but as long as you’ve got bait, you can pursue black drum pretty much anywhere you choose. Like most fish, they bite best on a moving tide, when your bait’s scent disperses over a wide area. They’ll eat halved blue crabs, whole fiddler crabs or mud crabs with backs cracked to let a little scent out, and also live or dead shrimp or fresh cut bait. On the northern end of their range, anglers add clams, mussels and blood worms to the array of baits a drum will eat. As long as your bait is on the bottom and smelling like food, it’s likely to draw the attention of a drum. Rigging and gear are pretty simple. A classic Carolina rig with just enough weight to keep the bait on bottom will get the job done in most situations. Up in the creeks, where you’ll be doing more casting and maybe even sight fishing, baits can be fished on a jighead or even a simple hook with a split shot. Tackle in the 20-pound class is a good starting point, and it’s wise to beef up to pull big drum off structure. They do get big. The IGFA world record, caught in 1975 off Delaware, weighed 113 pounds, 1 ounce. Fish in the 40- to 50-pound range are regular catches across the drum’s range. Those big fish aren’t good to eat, though. The meat is often full of worms by the time fish reach weights heavier than about 15 pounds. Smaller drum are excellent table fare. For more information, go to coastalanglermag.com.

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IT’S GROUPER TIME AGAIN! By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

ay is finally here, opening grouper season for fishermen on the Atlantic Coast. For the past several months of the season closure, charter captains in the Florida Keys have been boasting incredible throw-back grouper catches. The reopening of this species enriches each fishing trip with an extra opportunity for a great fighting fish, which is also excellent tablefare. Grouper fishing can easily be peppered into a day of fishing by dropping a bottom rig down while yellowtail fishing, trolling lures or stopping offshore to deep-drop for snowy grouper while on the mahi hunt. While the fishery in the Keys may not be famous for its bottom fishing, there is no reason it shouldn’t be. Red, black and gag grouper are plentiful and close to land. Snowy grouper aren’t too far either, and can be reasonably reliable to target. Snowy grouper are found within 1,000 feet, and can be targeted with electric or hand-crank set ups. Electric reels are advisable when mahi season is in full swing, as to make quick work of the one-per-boat limit of snowy grouper. The trek offshore for a single fish might seem like a waste of time, but there is a little more to it. Snowy grouper can get quite large and yield impressively sized, excellent tasting fillets. There

are also the welcomed bycatches of rosies, barrelfish and tilefish while deep dropping in these areas. Furthermore, there should be ample opportunities for mahi fishing on the way to and from the spot. Another reason the electric reel is preferable is an 8-pound weight should be used to keep your bait on the bottom in the heavy current. Keep your weight as close to the bottom as you can and utilize a chicken rig, with multiple hooks along the leader, baited with just about anything. Continuously recheck the bottom to make sure it hasn’t gotten away from you, and bring a spare weight or two, as it isn’t overly difficult to lose one while fishing this way. Targeting red, black and gag grouper on the reef can be a little different than typical grouper fishing on the west coast of Florida. Heavy weights can easily get snagged on the rocky bottom in the heavy current, potentially making inexperience quite expensive in terms of lost tackle. There are also plenty of smaller reef fish waiting to pick apart your bait. Over-baiting can be a good tactic, but the most reliable way to bypass these conditions, is to simply freeline a live bait on a jighead. After breaking client’s hearts by releasing trophy grouper throughout the closed season, we are thrilled to be able to add these tasty critters to the icebox yet again. Right now is an excellent time to visit the Florida Keys and enjoy our full fishery. Capt. Quinlyn Haddon guides with Blue Magic Charters out of Marathon, Fla.

LURES

CASTING FAR: THE DYNAMICS OF LONG DISTANCE LURES

PATRICK SEBILE

’ve enjoyed fishing from the shore since I was a teen angler, and one thing that became obvious to me very quickly was there are numerous situations when casts are a tad bit short to reach targeted fish in specific situations. This is a constant truism when fishing from the bank, the beach, a pier or jetty, but it also applies to boat anglers. Quick, long casts are often required for fastmoving fish like tuna. Long casts are also useful when it’s necessary to keep the boat away from reefs, boulders and breakers for safety or to avoid spooking fish. Long ago, I began making sure to always have lures in my possession that

were especially efficient for reaching out long distances. These lures sometimes trade realistic swimming action for distance, yet there are also a few that find a balance between great range and great action. When you read the packaging of a saltwater lure, and especially a surffishing lure, it often mentions how good the lure is for longdistance casts— or how good it is supposed to be. The problem is, there is no scale. There is no quantifiable reference for comparing lures that honestly presents the real numbers of yards any given lure will deliver. Marketing promises do not

always translate into real performance. To make things more complex, there is theoretical and real distance. A lure that casts great on a parking lot with no breeze can turn into a disaster when casting into an onshore breeze at night, which are conditions many serious fishermen face in the surf. There’s no magic, and what makes some lures reach farther distances than others is a mix between their concept, their balance and, to a certain extent, the gear used to throw them when the goal is to reach a little bit farther than other anglers. This conversation is all about the physics that translates to longer casting distance for better fishing results. The key points that will help you pick the proper lures to do the job are shape, buoyancy, the position of weight on the lure, the total weight and sometimes extra appendages, such as side wings that really help a lure fly as far as possible. These elements are just a primer to a discussion on lures designed for distance. Next month, I plan to go in-depth on ways you can select lures that will truly help you cast super-long distances to reach fish other lures cannot. Arming yourself with a longcasting arsenal gives you an edge in catching fish, simply because you’ll be able put a lure in front of them.

Legendary angler Patrick Sebile is a world record holder and an award-winning designer of innovative lures and fishing gear. Check out his creations at abandofanglers.com.

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Shiner Fishing for Giant Florida

LARGEMOUTHS

ass tournament anglers get excited about 20-pound five-fish limits, and a 30-pound tournament sack is a lifetime achievement for most. It takes a little bit more to impress hawg hunter Sean Rush. Rush makes a living guiding clients to trophy largemouth bass, mostly on Rodman Reservoir in north Florida. The best five fish haul his boat has seen weighed 61 pounds, 9 ounces. Think about that. That’s a more than 12-pound average. Rush said it was the best fishing day he’s ever witnessed, with two fish well over 13 pounds and the smallest of the five weighing a measly 11 pounds, 1 ounce. Most bass anglers across the country spend a lifetime seeking out a single 10-pound-plus largemouth. Rush’s anglers did five lifetime’s worth of trophy catching in a single day on April 26 of 2021. “And we probably lost between three and six fish that were that big or bigger,” Rush added after rattling off the astounding statistics. “Those guys were from New Jersey. They had never done any Florida shiner fishing before. I told them it was all downhill from there.” The downhill slide, however, is not too steep. Even a decent day using Rush’s techniques on Rodman produces results that would impress just about anyone. When it comes to catching big largemouths, he’s got several advantages over your average angler. Location is a big factor. Rodman is a 9,500acre giant bass factory. It is a 15-mile long stump field with a deep river channel running down the middle of it and the matted vegetation Florida

By Nick Carter

fisheries are known for. In more than three decades guiding, Rush said his clients have boated close to 1,000 bass better than 10 pounds. He landed 73 10-plus-pounders last year alone and has overseen the landing of eight fish on FWC’s TrophyCatch Hall of Fame list, which is for fish heavier than 13 pounds. He does 95 percent of his trips on Rodman. “If fishing is good, we commonly catch 30 to 60 fish a day,” he said. “The average size at Rodman is pretty solid. Usually we’ll have fish in the 8- to 10-pound class on the top end of that range.” Tactics are everything when it comes to catching fish like that. Live bait provides a huge advantage over the lures tournament anglers must fish. Rush fishes exclusively with live, wildcaught shiners, which he keeps lively in a huge bait tank on his custom-built, 22-foot Prodigy Razor. The tournament guys can keep their fiberglass glitter rockets. Rush’s sturdy aluminum boat is rigged out for the style of fishing he does, and it’s powered by a 150 hp Mercury with a power-assisted hand tiller. The tackle is also sturdy. Rush pairs heavy duty Daiwa 300 Lexa baitcasting reels with super heavy 7 ½- and 8-foot rods he said are essentially musky rods. He fishes straight 20-pound Berkley Big Game in green, which is thin enough for low visibility and strong enough to get the job done. He hooks his shiners through the tail above the anal fin with 3/0, 4/0 or 5/0 Eagle Claw 84s, which

are standard J hooks with a slight offset. In a typical spread, his anglers will work shiners under bobbers set 3 to 5 feet deep, and he’ll throw out one or two shiners on freelines to swim up under the vegetation. For big fish, he prefers shiners 7 to 9 inches long. Rush’s big-fish reputation has gotten around, so he stays booked 300-plus days a year. His favorite time of year is fall, before the December through February spawn. “It’s prespawn, the fishing pressure is lower and the fish are feeding up that time of year,” he said. “The fish are also big then. They look like gorillas.” Late spring and summer are also good, once fish settle back into normal patterns after the spawn. Most of the year he targets them around floating mats of vegetation and deep river bends. The exception is during the spawn, when bass push up on the flats. Rush does not bed fish, though. He’ll set up on mats near known spawning flats and try to catch big females staging. One more thing: don’t call Rush if you want to eat bass or have a trophy mounted. Rodman is managed under regular Florida regulations— which allow five fish, with one fish longer than 16 inches—but Rush’s trips are catch-and-release. “I’m up front and honest about it on the phone,” he said. “If they even talk like they want to keep one, I just won’t take them.” Contact Capt. Sean Rush and Trophy Bass Expeditions of Central Florida through the website at www.floridatrophybass.com.

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Monster Blue Cat Smashes Mississippi Record By CAM Staff

he Mississippi River near Natchez, Miss. has a history of producing giant blue cats. The most recent monster catfish, caught on April 7, weighed 131 pounds and absolutely crushed the existing state rod-and-reel state record. Eugene Cronley, of Brandon, Mississippi, had just set up in a 90-foot-deep hole downstream of Natchez. About five minutes after making his first cast, the big fish took the cut skipjack he was using as bait, according to a report in the Mississippi Clarion Ledger. “He hit the rod and started pulling drag,”

Cronley told the Clarion Ledger. “We had to untie the boat and float down the river. “I couldn’t move him. I’d pull on him and take in a foot of line and he’d pull and take 10 feet. I just sat there like I was hung up.” After a 40-minute fight on 30-pound line, the angler’s exhaustion made hauling the fish into the boat a chore. Cronley has caught 50-pound fish from the area before, and he didn’t

realize exactly how big this fish was until he put eyes on it. Then, it was time to start looking for a certified scale with the capacity to weigh such an enormous fish. Cronley’s fish waited on ice for three days before he was able to get a certified weight. Fish lose weight when they are out of the water. The Clarion Ledger reported that the fish had an initial weight of 138 pounds on uncertified scales. Even out of the water for three days, Cronley’s blue cat shattered the previous rod-and-reel state record of 95 pounds, caught from the Mississippi near Natchez in 2009. In 1997, a 101-pound Mississippi trophy record blue catfish was caught in the same stretch of river. The IGFA all-tackle world record for blue catfish is 143 pounds. It was caught from Kerr Lake, Buggs Island, Virginia in 2011. Cronley’s catch, if certified by IGFA, would possibly be a new 30-pound line class record. The 30-pound line class record stands at 111 pounds. It was caught in 1996 from Wheeler Reservoir in Alabama. For more Mississippi fishing records, visit mdwfp.com.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING THE CASTING CORNER

YOU GOTTA LOVE IT

Contributed By: Rene J. Hesse Certified Casting InstructorFederation of Fly Fishers & Atlanta Fly Fishing and Camping Meetup Organizer

On a trip to the Flint River in middle Georgia, a buddy and I were talking about what makes an okay caster a good caster, and a good caster a great caster. In Georgia, we have a lot of very good fishermen. The trout streams lend themselves to short water load casts, roll casts and change of direction casts. The bass ponds, lakes, and rivers require a bit more line out, and therefore more loop control, line speed and accuracy. Go down to the Everglades or saltwater fishing and you better be able to cast good loops, haul, and have some wind cast knowledge. A great caster can do it all. I’ll be talking about how you can develop great casting skills. For the folks who will only be doing the local trout nymph rigs, good casting is not as important as

line control. However, a good cast will give you better line/fly control. For example, a reach cast, tuck cast, or mend will be good to know, and applying them will increase your odds of catching a fish. Getting casting lessons for that type fishing will be different than someone who wants to cast big or bulky flies to bass, for example. The bass popping bug is bulky, so it is more wind resistant. Therefore, the line speed and loop shape needs to be different than if you are casting a heavy fly. With the heavy fly, the loop shape and casting plane will be different. We want to keep the casting plane off to the side, more than vertical. So what makes an okay caster good and a good caster great? It’s the level of commitment the person

has. Each set of casting situations require a gathering of information and then applying the knowledge so you can make a wise choice on the cast you are going to use for the best results. Once a person knows the cast, there comes a commitment to learn how it really works to be good or great. A person needs to know what the steps are to set up the cast, start the cast, and deliver it with the desired results. Study the steps, work them through without

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your rod before you get on the water. Picture the water flow, the line position, the wind factor, amount of line, and starting rod position. This type of ‘pre-practice’ will make all the difference in the world. If you want to be a better caster, get a lesson. If you want to be a good caster, get several lessons. If you want to be a great caster, ya gotta love it. Make a commitment, study the process, practice properly and get evaluated, then do it again.

MAY 2022

ATLANTA 1

LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING MAY FLY FISHING REPORT Contributed By: Henry Cowen www.henrycowenflyfishing.com April came in with a band of cold fronts that pushed back our springtime spawning run up the rivers. It also pushed all our fish to move out to the main lake and get into the pre-spawn mode, but they have not headed up the river yet. By the time you read this May report, the fish will have certainly spawned out and will be back in Lanier and hopefully chewing for the postspawn period. Our water temps the first week of April was 56-58 degrees on Lanier this year. That means that our May fishing patterns should be running slightly behind schedule. The surface water temperatures will move up into the high 60’s and possibly into the lower seventies by the middle or the end of the month. Stripers and spotted bass will liter-

ally be coming down off their spawn and eating with reckless abandon. There are multiple patterns that may exist in the month of May. First and foremost is the early morning and late day topwater bite. Now is the time to grab a nine or ten weight rod rigged with a floating line and one of Charlie Bisharat’s Pole Dancer flies or Flat Fred flies and have at it. If you have never seen a striper eat a Zara Spook or Top Dog lure off the surface, then you have no idea what you are missing. A Pole Dancer is just that; a fly angler’s Zara Spook. It walks the dog when retrieved and striped bass CRUSH IT! If you want to simply catch lots of fish, then this is the time to toss a Game Changer fly on an intermediate line on the lakes tapered points. A Game Changer is one of the best

flies ever as it mimics many types of baitfish and looks like a living/ breathing shad or herring when retrieved. After the sun comes up, you can switch over to a sinking line and start tossing either Coyote flies or baitfish type patterns like a Cowen’s Baitfish or Puglisi type fly off the points. The more points you fish, the more bites you will attract. While low light is the preferred time to fish, do not discount midday when it gets a tad windy. This is also the time of year where fishing a point off the main lake river channel can get a topwater eat from any fly that is slowly worked on the surface and makes a seductive V-like wake.

Conventional fishermen can continue to toss Redfins on all the points. Fishing big 7” long Redfin’s can be very effective on windy days. On sunny days use a chrome sided Redfin and on cloudy days fish a matt colored Redfin. Fly anglers can use a large slider type fly on a floating line to mimic the action of a Cordell Redfin. A large weightless Zoom Fluke can also be a good choice. Along with the daytime bite, the mild weather allows for some good fishing on dock lights all over the lake. This is easy fishing as game fish seem to get really dumb when fished to on a dock light. While I prefer a sinking line when fishing these fish, it is also fun to toss a slow sinking intermediate so that you can actually watch for the bite when your fly passes over the light. There are lights that might hold twenty to thirty fish on it. We will discuss our carp fishery as well as a fantastic topwater bass bite a tad more in detail during next month’s report as this fishery should be firing up too. See you on the pond.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING FLOATING THE TOCCOA RIVER

Contributed by James Bradley Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide www.ReelEmInGuideService.com (706) 273-0764 The Toccoa River can be a surprising water to fish at times, but she remains a decent place to fish with fishable water above and below Lake Blue Ridge. For starters, the “Upper” river, as I’ll refer to her above the lake, runs through miles of farmland and a stretch or so through the Chattahoochee National Forest. Although much of the Upper is on private lands, there are two major feeder streams flowing into her called Rock and Cooper Creek. Both of these off of Hwy 60 are mainly put and take streams which receive their fair share of stocked trout from April to September. Georgia has designated the section of the Upper from the Sandy Bottoms Canoe Launch downstream to a few hundred yards upstream of the Shallowford Bridge as one of our Delayed Harvest sections. This part of the Upper is marked and stocked heavily from November until it reverts back to general regulation fishing on May 15th. During the delayed harvest season, it is catch and release only. Below the lake, we referred to the Toccoa River as the “Tailwater”. This 15-mile stretch eventually turns north and becomes the Ocoee River as it passes through the dainty town of McCaysville. Again, the overall majority of this water passes through private lands. Fortunately, McCaysville and the TVA have provided some access points for anglers along with places to launch from. These access points are Tammen Park, Curtis Switch, Horseshoe Bend and the Park in McCaysville. Both the Upper and Tailwater have some downsides with high water and generation. The Upper can be very swift and hard to fish for many people when it’s running over 350 CFS. When generation begins on the Tailwater, this makes it difficult for many anglers to fish the deep and

swift (dangerous) water. Fortunately, you do have the opportunity to fish either side of the lake with an assortment of guides. We’ve been floating the river for many years now. This is truly the best way to cover more water, and it’s much safer. Our guides have countless hours on the river oaring their drift boats. You can let our guides make the best decision for floating times without the headaches of water too high or swift, accidently stepping off into a deep hole, or even worrying about the generation If you are a beginner wanting to learn how to fly fish, we have a great staff of instructors who have been schooled in the art of fly fishing. One of the best ways to learn about fly fishing is to spend time with those of us who are professional full-time guides. Don’t forget to ask about our float trips! Currently, we are doing floats on the Toccoa Tailwater and on the upper Toccoa as well. Give us a call to book your amazing trip on the water and don’t forget that we offer gift certificates! Reel ‘Em In Guide Service operates as an Orvis Endorsed Fly Fishing Outfitter in North Georgia’s Historic High-Country region. They have been offering their services to fly anglers since 2001.They have permits to guide in Georgia and North Carolina, offer over 7 miles of private trophy waters across Georgia, and operate float trips on the Toccoa River in GA and the Tuckasegee River in NC.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING THE GUIDE’S ANGLE HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

CHATTOOGA RIVER

Contributed By: Chris Scalley River Through Atlanta Guide Service In this modern world, everyone is too busy! Being tethered to our cell phones and Google calendars makes it difficult to carve out precious time for fun and family. As a guide, this technology is a blessing and a curse. When I first started guiding, there were no cell phones! When we got off the river, you went home to check voice messages, then had to call everyone back late into the night to schedule trips. Now clients can book online and communicate with a short text. To check the Buford Dam release schedule, you had to call the recording which only updated at midnight every day. Now we can see the megawatt-age and cfs with a touch of a finger on the smart phone the afternoon before the trip. I used to keep a Tupperware box with

stamped envelopes and would have my clients fill out their mailing info so I could expedite their fish pics at the end of the month. Now I can “air drop” videos and pics at the boat ramp! These are just a few examples of how technology has impacted my guide business. Today, a parent’s biggest challenge is how to balance their children’s use of electronics and quality time outdoors connecting with nature. A child’s attention span is already limited, and with instantaneous info at their fingertips, we have found it’s imperative to either see a fish or catch one within 30 minutes into the trip or they lose interest. Set your kid up for success by going with an expert who spends countless hours on the water to keep the odds in their favor.

Full swing spring is here in the Chattooga and Chauga River valleys with great river levels with plenty of spring rains to keep the water table at a great level headed into early summer. The Walhalla State Fish Hatchery has been stocking great numbers of fish in both the Delayed Harvest and other sections of both rivers. There have also been some very large fish released as well from the hatchery in all sections of the rivers. Temperatures in the early mornings in the mid-forties rising to the mid-sixties and seventies has been producing great hatches on the rivers. As the hatches progress with the warmer weather, we look forward to seeing many more Mayflies and Caddis. Please stop by the Fly Shop and check out the “Hot List” for hatch updates. Streamer fishing has also been producing a good number of fish as well and looks to continue throughout May as many more baitfish spawn. Another large emergence is of the oak worms. These fine little creatures are a tasty treat that even the largest of trout cannot pass up as they fall from the trees into the rivers. Casting imitations of these into over-hanging bushes and dead drifting them with a twitching technique will be very beneficial to a large day on the river. Anywhere you find these worms dangling from their silk lines from the trees, do not hesitate to stop and

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watch the worm finally hit the water and see what happens! The next process is to work your way into a good vantage point to make your cast to the fish which just ate the natural. Do not worry about a delicate cast. Even splat the worm on the water will be just as effective as they also fall out of the trees from far above. As the late spring temperatures rise, fishing the shady areas of the rivers will be essential as the fish will move out of the high sun and warmer temperature waters. Let’s all remember “leave no trace”. Packing out with what you brought in with you is essential, and bringing something back out with you that someone else has left behind does not hurt either.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING PREPARING FOR A SALTWATER FLY FISHING TRIP By Jacob Milholland, Store Manager Cohutta Fishing Company (706) 946-3044 Many who walk through our doors are from the Gulf Coast, and we eventually talk about sight fishing for redfish, snook, and tarpon with a fly rod. Anglers from our neck of the woods have the luxury of being a short drive to the coast, so making a trip to the salt is a great way to test your prowess as an angler as well as the opportunity to experience what world-class saltwater fisheries have to offer. If you’re headed to saltwater to fly fish for the first time, make sure you come prepared! It’s exciting to see that fish of a lifetime on the bow of a skiff with a rod in your hand, but nerves can get the best of us. Unless you intimately know your abilities, it’s too easy to mess up the only shot you have. If you’re planning a trip in advance, practice your cast for

5-10 minutes a day leading up to the trip. Andy Bowen, owner of Cohutta Fishing Company, teaches casting lessons using a paper plate and will measure out increments of 20, 30, and 40 feet. Andy teaches “drills” to hit that plate as many times in a row as possible. Once you feel comfortable with a distance, he will move the plate out a little further. The best test of your gear comes from multi-day trips on the water, and each day on the water is one more day that something can go wrong. You don’t have to have the highest end equipment out there. Buy the best equipment that is within your budget. Sealed drag systems (Nautilus, Hatch, and Orvis Reels) are great for someone who wants a maintenance-free setup, but we also love the old school cork drag reels like

Shilton Reels if you’re willing to do a little upkeep. Make sure your rod has corrosion resistant components. Saltwater will wreak havoc on any gear that isn’t cleaned after use! If you’re sight fishing, polarized sunglasses are the most important piece of equipment that you should have. A good pair of sunglasses will cut through glare on the water and offer high contrast in order to make out what’s on the bottom. We carry Bajio sunglasses, and they’re excellent. Green mirrored and rose mirrored lenses from Bajio are our preferred lenses. Suncloud is a good cheaper alternative. You want to look at their amber-base lenses. It may seem intuitive to wear a short-sleeved shirt in the heat, but we wear long sleeved sun hoodies made from lightweight and breath-

able materials for sun protection. Any of the sun hoodies from Simms, FreeFly, and Orvis with an ultraviolet protection factor rating will keep you protected. The same goes for bottoms. These aren’t a replacement for sunscreen, but you can use far less than you would otherwise. Sunscreen and bug sprays are detrimental to coatings on fly line, so make sure to clean your hands after applying. Cohutta Fishing Company is an Orvis Endorsed Fly Shop/Guide Service located in downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia. We carry a large assortment of guide-tested fly fishing equipment and proven fly patterns, as well as have a knowledgeable and friendly staff. We also offer casting lessons! 490 East Main Street Blue Ridge, GA 30513. (706) 946-3044

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING OCONEE ON THE FLYGRATITUDE AND LESSONS LEARNED LAKE OCONEE MAY FORECAST

Contributed By Capt. Wayne Moore USCG www.oconeeonthefly.com I remember it like it was yesterday; my first guide trip on April 6th, 2018. I had always wanted to be a fishing guide, and when we finally moved to Lake Oconee, I had the opportunity. It turned out to be a great trip! Before I did this, I discussed it with the well-known guide, Doug Nelms. I was concerned that the established guides would not be happy about yet another guide competing for customers. But Doug was great and encouraged me as have so many others. I am grateful for all the lessons I have learned. I will share some of the lessons below. • Timing is everything! Last year, the best fishing was awesome for hybrids and stripers using 7/8-ounce War Eagle spoons in October through December. • If you are booking a guide trip, call well in advance of your trip and ask when the best time is to come for what you are targeting. • Fishing is always better before a cold front comes in. • Moon phase is key and three days before and after the full moon

6 ATLANTA

MAY 2022

and the new moon are good days. • Fish for hybrid and stripers when Georgia Power is generating or pumping water up from Lake Sinclair. • You can use bass minnows up until the threadfin shad spawn. After that, it’s best to use live shad. • Crappie fishing is best in February and March. When the Bradford pear trees first bloom, it is time to catch big crappie! • The threadfin shad spawn is happening now (April 14th.) Norris Edge told me recently that you know that shad spawn is happening when the pecan trees begin to tassel. • The biggest lesson I have learned in four years of guiding is that the trip is as much about the people as it is the fishing. I have met some of the nicest folks, and I love watching people catch fish, especially kids. May Forecast - Hybrids/Stripers: Live bait is necessary in May. Throw your cast net at first light near the bridges and make sure you have a good bait tank. You want a closed system with good aeration and filtration. Use a product like Shad Magic as shad will not survive without salt in the tank. Long line and down line once you find the fish. I use 12-pound mono, a swivel with a #4 split shot in front of the swivel, a two-foot leader of 10-pound fluorocarbon and a # 4 circle hook. Fly Fishing: Fly fishing for hybrids and stripers will be good at first light, especially if Georgia Power is pumping water up from Sinclair. Once it gets hot, there will be mornings when they are pumping, and it is

ethga a gas f a great topwater bite. If there is no topwater activity, use a sinking line and target fish over humps with a Game Changer or a Cowen’s Baitfish fly. Crappie: May is a fun time for trolling. Look for submerged timber and troll at 1 mph with a single 1/16th jig or a double with a

1/16th and a 1/32nd. If the timber is 10 feet below the surface, you can troll a jig at 7 feet. You will get bit! Final Words: May through June the fishing is great! Please call 404-317-9556 or email me at wmoore1700@outlook.com to ensure you get the dates you want.

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LOCAL RIVERS & FLY FISHING DARK-THIRTY! By Jeff Durniak, Unicoi Outfitters

Dark-Thirty is a a term that fires up all card-carrying Rabunites! May starts out hot with some great action on yellow bugs (stimulators, sallies) that imitate late mayflies and stoneflies, but by the last half of the month, trout action wanes with hotter weather, lower stream flows, and warming water. The daytime action slows to a crawl. Most flatland anglers call it quits at 4 or 5PM, hike out, and head toward a hearty supper. That’s when the Rabunite arrives to an emptying parking lot, for Dark30 awaits him or her! He will hike in to some favorite pools and riffles and toss a bushy Adams, Light Cahill, or Yellow Stimulator back into the shadows, hoping for an early fish or two. As the sun dies and shadows grow, he’ll move to a pre-scouted honey hole and get into prime casting position. He’ll study overhanging limbs and sky above for hints of

the forthcoming “hatch.” He’ll tie on fresh tippet and select a favorite dry or two, often a Cahill, Stimulator, or Coffin Fly, and slather it with floatant. Finally, he checks the headlamp batteries and his backup flashlight, and slips the headlamp over his tattered ball cap and waits. In those final minutes of daylight, the last bugs of spring finally come out of hiding to dance, mate, and die, and the resident trout know their late supper has arrived. Easy calories and low light convince even the best fish of the stream to leave daytime lairs and partake in the feast. Herons and otters can no longer spot them easily, and their instream position maximizes the bug drift while minimizing tailwags spent to hold that position.

Through experience and keen eyes, the Rabunite knows these prime lies. Already in position, he simply waits for noses to poke through the surface film. This is the time for quality over quantity, and the Rabunite will only have time to cast to a good fish or two. When the light is so low that he can no longer spot his dries, he’ll use peripheral vision to glimpse a parachute post. And when slapdark arrives, he’ll simply cast into the blackness, follow the drifting fly line, and listen for a slurp beyond it. The hookset is followed by fly line unzipping the stream surface, a cartwheel or two, a crash, and then

some wallowing. The Rabunite flips on his headlamp and finally guides his quarry toward the net. He marvels at the slab-sided rainbow or hook-jawed brown and takes an awful photo or two as the camera flash bounces off the fish, but he has a record of the memory made. Thirty minutes after slap-dark, it’s all over. Bugs and fish retire for the night, as does the Rabunite, who returns to an empty parking lot, except for his truck. He smiles on the quiet ride home, admiring the stars and savoring his Dark-30 memory. Dark-30, by golly. Don’t leave early. (For more Dark-30 tips, google “secrets of the Rabunites”)

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST FISH ARE BITING EVERYWHERE!

By Gary Turner

Well, at least they are everywhere I have been this month! First, Andy, Stacy and I went to Santee to fish with Capt. Dewayne for the day. The fish bit good in the morning, but it slowed after lunch as a front pushed in. I am the best at picking days a front is going come up, so we decided to head in. Back in Georgia, we met up with Chuck over at Broad River. We got up early and started trolling crappie jigs. The water was cool at 57 degrees, but the crappie and white perch didn’t care. They were biting. A few days later Stacy and I ran down to Pompano Beach to meet up with Capt. Johnny Stabile. We went to Everglades Holiday Park to launch and headed into the canals looking for our quarry! Jaguar Cichlids and oscars were on my list for the day. YouTuber Ryan Morie was on the boat with Capt. Johnny the day before and caught a nice jaguar, so we headed back to that canal first. We caught fish and more fish, over 200 oscars in two hours! It was a BLAST! No jaguar showed up, but we had so much fun I didn’t care. We then shifted locations and started catching peacock bass on topwater lures. After we caught a bunch of those, we loaded up the boat, hit Fridays for a bite to eat, and then over to the bait shop for some live shrimp! We then made our way down to Biscayne Bay to see if the tarpon were hungry. It wasn’t long before I was hooked up. WOW, this fish had power! We got up beside it with the boat several times. It looked around 130 pounds. It did not want to be pulled in for pictures and clipped the line on the front of the boat on one of its runs. Stacy hooked up on one even bigger! He played it for a while and two bull sharks got after it! Running from the sharks, it broke the leader and swam safely off, but not before we got some good pics of it. I hooked another one around 80 pounds, and we brought it in fast for pics before the sharks came back. We managed a few good pics and sent it on its way. That was a

marathon fishing day! The next morning the weather turned some, so we perused several bait shops including The Rod Room on Blue Heron, where I met Josh aka Blacktip H. You just never know who you will meet at the bait shop. We finished up the day meeting some friends at Papas Raw Bar in Pompano. If you ever go, make sure you get the Bimini Bread. Dewayne and I met up the day I returned from Florida and sat around and talked about fishing until after midnight. The next morning we met Capt. Travis Long, along with Mike and Paul, at the boat ramp on Lake Hartwell and headed out. When we stopped, he baited the rods and we were getting bites almost instantly. We had four fish on at the same time several times! In less than 90 minutes we had filled the cooler and our limit. That was fun! Capt. Travis’ guide service is Happy Hooker Guide Service 864-483-4299. If you are ever interested in info on any guides or places I fish, you can email me at gary@purgeright. com. Please remember, if you are not going to eat it, don’t kill it.

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST Tournament Schedule May 21 May 22 June 4 June 12 June 18 June 25 July 17 July 30 Aug 6 Aug 7 Aug 18 Sept 1 Sept 10

LAKE LANIER CRAPPIE over 20-40 foot bottom. Crappie love the shade, so cast into the shadows. When dock shooting, the biggest fish are usually the first to bite. I’m using the Skippers Jig Moon jigs. (Use promo code heroes when ordering.) I use ATX Lure Company’s jigs. I use 5-pound test high visibility yellow K9 braid for my line unless I am using a bobber and then it’s the K9 6-pound high-vis line and a Piscifun reel on an Acc Crappie Stix. I use Garmin Live Scope and the Navionics Boating app. Find me on Facebook and like my pages #crappieonlanier and #fishingwitheverydayheroes.

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The water temperature is 60 degrees. I am finding crappie on the docks suspended 10’ deep over a 20-45’ bottom. If you are using jigs, I would recommend starting with a white body and chartreuse tail. Fifty percent of this week’s catch came on minnows. I am setting minnows at 8-10 feet deep over schooling crappie. Most of the crappie I found on docks this week were suspended 10-15 feet deep

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST GOOD DAY ON THE TROUT WATER by Tim Dangar Well, I finally came out of the turkey woods to go fishing. My grandson Tyler and I hit a North Georgia trout lake on Sunday afternoon, April 10th, and it turned out to be quite fun. We only had a couple of hours to fish, so we had to make the best of our time on the water. We went with the lures in the picture which had worked on the lake in the past, and they also worked this day.

One tip to keep in mind when fishing spinners in a lake; if the fish are bumping the spinner but not taking it, slow down your retrieve and give it a short jerk or two. I have found this works when fish don’t seem to be all that hungry. We caught more than two limits, but of course returned the fish back to the lake. I hope to have something good to report on Lake Allatoona next month. It’s been an up and down spring so far with weather conditions as y’all can probably relate to. Until next month, stay calm and fish on!

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LAKE LANIER IN MAY – FUN ON TOP Contributed By: Jim “Jimbo” Mathley www.jimboonlanier.com

Lake Lanier is arguably at its very best during the late spring and early summer due to the consistent availability of an aggressive topwater and swimbait bite. In this month’s installment, you will learn the necessary tackle, equipment, locations and resources to catch topwater fish on Lanier. Location: Heading into May under normal weather conditions, most of the spotted bass on Lake Lanier are finishing the spawn and will begin aggressively feeding to recover from the spawning process. The larger female spots will begin their migration from their spawning haunts and can be found on or around long-running points, rocky shoals, and underwater humps/ islands throughout the lake. Trust your Humminbird units to find these features. Focus in the 20-25 foot depth range. For topwater action, you should utilize either a medium or mediumheavy bait-casting or spin-casting

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outfit rigged with 12-17 pound Seaguar monofilament line. Lighter poppers and smaller walking baits are often better presented on spinning gear which allows for easier casting of smaller baits. For swimbaits, I like to present the larger, heavier, mechanical-type swimbaits on a heavy action rod that is at least 7 feet long. My big swimbait rod is an IMX Pro from G-Loomis and is a beef stick! As far as the many other soft and hard swimbait options, you can scale back to a medium-heavy rod, but I definitely recommend keeping the length at 7 feet or more. Lures and Presentation: Let’s examine some of the techniques and lures that can be used to catch these fish. When the females first come off the bed, they are lethargic, so the use of more subtle techniques such as a fluke or a GA Blade jig head and a Berkley Max Scent worm combo can be the ticket. As the postspawn period progresses, you should focus on fishing fast-moving baits

such as the topwater and swimbait presentations we have focused on through in this article. Topwater - There are many choices of baits here – poppers, walkers, waking baits, etc. The preference of the fish will change day to day, so make sure to experiment daily to identify their preference. Excellent topwater baits for Lake Lanier include a great lineup of Berkley Baits: Surge Shad, J-Walker, Highjacker, Cane Walker and the Choppo. All of these lures as well as all the G-Loomis rods and Shimano reels can be purchased at local tackle shops such as Hammond’s Fishing in Cumming. Swimbait - Once the post-spawn has advanced, swimbaits become a great bait to throw around points and humps in both creeks and on the main lake. As far as the mechanical

type swimbaits, I am a HUGE fan of the Magic Swimmers, and they are the perfect representation of a herring. In the soft bodied swimbaits, I prefer the Lanier Baits Swimmer and Keitech Swimbait offerings. GA Blade Shad Spin - When the topwater/swimbait bite is tough, pick up your GA Blade Shad Spin and go to work. Fish the same areas you would normally present your topwater baits and experiment with different depths of the water column. Try a fluke, a Lanier Baits Swimmer, or Keitech swimbait as a trailer. I still have some dates available in June 2022, so call me to book a trip today and reserve your opportunity to come experience some of the best spotted bass topwater action in the country! Contact Jimbo on Lanier! daltonmarineinc.com 770-542-7764. Jimbo’s website: www. jimboonlanier.com.

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By James K. Pressley, jameskpressley@gmail.com

Despite the manic behavior of the weather, Lake Oconee right now is entering the best fishing we experience every year regarding the striper bite. Quite frankly, anyone with a boat of any size and with basic electronics can find fish. With a few basic setups, you can catch fish! Let’s look at what’s needed and how to accomplish that. You truly need only two things in a sonar unit: traditional sonar and good mapping software. Traditional sonar is a must for you to locate fish in an area. If they aren’t there, you can change locations. If you are not looking at baitfish, marking bigger fish, or looking at numbers of fish, relocate until you find them. You can tap on the boat and bring them up, sometimes from all over. Unless you understand what you are doing with this technique, then just move until you mark fish on your sonar.

Mapping is important because this time of year you will start to find hybrids and white bass pushing fish against the channel edges, flats along the river edge, or into deep coves where they can ambush them. Check out the contour lines on your GPS map and watch for those specific locations. I promise it’ll work. Not every one of them is going to hold fish and the type of structure they will relate to can vary. Keep looking at your map and keep hitting spots. Never forget the dam, East Bank, or Long Shoals this time of year either. Equipment: Personally, I use 7’ and 7’6” striper rods, medium light from Ugly Stick. My reels are Okuma or ABU Garcia depth counter reels, and I spool with 10-15 pound mono line and run a 10 pound fluorocarbon leader. The length of the leader just depends on the fish that day. I never run shorter than 18”,

and by the summer I am sometimes running 6’ or more. I use 2 ounce trolling weights, but guide Kevin Harris likes to even get to 3 ounces when he can find them. Hooks are 1/0 circle hooks by Gamakatsu for big bait and then going down to 2 or 4 mosquito hooks by Gamakatsu. Bait: Till the shad spawn hits, bass minnows are still very productive. After it hits, you can take odds on them. I still catch fish on them, but I do know guides who won’t use them and catch their own shad. You can net shad around most of the bridge pilings in Lick Creek, for instance. Look for clouds on your sonar or bait flipping around on top. How to deploy the bait: Pay attention to your electronics here. Find the depth the fish are feeding at (meaning if the fish are all showing up on the screen in the 15’-20’ range, then that’s where they are feeding) and place your bait above them! Stripers feed up in the water column. It’s not that you can’t get hit below them, but your chances are better above them. Drop the bait down to the desired depth and either slowly troll around with your trolling motor or sit and wait. Both

will work, and both will have their days in the spring. If you want to go with someone on Lake Oconee and learn how to do this, try a new guy, Kevin Harris. Check out his website and YouTube by searching GoFishLakeOconee.

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By Capt. Cefus McRae Nuts & Bolts Fishing Series Hartwell, GA I once read a survey that stated about 90% of people who own boats also have at least one dog. Out of that 90%, nearly 50% of those people regularly take their dogs along with them on the water. I fall into that category as well. All my dogs have been ‘boat dogs’, and all of them have loved being out on the water. Before you leave the dock with Fido, there are a few things to consider prior to putting your pooch on the pontoon. Just like us two-legged animals, dogs need clean, fresh water to keep them hydrated and happy. You should know how much water your dog needs during the day, so take 1 ½ times that much along. Carry a plastic or rubberbased metal bowl that won’t spill if the boat is rolling a little. Take them something to

munch on too. You wouldn’t go out for a day of fishing without a few snacks. Take some doggie snacks for your pup. If you plan to be away from home all day, then you need to take a real meal along. The aforementioned items will ultimately result in your pup’s need to relieve themselves at some point during the day. As a responsible pet owner, you are providing him enough water during the day, and he will eventually have to go pee. Just like us humans, they can only “hold it” for so long. Don’t make your pet miserable, and induce a mentally bad experience on the boat by expecting them to “hold it” forever. Plan your day and your destinations such that you have easily accessible pit stops during the day.

On a normal day, given the conditions described above, I wouldn’t expect my pup to go more than four hours without a pit stop. Neither should you. Something else we can forget is keeping your pup cool in hot weather. Find someplace on the boat that offers a shaded place for your dog to lay down comfortably. That hot deck that burns your bare feet is doing the same to his paw pads. Put down a towel, soaked in cool fresh water, for them to lay on. All my four-legged best friends have been retrievers, and they have all absolutely loved being in, and around, the water. In fact, Buck, The Wonder Dog’s been on the boat with me since he was 12 weeks old. If you decide to stop for a swim, and you choose to let your pup go in the water, then I would suggest getting them a Puppy PFD, which is a comfortable, wearable flotation device that fits your dog’s build. You want them to enjoy having this PFD on. Here’s a simple fact. It’s fun to throw the tennis ball and have your

pup chase it in the water. However, because they’re having fun, they will actually swim to the point of exhaustion and could drown. So be aware of this when they are getting tired and get them out of the water before they get into trouble. Another potentially dangerous situation is coastal rivers with current. Dogs just don’t understand it, and if they jump in the water, even a strong swimmer may not be able to make headway against it. Our dogs are members of the family, and it’s our responsibility to make sure they are safe and comfortable on the water. So before you take your best four-legged friend out on the boat, give some serious thought to the things they’ll need out there too. Your pup will definitely thank you for it.

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LAKE EUFAULA By Capt Sam Williams hawk184@earthlink.net 334-687-6266 Water temperature: upper 60’s to low 70’s, lake level: 188.98 msl, clarity: stained. The bass have been scattered due to the weather swings and barometric pressure constantly changing. Shallow fish have been sluggish but are hitting soft plastics on Texas rigs and jigs. Watermelon candy and anything with red in it will do the job. Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits worked around the grass and cover are also getting a bite. The deeper fish are coming from the trash piles and natural structure using deep cranks, Carolina rigs and spoons. Fishing docks and bridge pilings are also holding fish. Slow presentations are necessary to aggregate a strike. There are still bass on the beds, and it may take some patience to get her

to finally hit your bait. Bass feed on bedding bream, so work those areas when you smell the bream beds. Crappie are holding on the deeper structure. Jigs tipped with a minnow are getting some in the live well. As our weather settles down, they will be more aggressive. Bream will be really hot on the full moon. Red wigglers and crickets will be what you need to get a sack full. Look for the beds on the flats. Catfish are eating cut bait and crawlers. The jug fishermen are getting a good mess for the skillet fishing on the creek ledges. Remember that the game biologist recommends we eat our smaller bass to help balance the fishery. Spots no longer have a size limit and all of them need to be removed. If you do not want to eat them, share them with a friend. Registration is now open for the Alabama Classic coming up in October. Visit www.alclassic.com and sign up for our newsletter. Be safe on the water and take a youngster fishing. God bless and good fishing.

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LANIER STRIPERS Forecast by: Clay Cunningham www.catchingnotfishing.com 770-630-2673 Topwater time is here on Lanier. Most of the lake is clear, and the fish are looking to eat. Nothing is 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 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 JWalker. 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 18 ATLANTA

MAY 2022

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 green back ghost Magic Swimmer is hard to beat on Lanier. 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 paddletail. Live herring on a freeline across these same points and humps will also be a great tactic. 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. Add a little weight to the freeline to get down a little deeper as the fish go deeper.

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lakeandstreamguideservice@gmail.com

Water temperature: 67 degrees, lake level: full, clarity: 3 feet. Walleye fishing has been consistent all spring and we are seeing some real quality fish. After the spawn, the fish have pulled back out to the main lake points and humps. They are holding offshore during the day in 25 to 35 feet of water and coming up in the evening to feed on baitfish in the shallower water. Daytime presentations can be anything from trolling crankbaits to jigging and fishing spoons or live bait fished on the bottom with light fluorocarbon leaders and small circle hooks. Use your electronics to locate small groups of fish holding on drop-offs. At night, jerkbaits, crankbaits and live baits worked around shallow baitfish can produce some really nice fish.

still being relatively cool, the fish are still up shallow in the morning feeding on bait. This is planer board time. We run multiple lines with big baits spread out as far as we can and cover water at about .7 to .8 mph. I prefer the biggest baits I can catch. After the sun is up, I prefer to troll artificials over fishing downlines. These fish are typically on the move after sun up and can be next

to impossible to stay on top of with live bait. Capt. Mack’s umbrella rigs, bucktail jigs with trailers or bucktails tipped with fresh baitfish 35-45 feet deep can be a better option as you can cover more water. Typically, we troll these between 2 and 3 mph on 50-pound braid. The night bite has been good as well by throwing artificials and fishing live bait around the boat ramps.

LAKE SINCLAIR Bright colors are best. The mouth of the river and around the islands has been the most productive areas as well as around the dam and rip-rap in that area. Look for the full moon night bite this month to be really good. The striper fishing has been better this spring than the last couple years. We are seeing some really nice size fish. As usual, it’s quality over quantity here. With the water

Forecast By: Ken Sturdivant kensturdivant@att.net Lake Sinclair is full with the water temperature in the 60s. Bass fishing is barely fair. Focus in major creeks like Rooty Creek and Crooked Creek and fish from the bank out to 4 or 5 feet. Stay shallow this week. Texas rig plastic continues to be the best option with

tubes and crawfish type baits producing the best. Green pumpkin red flake, June bug, blueberry and redbug have been producing. Shallow docks are holding some of the larger fish and use a creature bait in June bug or other darker color patterns. If the front of the dock has more than five feet of water, keep moving and don’t waste time fishing it. Move on to a shallower dock. The best news of all is that a decent topwater bite is only a few days away.

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LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST FISHING OPPORTUNITIES IN MAY Dr. Andrew Cox

May is a transition month. During this month, we usually experience the last days of moderate temperatures before the hot dog days of summer. Generally, May’s temperatures and weather patterns are more stable than those found during March and April with their cold snaps impacting water temperatures and fish activity. Over the course of this month, water temperatures are steadily rising as weather frontal systems moving through the area are less frequent and intense than earlier months. Though temperatures during May can be hot at times, anglers can still enjoy time on the water. You can enjoy many hours on the water without profusely sweating or having heat stroke. Most freshwater fish species are still active during this month. Bass are moving into deeper waters, but some can still be found in shallow to moderate depth waters. Panfish and catfish can still be readily located. Crappie will be in deeper water but may be actively caught during nighttime hours. For those anglers enjoying trout fishing, this cold water fishery in Georgia as well as other southern states continues to be an active fishery. May is the last month that anglers can enjoy delayed harvest trout fishing on such designated waters in Georgia and North Carolina.

A variety of baits and artificial lure techniques will continue to be effective over the course of this month. My favorite plastic baits such as worms, tubes, various creature baits as well as jigs come into their own for catching bass and panfish. Traditional lures imitating a waterway’s forage base continue to catch fish. At times over the course of the fishing day, spinnerbaits, in-line spinners, and buzzbaits will catch bass. These techniques can be effective on area lakes, rivers, and streams. For some, May marks the beginning of the summer vacation time period as the school year ends during this month for many students. This month is a good time to enjoy family based outdoor activities such as camping, outdoor cookouts, hiking and walking, boating and other water sports. Many of our region’s fishing locales have camping, and day use areas that can be enjoyed by children and adult family members. Get out and enjoy the warmer temperatures found during the month of May. Make sure to enjoy the ample and varied angling opportunities available in our region. This will be the last month to enjoy the outdoors before the onslaught of truly hot weather making us retreat to hours relaxing under air conditioning.

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Forecast By: Eric Crowley Lake & Stream Guide Service (706) 669-4973

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Water temperature: 66 degrees, lake level: full, clarity: 8 feet. The walleye bite has been really good the last few weeks. The spawning is over and the fish are chasing bait and feeding up for summer. We are catching fish a number of different ways from trolling to jigging depending on the day and weather. The fish are stacked at 20 to 30 feet on rock piles and drop-offs, and the bite has been best early in the morning and right after dark. After dark, they move up a little shallower, so if you’re catching them and then

Forecast By: by Capt. Paul Tyre paultyrefishing@yahoo.com The bass fishing on Lake Seminole has been AWSOME through the month of April, and the bass fishing should get even better in May! If planning a trip to Lake Seminole in May, make sure you have some spinnerbaits and some frogs in your boat! May and June are excellent months for catching big bass on Lake Seminole. My favorite frog is a Spro Bronzeye Popping frog. It comes with a super strong and extremely sharp Gamakatsu hook that’s strong enough to get the big bass out of the grass! I have had the opportunity for sixty five customers to catch their PB (personal best) bass since January, and one of the most recent was John Dickmayer. John wanted for his 17th birthday to catch his largest bass, so he and his family came all the way from Commerce, Michigan! Not only did John catch his PB, his mom did also! What an exciting day!

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you’re not, you may need to adjust to a little shallower water. I’m mainly fishing from point 5 up river right now as that’s the best concentration of catchable fish, but there’s certainly fish all over the pond. The trout bite is picking up and should be in full swing by midmonth around the full moon. If this year is anything like the last few years, we can expect to see plenty of flying silver trout this month and next. I’m still looking for the smallmouth to show up. This is usually our best month for them. We don’t see many true smallies anymore, so it’s nice when it happens. If you’re looking for them, the break of dawn on the main lake is your best bet. Look for busting fish and throw a topwater or a 4” spoon at them.

The shellcracker have been bedding and will continue through May. The bream will begin bedding in May also, and it is exciting way to introduce kids to fishing. For a Lake Seminole Fishing Adventure for shellcracker and/or bass this May, maybe you could catch your PB! Give me a call to check availability at 850-264-7534, follow us on Facebook @ Capt.paultyrefishing or email me @ paultyrefishing@ yahoo.com.

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FISHING TOPWATERS DURING THE SPAWN

WEST POINT LAKE

Contributed By: Jay Striker www.jaystriker.com

There are very few things in an angler’s life that can compare to the heart-stopping explosion of a topwater strike in the springtime. When it happens, nothing in life seems to matter much. Most times, the reward is a largemouth bass that can add significant weight to your live well. I know, I’ve had it happen to me on many occasions, and it never gets old. Let’s discuss some of the things that I do in the springtime to get big bass to attack my topwater baits with reckless abandon. One such tactic I use is finding fish that are bedding or in the spawn mode, which means that there is a fish that has fanned out an area so that little bass eggs can be protected from predators as they grow from eggs through the stages of being able to protect themselves. Some of the biggest bass of the season get captured during the springtime in spawning areas, and many are caught using topwater. You may be wondering how you find the fish that are spawning. Good question. Key factors to take note of when targeting spawning bass are protected areas and water temperature. Look at your maps and find protected areas that don’t have current and look like a dead end on the map. If you have ever found a bass bed, you will start to notice that some common characteristics exist. One is protection and the other is warmer water. Water temperature plays a major role in the timing of when females start to lay their eggs. I like to look for water temperatures in the 60’s before I start thinking of spawning bass. However, when targeting fish in the spring with topwater baits, especially when the water temperatures start to climb into the 70’s, you will find fish in different modes of the spawning process. Some of the waves of fish may be just arriving at the spawning areas, some will be leaving, and some will have left weeks earlier. I use topwater poppers, Spooks and Primal Vibe Buzzbaits to cover a lot of water, especially in water

less than 5 feet. That’s where you will see a good many of spawning beds. If you see a fish on the bed and not moving, anglers call this the “locked on”. These fish can be caught with a topwater bait by throwing past the spawning bed and moving your bait toward the bed. If the fish has not attacked the bait, then just let it sit above the bed and just barely move your bait. The fish will usually strike the bait. However, if he misses the bait, then do a follow-up with your favorite soft plastic, and you will be sure to hook up. I have to leave you with the caveat that you must cover a lot of water and go back into the pockets where your trolling motor is kicking up dirt. Then you will be in the right place and be able to see the beds. Target those bedding fish with your topwater lures and catch some of the biggest fish a lake has to offer in the springtime. Good luck, and I hope you catch a big one. I want to thank you all for your continued support by reading the Angler Magazine. Please check in from on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter under Jay Striker.

Water temps are mostly in the 70s and low 80s. The lake is mostly clear and about two feet below full pool. Bass: Good - Largemouth are being caught on several different patterns. Topwater baits such as Pop R’s, Zara Spooks and buzzbaits can be extremely effective for shallow and aggressive fish, especially around bream beds. The second pattern that works really well is to look for spawning shad. Try fishing rip-rap around bridges with spinnerbaits, small crankbaits and Zoom Super Flukes. Additionally, some big tournament sacks of largemouth are still being weighed in by guys who sight fish, targeting fish that are locked on bed. Try a merthiolate Zoom trick worm or an unweighted Zlinky. Lots of spotted bass are caught by casting Spot Remover heads loaded with shaky tail worms or just dragging a Carolina-rigged Zoom finesse worm or mini lizard around sloping gravel banks. These tactics normally works very well for numbers. Linesides: Excellent - Spawned

out hybrids and stripes show back up down lake in May. Expect the downline bite on live bait to be awesome! Some fish have started schooling on the main lake and can be caught on small crankbaits, topwaters, pop-n-cork rigs and Storm Swim Shad lures. Crappie: Good - Spawned out fish will typically move out and hold on deeper brush and structure or under docks for a while to recover. Night fishing is usually awesome in May! Bream: Good - Don’t forget about our bream and shellcracker. Bedding usually takes place on the full moon cycles in May. Look for shallow cover in the backs of pockets. Sandy flats and stump beds tend to draw the fish like a magnet. Use live worms, crickets and small jigs for the best results. Catfish: Good - Lots of channel cat are being caught by the few anglers who target them. Live and cut baits fished on bottom will catch cats all over the lake, as long as fairly deep water is nearby. Jug fishing is also fun and productive. To target flatheads, go to a larger bait like a 4-5 inch bream or large shiner and fish the same areas. Most of the big flatheads are caught in the Ringer/Grayson’s Landing area north of the 219 bridge in the Chattahoochee and the mouth of the smaller feeder creeks in that vicinity.

LAKE ALLATOONA Forecast By: Capt. Robert Eidson First Bite Guide Service 770-827-6282 eidson6260@att.net www.firstbiteguideservice.com Linesides fishing is good! The spawn run is almost over. Most of the fish are back on the main lake and are starting to set up on a summer pattern. Big schools of hybrids can be found anywhere from the S-turns to as far south as Tanyard Creek. The downrod bite is the most productive bite going on the lake

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right now. Fishing live shad at depths from 20 - 30 feet is producing for our boats from one end of the lake to the other. Our bait of choice has been big threadfins with small gizzards running a close second. These fish can be found on your Humminbird on or around most points, humps and flats. Good electronics can be a big help during the summer months. Summertime is awesome for numbers on Lake Allatoona. Give us a call at 770 827-6282 and let’s take the kids fishing.

MAY 2022

ATLANTA 21

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST LAKE NOTTELY STRIPERS Trophy Striper Season is Here! Forecast By: Shane Goebel Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service & The Angler Magazine Fishing Team www.bigolfish.com

It’s time for some monster trophy stripers in North Georgia. Yep, it’s May, our favorite time of year for the big-uns. I’m talking about those reel screaming, line pulling, explosive hits that will make you want smack your granny it’s so awesome. No offense to granny, but this is most definitely the best time of year for trophy fish. May brings in the warmer weather, which gets these stripers in the mood for spawning and really fires up the bite. We’ll also start catching numbers as well. So if you’re looking for something to do or an avid fisherman looking for that record fish, give us a holler and get your fish on with the area’s #1 guide service. Check out our Facebook and Instagram page, Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service and give us a like. Currently Lake Nottely is around 5 feet below full pool. Water is most-

ly clear and slightly stained in the rivers. Water temps have been in the mid to upper 50’s. The striper bite has been wicked lately! We are starting to catch some good numbers, averaging 15 to 20 stripers a morning. The majority of our stripers have been in the 15 to 30 pound range. In the early part of the month, you’ll still find a lot of these fish in their spring spawning areas in the backs of creeks and in the river. As the month progresses, they’ll start working their way back to deeper water in the mouths of creeks and around shallow humps all over the lake. The early morning and late afternoon bite has been the best for catching these beasts. Pulling planer boards and free lines with live herring will be your best technique. As the sun comes up, it never hurts to throw out a couple of down lines. Try to pay attention to areas that are holding a lot of baitfish as the stripers will be close by. Also, watch for an awesome topwater bite to fire up. I always like to keep a RedFin or a

1 3 1 1 1 1/ 1 1 1/ 1

Spook at the ready to work the banks as we troll around. Just keep an eye out for busting fish. May is a fantastic month for catching a lot of trophy stripers on this North Georgia lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake

Nottely’s best trophy stripers during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Blairsville, Georgia’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on

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Forecast By: Joseph Martinelli 404-919-4918 Spring is here and we sure get excited about the prospects for great days of fishing here on Lake Allatoona. Our primary target species becomes hybrids and striped bass mainly because they fight like the dickens, especially the hybrids. Down-lining fresh threadfin shad is hard to beat for the schoolies. They will often be pushing bait up against ledges and points early in the morning and finding a nice location and putting in your lines is a great way to start the morning. If you cross paths with some topwater action, be ready to cast a Sebile, Redfin or spoon right into the mix. If you want to better entice a larger fish, be ready with a larger profile bait. This takes a lot of patience and discipline to not cast whatever is in your hand to surface feeding fish and having your big fish bait at the ready to deploy. I often miss the discipline mark here, but when I do not, it regularly pays off. May is big fish month. It is true for us and we have caught most of our bigger stripers, hybrids, and spotted bass during this month than any other in years past. It is big bait month, too! Even here on Allatoona, the 3-5 pound spots, jumbo hybrids and 10 lb+ striped bass will sometimes only strike that one big bait you are ready with. Throw a Redfin C-10 and/or float at least one big bait to see these results for yourself. Having a large profile bait, especially if you are lucky enough to encounter a school chasing the bait and boiling the surface, can mean the difference of triggering one of the larger fish or not. We should still be finding crappie just off their spawn and now on deeper brush and along channel edges and creek mouths again. This does not mean they are not still in the creek backs, but as the water warms, access to cooler water typically pre-

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vails for these little discs of delight. The catfish bite is on! Want to know what they like? Pretty much anything as a species, but the big cats of Allatoona do not often fall prey to a hotdog. They really like big fresh baits (cut and/or alive) and chasing and catching the right baits alone can be a day of fishing for bream and such and guerrillastyle throwing of the cast net hunting mongo gizzard shad. There are some great shops in the area to stop and talk fish and maybe glean a little something new from a fellow fisherman. I have learned a lot over the years from chatting up friends old and new at the Dugout, Hammonds, Oakwood, and the Acworth Shad Shack. Oh, and they have everything you might need for fishing in the area and beyond. If you would like to enjoy a nice full-service Adventure, please do not hesitate to contact us directly by text or call to 404-919-4918 or email us any time. Please visit us at Heron Outdoor Adventures and be safe, stay blessed and tight lines, friends!

MAY 2022

ATLANTA 23

LOCAL LAKES AND FORECAST CHATUGE HYBRIDS AND SPOTTED BASS By: Darren Hughes Owner: Hughes General Store & Bait Shop The Angler Magazine Fishing Team & Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service www.bigolfish.com 828-361-2021

The hybrid bass bite is in full swing. These Lake Chatuge monsters are right in the midst of their spring spawn. Currently they are feeding pretty aggressively on bait in the backs of creeks and in shallow areas around the mouths of creeks. The far south end and far upper ends of the lake have been pretty decent. We are seeing most of our fish in the 25 to 35 foot range. Your early morning and late evening bites will be the best. Pulling planer boards and free lines with live blueback herring and shad will be your best technique. Towards the end of this month, we’ll start to see these hard-fighting fish school up in the mouths of creeks and off points around the lake. When these hybrids school up, it can most certainly make for an unforgettable fishing trip. We typically average 30 to 60 hybrids in a morning and sometimes in less than

2 hours. These fish will range in sizes from 6-15 pounds and fight like no other. Also, look for an awesome topwater bite to get fired up soon. I usually keep a RedFin or a Spook at the ready. The spotted bass bite has also been excellent. Fish should be coming up off their beds and are super hungry. They will be schooling up off shallow points and humps throughout the lake. Recently, we have been boating 25 to 30 fish a trip. A lot of these spots have been averaging 4 to 6 pounds. Focus on shallow areas around creeks and off points and humps. Down-lining live bluebacks has worked the best. Also, watch for a strong topwater bite to start. When these schooling spots start chasing up bait and busting on the surface, they’ll hit almost anything you can throw at them. May is a fantastic month for catching a lot of trophy hybrids and spots on this North Georgia lake. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s

#1-rated guide service put you on some of Lake Chatuge’s best trophy hybrids during the fishing trip of a lifetime. We are Blairsville, Georgia’s premier full-time guide service, specializing in striped and

hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Hiwassee, Nottely, and Lake Blue Ridge. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on!

Wall of Fame WIN A FREE ANGLER MAGAZINE CAP! One will be given

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Andy Bowen, owner of Cohutta Fishing Company, with a rainbow trout caught with Matt Morrison, Cohutta Guide.

Ben Phenny, pastor from Phenix City, fishing Lake Eufaula with his dad, Kevin.

Dutch Earl with guide Quint Rogers with a 21 inch shoal bass caught on a fly on the Flint River.

Natalie with a brown trout caught on a guided trip with Drew Friedrich, Cohutta Guide. 24 ATLANTA

MAY 2022

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n Illinois angler broke the Missouri state record for paddlefish in March. He snagged a 140-pound, 10-ounce paddlefish at Lake of the Ozarks. It beat out the previous record— set in 2015 at Table Rock Lake—by just one ounce. Record-breaking angler Jim Dain, of Pittsfield, Ill., was on a family fishing trip and almost decided not to take the boat out because of shifting weather conditions the day he caught his monster fish. “The forecast was calling for storms, and then it changed to no rain, so we went out, but it just kept getting colder,” Dain said. “We weren’t having much luck, but decided to fish for another hour. So we took another turn, and that’s when the drag on the reel started. It felt like a tree was on the line!” Paddlefish are an interesting target for anglers because they are filter feeders and will not take lures or baited hooks. The most popular method for catching them is to troll large, un-baited treble hooks to cover water and hopefully snag one. “We got 16 one-gallon bags of meat out of this catch,” laughed Dain. “We’ve fried it, grilled it and made paddlefish tacos the other night. We’ll be having paddlefish for a while!” Missouri’s paddlefish seasons run March 15-April 30 on its major paddlefish snagging waters: Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock Lake, Truman Lake and their tributaries. There is a minimum length limit of 32 inches. The paddlefish season for the Mississippi River is March 15 through May 15 with a fall season of Sept. 15 through Dec. 15. For more information, see the Missouri DNR website at dnr.mo.gov.

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CoastalAnglerMag.com/contest 14 NATIONAL

MAY 2022

FLEXIBLE LIMIT

PROPOSED FOR MAKOS

OAA Fisheries has proposed establishment of a flexible retention limit for shortfin mako sharks with a default limit of zero in commercial and recreational highly migratory fisheries. This measure follows a 2021 approval to ban mako shark harvest in the North Atlantic in 2022 and 2023 in a decision handed down by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). ICCAT’s juridiction is over highly migratory species, like sharks, which cross international boundaries. NOAA’s flexible retention limit would fulfill ICCAT’s recommendation, while allowing flexibility if conditions change. During the fishing year, NOAA Fisheries could increase the shortfin mako shark retention limit from the default, or subsequently decrease the retention limit, for the commercial fishery, the recreational fishery, or both, based on regulatory criteria and retention allowed by ICCAT. Strict conservation measures have been on the table for mako sharks since 2017, when a stock assessment indicated the species was being overfished. Annual take from both sides of the Atlantic ranged between 3,600 and 4,675 tons, mostly caught with commercial gear. ICCAT warned that catches must be kept below 1,000 tons to rebuild the population. Off the U.S. east coast, Atlantic shortfin mako sharks are found from New England to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas, and in the Caribbean Sea. For more details or to comment on the proposal, see www.fisheries.noaa.gov.

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t’s tarpon time, and as big fish flood the channels, bays, flats, beaches and passes up the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, every angler with a monster silver king on the bucket list hopes to get a piece of the biggest show on water. Most of the time, all they’ll get is the aerial show. Whether it’s a thrown hook from a head-shaking leap, a sharp gill plate that cuts the line, or a big hammerhead that makes the line go slack, hooking a big tarpon is a lot easier than putting hands on one. Studies have shown less than 40 percent of hooked tarpon make it boatside to have their photo taken. Here are a few tips to help you turn a hook-up into a great release photo.

TARPON FIGHTING TIPS By CAM Staff

1) Bow to the King:

If you have any interest in tarpon at all, you’ve heard this one already, but let’s just get it out of the way for those who don’t know. When a tarpon jumps, stop reeling, drop your rod tip and point it at the fish. When the fish is doing all its head shaking and tailwalking, a slack line doesn’t provide as much leverage to throw the hook. When the fish lands, lift the rod tip back to about 45 degrees and reel quickly to take up the slack.

2) Predict the Jump: Watch the fish’s behavior and you can often predict when it will go airborne. A hard run usually culminates with a big jump. Also, when you see the line angling up, it means the fish is headed to the surface. Pay attention and you won’t be caught off guard.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CAPT. JEFF MAGGIO

3) Go Hard on Them: Tarpon are big and powerful. If you don’t break their spirit quickly, they just might break yours. Use heavy tackle and do everything you can to get them in quickly. Use an anchor buoy to quickly unhook and chase fish down. This allows you to gain line and maintain the upper hand. By adjusting the drag, you can let the fish tire itself out more quickly. Start with the drag lower in the early stages of the fight, when the fish is still making long powerful runs that can break the line. As it begins to tire from running and jumping, start ramping up the drag pressure and continue pumping and reeling. If you’re good enough, palming the reel allows you to manually control drag pressure without committing to a higher setting. This can save you if a fish has a sudden second wind. Keep the heat on a big fish from start to finish. If it runs to the right, swing your rod to the left and vice versa. By keeping constant pressure against the direction the fish is trying to go, it is sometimes possible to convince them to give up.

4) Don’t Feed the Sharks: Sharks always seem to show up when there’s tarpon fishing going on, and it’s a pity so many big tarpon end up getting sharked on the end of a line. When sharks show up, ethical anglers pull lines up and move. Reeling in half a fish is worse than reeling in no fish at all. If a big shark shows up during the fight, clamp down on the drag and try to break the line. For more, go to coastalanglermag.com.

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s you should know by now if you read my articles or subscribe to my YouTube channel, I like to fish for everything with fins. From offshore in 300plus feet of water to creeks, there is one thing that makes us more effective now than we were years ago: electronics! When I was very young, we went to the very first mark off the beach and loaded up on sea bass, gray trout (weakfish), flounder and whatever else would bite a crude chicken rig with cut mullet. Those days are gone. Now, we have evolved to using the most advanced electronics available to locate and stay on fish. We’ve got side imaging and live imaging technology, which is not (almost) cheating, to… screw it… It’s cheating, and I’m doing it. I love a gag grouper like Peter loved the Lord, and I also like to fish for bass as well as drum, trout and snook. Electronics like side scan make me dangerous. They are the difference between being close to a good place on a ledge or wreck versus being ON THE SPOT. It’s now possible to see whether you’re close to a stack of baitfish or on it. The stack of bait is the key to catching instead of just soaking baits. Look for the giant stack of bait, because that is what holds

predators, bottom fish below and pelagics above. For example: The video link at the end of this article as well as the blue photo on this page are a prime example of electronics telling us what’s below us and how deep. The marks near the bottom are African pompano and other bottom fish. The marks in the 100-foot range are blackfin tuna. The other photo is of crappie in a creek. I was watching them in real time using Garmin LiveScope. Regardless if you’re fishing in 300 or 15 feet of water, having the correct electronics will make a huge difference. We rely on our fishing instincts to catch fish. I’m a believer in the “cleanest” terminal tackle being the most effective tackle. The most important thing of all, though, is to position your boat on top of fish. For this, proper electronics have become essential. Check out barefootcatsandtackle.com, and watch this video https://youtu.be/qGzW6QFZHKE on using electronics offshore.

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MAY 2022

NATIONAL 19

Making Memories M

ay is a great month to take or introduce a child to the sport of fishing. The summer crowds haven’t arrived, the weather is tolerable, and there should be a nice breeze to keep it comfortable. If your child is already catching more than you, this is a great time to teach them some new techniques or how to use a new lure. Jetties, piers or docks are great locations to target this month, and sheepshead can be an entertaining target for the beginner. They can be corporative, and a nice trophy for a child. At times, they can be easy to catch and will provide a solid fight for the saltiest of anglers. Sheepshead love structure. Focus your attention on the most barnacle-encrusted structure you can find. At times you can hear them munching on those barnacles! If it is legal in the area you are fishing, scraping barnacles off the structure is a great way to chum for sheepshead and really gets them fired up. Small live or fresh dead shrimp are great, readily available bait. Small jacks, croaker, pinfish and whitting are also good options to give young anglers a strong tug and a good time. Once again, live and dead shrimp are a good choice to lure in these aggressive feeders. Beach fronts, jetties and structure are good areas to target them. If your child is up for a challenge and wants to learn something new, like my 11-year-old, May

By Capt. Michael Okruhlik

is a good month to explore. With optimal water temperatures that keep fish aggressive, May is ideal. My son and I were in our favorite local tackle shop one day, and he picked up a custom painted lure and showed it to me. The owner, Mike, had painted these and they are renowned for catching big trout. My son had never fished one, but wanted to learn and catch a big one! For a few weeks, every time my son walked into the lure room and saw the Corky hanging on the rack, he would say, “Dad let’s go fishing.” He wanted to use the lure from Mr. Mike and catch a big trout. When we finally had a chance to hit the water, conditions were not ideal. We went to learn how to work the lure, if nothing else. My son did accomplish catching his first fish on a Corky. Even though it was not the big trout he planned on, it gave us a good laugh and memories that will last forever. This photo shows his first fish on that style of lure… the first of many I am certain. Go grow up little pinfish. Hopefully the next time we meet you are in the belly of a big trout! Take a kid fishing, leave the electronics at home, and everyone will have fun learning something from each other!

The Return of a

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOCKIN TAIL LURES

Capt. Michael Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures, Controlled Descent Lures and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.

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conversations. Satellite phones are an option but are cost prohibitive for most of us. Luckily, the satellite network has created a new choice with two-way texting devices like the Garmin inReach Mini, which I find offers a great mix of features, affordability, size and peace of mind. All these devices require a subscription plan, but most are affordable and allow you to pause them during off seasons. There are several manufacturers and options on the market, and they have many different features. Some have built-in keypads for easy composition of messages, but that makes the size larger. Most will pair with your cell phone, making it simple to create and send messages. They all also have SOS buttons that send a distress message along with your location to a communication center. Like EPIRBs and PLBs, they will continually transmit your location to By Will Schmidt search and rescue, helping them to find you quickly. Unlike the others, you are notified when your SOS is received. You can also communicate the nature of your emergency and answer vital questions from rescuers via text. The small size and waterproof rating means you can clip these devices to a life vest and continue sending and receiving information should you need to abandon ship. Furthermore, you can send non-emergency messages to check in with others. The inReach Mini allows you to create three preset messages that can be quickly sent and have unlimited sends on each of their data plans. This is a great feature for sending useful updates and non-emergency messages such as: “Just checking in, everything is fine.” Or “Everything is ok, but we are running late.” Other features many of these devices offer are waypoint navigation, tracking and weather reports. If navigation features are of primary importance to you, a larger device with a bigger screen might suit you better. Since mine is a backup navigation device, the connection to my phone is sufficient. I can even pair my inReach with my chart plotters to quickly send and read messages while underway. Whether you travel offshore, into the backwoods or to a remote island ith technology helping us get farther away from shore, it is lodge, if you want the ability to summon help or just check in at home when imperative that we have a reliable way to communicate with others. off the grid, these satellite devices offer great usability in an affordable easyIt’s not unheard of for people to take a bay boat 40 miles offshore to-use option. where VHF might not be heard. While Emergency Position Indicating Will Schmidt is a seasoned tournament angler who has been writing Radio Beacons (EPIRB) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) are a great about fishing from more than two decades. way to request assistance in an emergency, they lack the ability for two-way

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