Category Archives: Fishing Information

Keep America Fishing

Join in the Fun of the 2014 First Ever KeepAmericaFishing™ Day

EDITOR’S NOTE: This Saturday, June 7, many states across the country are holding their annual Free Fishing Days. It’s a great time to get out on the water and give fishing a try- but it’s also an opportunity for you to share your love of the sport and possibly score a prize. Here’s the information from KeepAmericaFishing.org.
from The Fishing Wire

Go fishing on June 7, and you just might win one of many exciting prizes

Alexandria, VA – Saturday, June 7, 2014 is the first-ever KeepAmericaFishing™ Day and is being held in conjunction with National Fishing and Boating Week. This is a day for avid and novice anglers alike to show their support of recreational fishing by getting out on the water. Anglers are asked to come towww.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day and share their experiences including photos and other highlights. Just by sharing, anglers are eligible to win prizes from KeepAmericaFishing and its partners.

“This is the inaugural year for KeepAmericaFishing Day and it’s an exciting new venture for KeepAmericaFishing,” said American Sportfishing Association Vice President Gordon Robertson. “Anglers everywhere should come towww.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day and share their fishing experiences anytime during National Fishing and Boating Week but especially on KeepAmericaFishing Day to stand united behind one of America’s favorite pastimes – fishing.”

To encourage participation, KeepAmericaFishing and its partners are offering a myriad of prizes from decals to rod and reel combos just for participating. The biggest prizes will be available on June 7, 2014, KeepAmericaFishing™ Day! On June 7, go to www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day to share your experiences and receive a prize.

If you’re having too much fun on the water to remember to visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day on June 7, you have until June 8, to post your photos and comments. Anglers may also download the Fishidy app on their mobile devices to capture and share their experiences directly from the water. Fishidy is KeepAmericaFishing’s official mobile partner.

Robertson further noted, “We are honored to have some of fishing’s most recognized brands on board for this campaign, highlighting the importance of anglers getting out on the water and supporting our sport. On June 7, get on out on the water and catch some fish. Then tell us about it on www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/fishing-day.”

The first KeepAmericaFishing™ Day is supported by these companies and brands:

AFTCO Manufacturing Company
Coghlan’s
Costa
Daiwa Corporation
Eagle Claw
Fishidy – KeepAmericaFishing’s Official Mobile Partner
Frabill
Mystery Tackle Box
Okuma Fishing Tackle Corporation
Plano Molding Company
Rapala
Shakespeare

About KeepAmericaFishing™
KeepAmericaFishing™ is the American Sportfishing Association’s angler advocacy campaign. KeepAmericaFishing gives America’s 60 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways. Through policy, science and conservation, KeepAmericaFishing works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations. For more information or to get involved today, visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.

What Can I Learn From A Fishing Guide?

You Can Learn A Lot From A Fishing Guide
from The Fishing Wire

You can learn a whole lot from a professional fishing guide…some of it applies to fishing. Most of it, however, applies to life and fishing.

Each March for the past few years, I’ve quietly cleared a space on my calendar for an event called the “Gaston’s Gathering”. It’s a two-day retreat where outdoor writers, editors and photographers fortunate enough to be included on the guest list have the opportunity to come together at Gaston’s White River Resort in Lakeview, Arkansas.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, Gaston’s bills itself as the country’s finest fishing resort. It’s located down the White River from the Bull Shoals dam, on what is, arguably, some of the most productive trout water in America. I’ve caught rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout there, and have been fortunate enough that some of them have been the kind of trout many of us fish a lifetime without catching.

Gaston’s is a family-owned and operated business, and has for the past half-century or so been managed by Jim Gaston. He’s a gracious host, fellow photography enthusiast and collector of all manner of cool stuff. Gaston’s great restaurant-literally built out over the water- boasts great food, along with a ceiling full of some of the most interesting gear you’ll ever sea. The collection includes vintage fishing motors, bicycles, signs and about anything else that’s caught Jim’s interest over the years. Cases inside the restaurant, hotel office and gift shop are full of other interesting collections, from old safety razors to watches and some amazing fountain pens.

It’s the kind of place where you can bring your spouse, children and even the family dog and be assured of being treated like family. If you’d like to know more about Gaston’s, you can visit www.gastons.com and check it out for yourself. And before you ask, yes most of the cabins and lodges are pink. There’s a story there, but no space for it here.

Gaston and his guides. At the annual “Shore Lunch” Gaston’s owner Jim Gaston (with camera on left), poses for a photo with the group of guides who regularly wrangle a gaggle of outdoor media types like the professionals they are. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.
Gaston’s also has a collection of fishing guides that are, in every sense, pretty unique characters. They include lifelong natives, “transplanted yankees” and others who don’t really talk about where they’re from. I’ve been fortunate enough to fish with a cross-section of them over the years, and their personalities are about as different as people who enjoy common activities can be.

But they all share short snippets of wisdom about fishing- and life- in their own unique ways. And you can learn- a lot- about your fishing and life if you’re paying attention.

On Tuesday, I asked guide Chuck Meyer what the single most common fishing mistake he saw on a recurring basis. What I expected was the usual rote answer about fishing too-fast or not giving the fish the opportunity to take the bait.

What I got was a two pronged explanation about why we weren’t having particularly good luck Tuesday morning-and why many of us seem at times to be playing life in the catch-up mode.

“Well, pal,” he said, “I’d have to say the biggest problem I see- and one I can’t really help with a lot of the time: lack of preparation.”

Boom. Right there he explained why the “hello, I’m here to fish” approach to the White River- and life- frequently doesn’t work. He quietly chastened both anglers in the boat with him at the time.

I, for example, arrived with a pair of ultralight rigs I’d had good luck with in the past at Gastons. One had been purchased in their shop and the only change was what I’d considered an “upgrade” over the original line.

On a river where there are lots of anglers -and guides- it’s tough to be successful if your customer doesn’t do their part. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.

What I’d thought too-light for the job was, in fact, exactly what I should have been using on Tuesday. It was a four-pound test light-green monofilament. I’d replaced it with a six- pound, high-tech line that I’d used successfully on some pie-plate sized panfish last summer.

But line that’s too-heavy – and visible to the fish- doesn’t have much of a chance to work in a fishery that gets pressure every day. Consequently, I wasn’t catching a lot of fish although I was getting the bites. Heavier line also disguises light bites in fast-moving water.

Without saying anything, I nodded my head with what I’d hoped was an appropriate amount of contrition. The guide may be working for you, but you have to give him the chance to give you the benefit of his experience.

My unnamed fishing partner had brought along a rig that was capable of yanking great big fish through heavy brush. It was also rigged with line that could have been used for a tow truck more effectively than trout.

We weren’t catching fish- but it had absolutely nothing to do with the guide. Unfortunately, many of us are inclined to blame the gear, the boat, the current or the guide when the culprit is sitting inside our own lucky fishing shirt.

And it’s not like being prepared would have taken that much work. The guide inside every room at Gaston’s says very clearly that they suggest “4 lb. green Trilene or green Maxima line, not fluorescent.” We’d also ignored the part that said “you can always catch trout on works, Nitro Eggs, Powerbait and corn. Lures that work consistently are spinners, Little Cleo spoons… and certain fly patterns.”

We had exactly none of those with us.

Sound familiar?

If it does, you might find it time to take a mental inventory of problem areas in other parts of your life. You might find that your career-equivalent of a professional fisherman’s tackle box is lacking some basic gear as well.

A fishing guide’s income is not really based on his daily rate, although that rate is set where if covers his basic expenses. Guides make a significant portion of their income from gratuities after they’ve shared their expertise. If you’re not adequately prepared to take advantage of that expertise and experience, it’s not the guide’s fault, but in many cases he’ll see that reflected in the gratuity. Sometimes, they’ll quietly admit, they’ve done some of their best work on some of the least productive days.

“Sometimes,” another guide confided on the dock as I was gathering my gear to leave, “even our best work can’t fix problems the fishermen bring with them.”

We didn’t catch a whole bunch of lunker-sized trout on Tuesday, but the gratuity I left reflected the even more valuable lessons I’d gotten from the guides. That’s because I didn’t give them a chance to show how good they were.

But there’s still one question I’ve asked every professional instructor and guide I’ve ever met that they can’t- or won’t- answer: “why don’t you laugh out loud at us?”

–Jim Shepherd

Why Stop Stocking Hybrids In Some Georgia Lakes?

The Georgia DNR announced in 2005 plans to stop stocking hybrids in Oconee, Sinclair, Jackson, and High Falls. That is the bad news. The good news is that stripers will be stocked in those lakes instead of hybrids.

Hybrids are a cross between a striped bass and a white bass. Stripers live in the ocean and run up rivers to spawn. White bass live in freshwater all their lives. Stripers get big – the all tackle record is 78 pounds, 8 ounces. White bass are much smaller, the record for them is 6 pounds, 13 ounces. The hybrid record is 27 pounds, 5 ounces.

Natural populations of striped bass live in the Atlantic Ocean and run up Georgia’s bigger rivers to spawn. Stripers need many miles of moving water for their eggs to survive, so rivers must flow freely with no dams on them. Some of our rivers, like the Savannah and the Altamaha with its tributaries the Oconee and Ocmulgee, support stripers.

Due to many factors the natural populations of stripers in the Atlantic that spawn in our rivers are threatened. One problem is hybrid bass that are stocked in lakes make their way through the dams and populate rivers below them. When in the rivers, they compete with the native stripers running upstream to spawn.

To lower this competition hybrids will no longer be stocked in lakes that feed the Ocmulgee and Oconee Rivers. Instead, striper will be stocked. Stripers can survive in lakes as landlocked fish but they generally can’t spawn since there is not enough free flowing water above the dams to allow their eggs to survive.

Stripers living in lakes get big though. The record landlocked striper weighed 67 pounds, 8 ounces. In some lakes both stripers and hybrids have been stocked since hybrids are usually easier to catch and have a short life span but stripers live longer and get much bigger. From now on only stripers will be stocked in those lakes.

If you fish those lakes you will have a better chance to catch a huge fish weighing over 20 pounds. Unfortunately, they will be harder to catch than the hybrids. On trips to one of those lakes right now you might expect to catch a dozen or more hybrids averaging about three pounds but in the future you will be fishing all day hoping to catch one or two big stripers.

At public hearings held by the DNR, most fishermen making comments were in favor of this change. Only time will tell if it will change your fishing.

There is a good striper fishery on the lower Savannah River when they run in to spawn every spring. Since 1988 it has been illegal to keep any stripers caught there since the population was in serious decline. In 1990 the DNR started stocking stripers in the river trying to build up the populations.

Stocking has worked well, and they are considering allowing fishermen to keep some stripers now. They are planning a two fish daily limit with a 27-inch minimum length on the Savannah River downstream of the Clark’s Hill Dam beginning in October 2005.

Hopefully, lowering competition from hybrids up the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers will allow the stripers that spawn in those rivers to thrive and establish a healthy population. Stripers are like salmon in that they return to the same river they were hatched in to spawn.

Stripers that live in the Gulf of Mexico are a separate subspecies and they run up rivers like the Flint and Chattahoochee to spawn. Currently there is no plans to change the stocking of hybrids in lakes that are on those rivers.

There has been a good fishery for landlocked stripers in Lake Lanier for many years. They are so numerous and big that trout can’t be stocked in the lake, stripers like them better then I like ice cream. It is probably our best striper lake.

If you fish for stripers at Lanier, watch for orange tags in the fish you catch. The DNR is tagging 500 stripers this month and offering you $5 to return the tag to them. Returned tags will help DNR fisheries biologists know how the striper populations are doing.

Are Whitefish Making A Comeback In Green Bay?

Whitefish Resurgence on Green Bay
from The Fishing Wire

Oddly enough, Wisconsin DNR researchers speculate that the abundance of invasive gobies are providing a food source and drawing the whitefish to Green Bay.

Water quality and habitat improvements lead to whitefish resurgence on Green Bay

GREEN BAY – With the deep freeze thawing this weekend, ice fishing pressure for lake whitefish is expected to pick up again as anglers enjoy a resurgent fishery made possible in part by cleanups that have improved water quality and habitat.

Whitefish can be caught through the ice

Winter creel data for Green Bay shows a growing number of anglers fishing for lake whitefish and a significant increase in the number they caught and harvested.
WDNR Photo.
“We have some fairly strong year classes of younger fish on the doorstep, and documentation of spawning populations in the tributaries on the western shore, so the future looks good for the lake whitefish fishery in Green Bay,” says Scott Hansen, Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist stationed in Sturgeon Bay.

For the first time in decades, DNR fisheries crews in November 2013 documented spawning condition whitefish in the Fox, Peshtigo, and Oconto rivers. Until now, they had only been documented in the Menominee River.

“These recently emerging west shore tributary spawning populations are probably contributing a lot to the fishery and we are just beginning to understand their life histories.,” Hansen says. “We’re hopeful they’ll sustain the bay ice fishery for a long time.”

The whitefish sport fishery came on quickly; harvest rates in 2007 were one-one hundredth of what they were in 2013. Hansen says it’s difficult to point to a clear cause to explain the growing fishery, but that a couple theories exist and they may be synergistic.

First, there has been a re-colonization of the Menominee River population of whitefish, more than a century after huge runs of the fish dried up. “The river is a cleaner place than when lake whitefish were extirpated back in the late 1800s and the fishing is regulated so overfishing isn’t an issue,” Hansen says. “Fish populations in general have responded to those beneficial changes.”

Whitefish

The lake whitefish is typically caught at 1 to 2 pounds, but some strains can reach weights to 12 pounds. (Wiki Commons)

Federal Clean Water Act regulations that limited pollutants allowed in discharges into the bay and its tributaries have helped improve waters since the 1970s, and in more recent years, efforts by federal, state and local governments working with citizen groups and businesses to remove contaminated sediments and improve habitats in the Menominee River are paying off, as recounted in “Healing the Lower Menominee River” in the August issue of Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine.

Also, because whitefish as a whole on Lake Michigan have been in a rebuilding phase over the last 10 to15 years, this population probably originated from whitefish straying from adjacent stocks during the November spawning period– the Big Bay de Noc stock (Upper Michigan) or North Moonlight Bay stock (east of Door County). Some genetic analysis that’s been done by University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has supported this to a certain extent though the data demonstrated a mixture of several whitefish stocks contributing to the Menominee River population, Hansen says.

Back in the mid-1990s a few whitefish were discovered in the river in fall brown trout surveys. By the mid-2000s the run had grown substantially and tagging efforts indicate these fish are contributing to the winter sport fishery; 2003 looks to have been a big year class for whitefish recruiting from the Menominee River.

Green Bay Whitefish harvest leaped in 2011, and was again near a modern peak in 2013
The strength of the Green Bay lake whitefish fishery also may reflect the species’ search for new sources of food as the levels of Diporeia, the preferred food of lake whitefish, have declined dramatically throughout Lake Michigan. Whitefish size-at-age has declined significantly over the past 10- 15 years as a result of this lost food source and is compounded by their increased abundance.

“The preponderance of whitefish in Green Bay in the winter may in part be a result of the fish looking for food. The decreased body condition reflects the diminished preferred food source and therefore hungrier fish may simply be more apt to bite on hook and line,” Hansen says. “It appears a primary food source, among available forage fish in Green Bay, is round gobies, although we don’t know that the gobies are necessarily more abundant in Green Bay than other parts of Lake Michigan.”

This phenomenon somewhat contradicts lake whitefish foraging habits as they are not known to be a primarily piscivorous (fish eating) species. Furthermore, DNR’s tagging study suggests that lake whitefish from the Menominee River do not migrate out of Green Bay so these fish may just be taking advantage of food that is most available to them in their home range.

Round gobies are an invasive, bottom dwelling fish that is an aggressive, voracious feeder and has taken over prime spawning sites traditionally used by some native fish species.

Hansen says that documentation of the emerging west shore tributary spawning populations helps increase the likelihood that the whitefish fishery will continue, even as the Lake Michigan and Green Bay ecosystems continue to change.

“These emerging spawning populations are probably contributing a lot to the fishery and we are just beginning to understand what those fish do,” he says. “Perhaps they’ll sustain the Bay ice and commercial fisheries for a long time. Let’s hope so.”

No Federal Fish Hatchery Closings for Now

FWS: No Hatchery Closing, For Now
from The Outdoor Wire
Etta Pettijohn

Since media reports revealed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) plans to quietly shutter several federal fish hatcheries in 2014, the agency has backed off from those plans – but not from closing them in the future.

Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander expressed disappointment and concern after reviewing the agency’s “Strategic Hatchery and Workforce Planning Report,” and conversations with FWS Director Dan Ashe.

“It is fortunate that we have an ongoing three-year agreement between the Tennessee Valley Authority and state and federal wildlife agencies to keep Tennessee’s hatcheries open and producing fish, but the threat of closure still exists,” said Alexander, who has two federal hatcheries in his district.

Plans to eliminate mitigation hatcheries from the FWS mission began in the mid- 1990s, but media attention and political pressure blocked those moves. Beginning in 2011, the agency intensified its efforts, despite Congressional mandates, presidential decrees encouraging outdoor activity, and public support for the facilities.

In 2012 the FWS slashed funding for mitigation hatcheries from its FY 2013 budget, hoping to hand management and funding to other agencies. The FWS attempted it again in 2012, but Congress forced it to finance them that year, directing the agency to secure other federal funding before defunding of the nine then targeted for closure.

Despite all this, by all appearances, agency officials remain determined to close hatcheries and direct its funding and priorities in recovery of endangered and threatened species, restoration of tribal trust responsibilities, and other propagation programs for native species.

FWS officials cited budget cuts in 2012, although Rick Nehrling, a retired 38-year veteran of the FWS (19 spent overseeing southeastern hatcheries) asserts that budget documents clearly indicate Fisheries is the only resource program in the agency the Directorate proposed for reductions then, and planned closures in FY 2012 and FY 2013.

“The other five resource programs (National Wildlife Refuge System, Endangered Species, etc.) have all had substantial budget increases during the same time period,” Nehrling contended.

Now FWS is saying if sequestration continues into the 2014 fiscal year, the agency will have lost close to $6 million for hatchery operations since 2012.

“This report sounds the alarm on a hatchery system unable to meet its mission responsibilities in the current budget climate,” Director Ashe has stated.

It appears the new agency mantra is “sequestration will require the hatchery closures.”

Ashe said the 2012 “Strategic Hatchery and Workforce Planning Report,” found ongoing budget reductions due to sequestration and increasing costs for operations spurred the review of the 70 national hatcheries.

“This report sounds the alarm on a hatchery system unable to meet its mission and responsibilities in the current budget climate,” Ashe asserted. “In the coming months through the 2015 budget process, I have directed the Service to work with all of our partners to determine whether the options identified in the report, or others, are necessary and appropriate to put the system on a more sustainable financial footing.”

A working group trying to come up with answers includes the FWS, the TVA, and the Tennessee and Georgia state wildlife agencies. TVA signed an agreement with federal and state wildlife agencies in May to pay more than $900,000 per year for the next three years to replace fish killed by TVA dams, and keep Tennessee’s hatcheries producing fish while the working group develops a permanent solution, said Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander.

“I will help to find a long-term solution, because the nearly 900,000 Tennesseans and visitors who buy fishing licenses in our state depend upon these hatcheries, as they are the principal reason Tennessee has some of the best trout fishing in the country,” said Alexander, who in 2012 brokered a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to provide some of the funding for the hatcheries there.

Meanwhile, insiders report the battle is merely delayed, and far from over, and that the agency has full intentions to end its century-old mission of mitigation stocking, an effort that many communities where these are located are dependent on for fishing license sales and sales tax revenue.

Fishing During the Full Moon

Middle Georgia Full Moon Fishing

“I got another one,” Hal said to me, but I was too busy reeling in my own bream to pay any attention to him. We already had full stringers of nice bluegill at our feet but we continued to catch one on almost every cast.

Hal and I had dug some red wigglers behind the chicken house on my family’s farm then rode our bicycles to Black’s pond to fish for bass and bream. We were very happy since school would be out in just two more weeks and the long summer filled with fishing trips would start.

When we got to the McDuffie County pond owned by the family of a teacher at Dearing Elementary School we tried for bass for several hours without much luck. Then we went to our favorite place to catch bream in the upper end of the pond. There were two boards on the bank so we could stand side by side and cast without sinking into the soft bottom.

Most days we would catch a few bluegill near the scattered stumps in this spot then move one when they quit biting. Our tackle was simple, both of us had Mitchell 300 reels on Conlon six-foot spinning rods. The ten pound test line was good for all kinds of fishing. On the end of the line was a #6 hook, a small split shot and a cork.

We stood on those boards and caught fish until it started to get dark. We had to hurry back to our bikes and head home fast to beat the night. As we rode home we commented that the full moon would keep it from getting completely dark and that could be our excuse for being so late.

All week we talked about going back and catching a pile of bream again. The next Saturday we went back to the pond and caught one or two small bluegill from the same area that had been so good the weekend before. We had no idea what happened to change the fishing, and did not realize that full moon had anything to do with our good luck. We had hit a bedding area without knowing it.

Bluegill are common in all Georgia waters and are always cooperative. You can catch them on just about any bait and they are great fish to start kids with since they can enjoy the thrill of catching something. But the full moon in May is a special time for Georgia bream fishermen.

The full moon is the time bream bed. Although bluegill will start bedding as early as late March in middle Georgia and some will bed every month from then until fall, May is the height of the bedding for them. Add in the spawn of shellcracker that bed just on the full moon in May and you have a bonanza of great fishing this month.

May 2 is a full moon so fishing should be good the first week of the month. There is almost a blue moon in May, with another full moon on June 1, so the end of the month will also be good.

Starting about a week before the full moon bluegill move into the shallow bedding areas and fan out a depression on a hard bottom. The female will lay her eggs in the depression and the male fertilizes them. Both fish will stay and guard the nest until the eggs hatch several days later. They will hit anything that looks like a threat to their eggs, as well as anything that looks like food, for about a week.

Many bream fishermen claim they can smell out bluegill beds, and you will often notice a distinctive odor near them. It is described as smelling like watermelon but not exactly. It is a musty smell that you will recognize once you experience it, and will remember it. If you hit that smell, look for beds nearby.

To find beds, go to the upper ends of coves and look for them in shallow water, from two to six feet deep. If the water is not muddy you will see the beds as light spots against a dark background. This is the depression fanned out by the male to make the bed.

Bream like to bed in large groups so you are not looking for one or two scattered beds. A good sandy spot protected from the wind in the back of a cove will often look like a waffle on the bottom, with beds almost touching each other. In muddy water the beds will be more shallow, in real clear water a little deeper.

If you find beds one year they are likely to be in the same place the next year. Any hard bottom will do but sand seems to be preferred, and some scattered stumps make it even better.

You can find beds from the bank but a boat makes it easier. Cruise the shallows very slowly until you spot them. You will probably spook the fish but if you back off and wait about 15 minutes the fish will be back. It is a good idea to anchor your boat a long cast from the beds so you don’t get too close and spook them while fishing.

From the bank ease around until you spot the beds. Wear dark or camouflage clothing and don’t make fast movements. Stay low, too. Try to keep any bushes on the bank between you and the beds. While fishing stay low and don’t approach too close. Long casts are best to keep from scaring fish away.

You can find bluegill beds on any of Georgia’s waters from rivers to big reservoirs, but smaller public ponds are your best bet. Scattered all across middle Georgia are small public lakes and ponds you can fish. The following list should contain some within a short drive of you.

Indian Springs State Park Lake is a 105 acre lake in Butts County four miles southeast of Jackson on Georgia Highway 42. There is a good paved boat ramp and you can rent a boat there, too. Camping and cabins are available for longer stays. A $2.00 parking fee gives you access to bank fishing or boat launching.

Boat motors are limited to 10 horsepower or smaller and you can fish from sunrise to sunset year round. The lake has many protected coves where the bream bed and the upper end has good shallow spawning flats.

Contact the park at 678 Lake Clark Road Flovilla, GA 30216, phone(770) 504-2277

John Tanner State Park has two lakes, one 15 acres and one 12 acres in size. They are located in Carroll County six miles west of Carrollton off Georgia Highway 16. You can camp there if you want to stay but a $2.00 daily parking fee gives you access to both lakes for fishing from the bank. You can rent a boat but you can launch your private boat only on the smaller lake.

Boats are limited to electric power only. You can fish from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily all year long. The lakes are small enough to cover easily to find the bedding areas. If you have a boat look for beds in areas not easily accessible to the bank fishermen.

Contact them at 354 Tanner Beach Road Carrollton, GA 30117, Phone (770) 830-2222

Blalock Reservoir is a 260 acre lake in Clayton County south of Jonesboro near US Highway 19/41. A boat ramp allows you to launch and there is bank fishing allowed for a small access fee.

Boats area limited to 16 feet or shorter with electric motors only. You can fish from dawn to dusk Wednesday through Sunday year round. Many shallow areas are good for bedding bream and a boat will cover this lake better than fishing from the bank.

Contact them at 2755 Freeman Road Hampton, GA 30228, phone (770) 603-5605.

J. W. Smith Reservoir is a 250 acre lake in Clayton County 10 miles south of Jonesboro on Panhandle Road. There is a boat ramp on the lake and you need a season pass or pay a daily fee.

Boats are limited to electric only and the lake is open

Wednesday through Sunday, April 1 through September 30 from sunup to sundown. There are many areas of this lake you need a boat to fish effectively.

Contact the Clayton County Water Authority at 2755 Freeman Road Hampton, GA 30228, phone (770) 603-5605.

Shamrock Reservoir is a 68 acre lake in Clayton County south of Jonesboro near US. Highway 19/41. There is a boat ramp and this lake is designated a “Kids Lake” so no adults may fish the lake unless they have a kid 12 years old or younger with them. There is a user fee.

Boats are limited to 16 feet or less and electric motors only. Open from dawn to dusk Wednesday through Sunday year round. Since access is limit to those with kids, this lake is a great choice to take your kids fishing.

Contact the Clayton County Water Authority listed above.

Lake Horton is a 780 acre lake in Fayette County south of Fayetteville near Georgia Highway 92. There are two boat ramps and the daily fee is $10 for non-Fayette County residents.

Boats are limited to electric only and the lake is open 6;30 AM to 6:30 PM daily. This lake is known for big bass but its sunfish population is good and spawning area are scattered all over the lake.

Horton is owned and operated by Fayette County P.O. Box 190 Fayetteville, GA 30214, phone (770) 461-1146.

Lake Kedron has 235 acres with a boat ramp. It is in Fayette County off Georgia Highway 54 near Peachtree Parkway. There are no special fees.

Boats are limited to electric only and the lake is open daily from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. It is owned and operated by

Fayette County, see contact above.
\Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park has two lakes, Franklin at 23 acres and Delano at 18 acres. They are located in Harris County east of Pine Mountain on Georgia Highways No private boats but boat rental is available. . Camping and cabins are available.

You can fish Delano year round and Franklin with a permit from September through May. There is a $2.00 parking fee.

Contact them at 2970 Hwy 190 Pine Mountain, GA 31822, phone(706) 663-4858.

Barnsville Reservoir in Lamar County has 160 acres and is located off Highway 36 near Barnsville. There is a boat ramp and yearly permits are required for fishing and for boat use.

Boats are limited to electric motors only and the lake is open year round.

Contact the City of Barnesville at 109 Forsyth Street, Barnesville, GA 30204, phone (770) 358-3431.

McDuffie Public Fishing Area has 13 ponds from 1 to 28 acres and is located in McDuffie County four miles southwest of Dearing off U. S. Highway 278. There are boat ramps on some of the lakes and camping is available. Boats are limited to electric only and a state fishing license as well s a WMA stamp is required. Lakes are open from sunrise to sunset daily year round.

I grew up less than two miles from these lakes. They were private until I was a teenager. My mother loved these lakes and I have the mount of a 2 pound, 6 ounce bluegill she caught there. The lakes are managed for fishing and all lakes are excellent for panfish.
Contact them at 4695 Fish Hatchery Road Dearing, GA 30808, phone(706) 595-1684.

Lake Meriwether in Meriwether County has 144 acres and is located one mile southwest of Woodbury on Georgia Highway 85 Alt. Camping is available and there is a daily fee for fishing. Boats are allowed but restricted to electric motors.

Owned the County Commissioners Office, P. O. Box 428 Greenville, GA 30222, phone (706) 672-1314.
High Falls State Park has a 650 acre lake and is in Monroe County 10 miles east of Forsyth near I-75. There are two boat tramps and boat rental as well as camping available. There is some bank fishing but most of the lake shore is private.

Motors are limited to 10 horsepower, a $2.00 parking fee is required and the lake is open from sunrise to sunset daily. This lake is very fertile and has good populations of bluegill. The back ends of most creeks are sandy and offer good bedding areas.

Contact the park at 76 High Falls Park Drive Jackson, GA 30233 at phone (912) 994-5080

Lake Olmstead in Richmond County is an 87 acre lake in northeast Augusta near Georgia Highway 28. There is a public boat ramp but no camping. There are no fees to fish here and there is good bank access.

Motors are limited to 9.9 horsepower except on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays when there is no limit. The lake is open 24 hours a day all year. This lake gets a lot of pleasure boat traffic on days big motors are allowed, so plan your fishing trips on the days motor restrictions apply.

Contact Augusta Parks and Recreation, 2027 Lumpkin road Augusta, GA 30906, phone (706) 796-5025

Hamburg State Park Lake is 225 acres located in Washington County north of Sandersville off Georgia Highway 102. There is a boat ramp and you can rent boats as well as camp. A $2.00 parking fee is charged.

Motors are limited to 10 horsepower and the lake is open all year from sunrise to sunset. There is excellent bluegill fishing in the pockets and coves.

Contact them at 6071 Hamburg State Park Road Mitchell, GA 30820, phone (912) 552-2393

Big Lazer Creek Public Fishing Area has a 200 acre lake and is located in Talbot County northeast of Talbotton near Pobiddy Road. A boat ramp is available as is primitive camping and you are required to have a Wildlife Management Area stamp a well as a fishing license.

There is no motor limit size but all must be operated at idle speed only. The lake is open from sunrise to sunset daily all year. It is managed for good fishing and the lake has excellent populations of bluegill and shellcracker.

Contact Manchester Fisheries Office, 601 Third Avenue Manchester GA 31816, phone: (706) 846-8448

Houston Lake is 180 acres in Houston County east of Perry on Georgia Highway 127. There is a boat ramp and good bank fishing access. No fees are charged at this lake.

Motors of any size can be used but at idle speed only. The lake is open during daylight hours year round and offers good bluegill fishing from boats or the bank.

Contact Region 4 Fisheries Office, phone (912) 987-4280

This is just a partial list of lakes open to the public in middle Georgia. For a complete list, go to http://georgiawildlife.dnr.state.ga.us/content/displaysmalllakes.asp to find lakes by name or by county. Find one near you, hit it on the full moon this month and enjoy some fast panfish action.

Expansion of Hunting, Fishing Opportunities in National Wildlife Refuge System

Interior Department Proposes Expansion of Hunting, Fishing Opportunities in National Wildlife Refuge System
from The Fishing Wire

Six More Refuges Open to Hunting; 20 Refuges Expand Hunting and Fishing Opportunities

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In advance of National Hunting and Fishing Day on September 28th, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to expand fishing and hunting opportunities throughout the National Wildlife Refuge System, opening up new hunting programs on six refuges and expanding existing hunting and fishing programs on another 20 refuges. The proposed rule also modifies existing refuge-specific regulations for more than 75 additional refuges and wetland management districts.

“Sportsmen and women were a major driving force behind the creation and expansion of the National Wildlife Refuge System more than a century ago and continue to be some of its strongest supporters, especially through their volunteer work and financial contributions,” Jewell said. “Keeping our hunting and angling heritage strong by providing more opportunities on our refuges will not only help raise up a new generation of conservationists, but also support local businesses and create jobs in local communities.”

Under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the Service can permit hunting and fishing along with four other types of wildlife-dependent recreation where they are compatible with the refuge’s purpose and mission. Hunting, within specified limits, is permitted on more than 329 wildlife refuges. Fishing is permitted on more than 271 wildlife refuges.

Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, called the proposals “one of the largest expansions of hunting and fishing opportunities on wildlife refuges in recent years.”

“Hunting and fishing are healthy, traditional outdoor pastimes deeply rooted in America’s heritage and have long been enjoyed on hundreds of national wildlife refuges under the supervision of our biologists and wildlife managers,” said Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dan Ashe. “After careful consideration and review from the Service, this proposal represents one of the largest expansions of hunting and fishing opportunities on wildlife refuges in recent years.”

National wildlife refuges generate important benefits from the conservation of wildlife and habitat through spending and employment for local economies. According to the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, published every five years by the Service, more than 90 million Americans, or 41 percent of the United States’ population age 16 and older, pursued wildlife-related recreation in 2011. They spent more than $144 billion that year on those activities. Nearly 72 million people observed wildlife, while more than 33 million fished and more than 13 million hunted.

The Service manages its hunting and fishing programs on refuges to ensure sustainable wildlife populations, while offering historical wildlife-dependent recreation on public lands.

Other wildlife-dependent recreation on national wildlife refuges includes wildlife photography, environmental education, wildlife observation and interpretation.

The Service proposes opening the following refuges to hunting for the first time:

New York

• Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/shawangunk_grasslands/): Open to big game hunting.

Oregon

• Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/WillametteValley/baskett/): Open to migratory bird hunting.

• Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/nestuccabay/index.htm): Open to migratory bird hunting.

• Siletz Bay National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/siletzbay/): Open to migratory bird hunting.

Pennsylvania

• Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/cherry_valley/): Open to migratory bird, upland game and big game hunting.

Wyoming

• Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/seedskadee/cokevillemeadows.htm): Open to migratory bird, upland game and big game hunting.

Meanwhile, under the proposal, the Service would expand hunting and sport fishing on the following refuges:

California

• Colusa National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/refuge/colusa/): Expand migratory bird and upland game hunting.

Florida

• Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/loxahatchee/): Add big game hunting. The refuge is already open to migratory bird hunting.

• St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

Idaho

• Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/kootenai/): Expand upland game hunting. The refuge is already open to migratory bird hunting and big game hunting.

Illinois

• Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/cypress_creek/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

• Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/middle_mississippi_river/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

Indiana

• Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge and Management Area(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/patoka_river/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

Iowa

• Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Neal_Smith/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

• Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/northern_tallgrass_prairie/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

• Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/port_louisa/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting, big game hunting and sport fishing.

Maine

• Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/rachel_carson/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

Missouri

• Mingo National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/refuge/mingo/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

New Mexico

• San Andres National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/newmex/sanandres/): Expand big game hunting.

Oregon

• Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, OR and WA(http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/bandonmarsh/index.htm): Expand migratory bird hunting. The refuge is also already open to sport fishing.

• Julia Butler Hanson Refuge for the Columbian White-Tailed Deer, OR and WA (http://www.fws.gov/jbh/): Expand migratory bird hunting. The refuge is already open to big game hunting.

• Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/malheur/): Expand migratory bird hunting and sport fishing. The refuge is already open to upland game hunting and big game hunting.

Texas

• Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/refuge/aransas/): Add migratory bird hunting. The refuge is already open to big game hunting.

• Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/refuge/balcones_canyonlands/): Expand hunting for migratory birds, upland game and big game.

Vermont

• Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge(http://www.fws.gov/r5soc/): Expand migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.

Washington

• Willapa National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.fws.gov/refuge/willapa/): Expand migratory bird hunting and big game hunting. The refuge is already open to upland game hunting.

Notice of the 2013-2014 proposed Refuge-Specific Hunting and Sport Fishing Regulations will publish in the Federal Register September 24, 2013. Written comments and information can be submitted by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov/) Follow the instructions for submitting comments to Docket No. [FWS-HQ-NWRS-2013-0074];
or

• U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing, Attn: [ FWS-HQ-NWRS-2013-0074]; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS 2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.

Comments must be received within 30 days, on or before October 24, 2013. The Service will post all comments on regulations.gov. The Service is not able to accept email or faxes.

Comments and materials, as well as supporting documentation, will also be available for public inspection at regulations.gov under the above docket number. In addition, more details on the kinds of information the Service is seeking is available in the notice.

To view a complete list of all hunting/sport fishing opportunities on refuges, click here (http://www.fws.gov/refuges/hunting/huntFishRegs.html).

Does Our Fishing Need Defending?

Robert Montgomery

In Defense of Fishing

Robert Montgomery, widely-recognized as one of the nation’s top fishing writers, voices the growing concern with anti-fishing attitudes that seem to be spreading in some parts of the country.

Written by Robert Montgomery
from The Fishing Wire

At the bank the other day, the teller told me that I had shortchanged myself a thousand dollars on my deposit slip.

I know why it happened. Each of the checks that I was depositing included a fraction of a dollar. I was so concerned about getting the pennies correct that I neglected to devote sufficient attention to the dollars.

In other words, I focused too much on minor details and completely missed the big picture.

That’s an easy thing to do. Most of us have done it at one time or another, and, fortunately, consequences usually aren’t catastrophic. We have spouses, friends, and friendly tellers to set us straight.

But too many of us are missing the big picture right now regarding the future of recreational fishing, and consequences could be catastrophic.

As the administration leads the country in a direction that the majority of Americans oppose, those who dislike recreational fishing or, at best, are indifferent to it, are using their White House alliances to push for massive federal control of public waters. And here’s the dangerous part:

As conservationists, anglers believe in sustainable use of fisheries, while protecting habitat, opposing pollution, and preserving the resource for future generations to enjoy.

By contrast those pushing an anti-fishing agenda are preservationists who believe in “look but don’t touch.” They assert that humans exist apart from nature, rather than as a part of it. They think that we act immorally when we manage or alter it in any way.

Montgomery says angling opportunities are under fire in many parts of the nation due to mistaken or misdirected efforts at environmental sustainability.

Consequently, the big picture is that a concerted effort is underway to deny us access to a public resource, and, in so doing, to deny and destroy a significant portion of our history, culture, and economy — not to mention our right to enjoy a day on the water with friends and family.

Granted, the movement is only now gaining momentum. Chances are, if you live inland, you might not see any closures in your life time. But the snowball has begun to roll downhill.

Arguably, it began when environmentalists convinced President George W. Bush to designate two remote areas in the Pacific as marine reserves. It has strengthened with the recently created National Ocean Council, which has been given authority to zone uses of our oceans, coastal waters, and Great Lakes, as well as the option to move inland to rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.

Also, it’s taking shape via the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation Act and a “catch shares” management strategy in which recreational participation would be capped.

And as preservationists seek to “protect” oceans from anglers, lake associations want to do the same on inland waters. Knowing a good excuse when they see one, they insist that closures of public access areas are needed to prevent spread of invasive species.

Inland access might seem unrelated to the ocean management. But they are two fronts of the same battle.

You need only look to California to see what is coming our way. Fisheries are falling one after the other, like dominoes, as emotion trumps science-based fisheries management.

Mostly the closures are coming under the auspices of the state Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). But they’re also occurring through local regulations. Four out of five members of the Laguna Beach City Council supported a five-year moratorium on recreational fishing along its 7 miles of coast.

“There’s no such thing as a five-year moratorium,” said dissenter Kelly Boyd. “You turn something over to the state and you’ll never get it back.”

Dave Connell, an angry angler, added, “We’re fighting a fad, an environmental extremist wacko fad about closing the ocean. I do not know what their agenda is, but it is not to save the fish. It is not to keep the ocean clean.”

For our side, the fishing industry is spearheading a Keep America Fishing campaign (http://keepamericafishing.org). In particular, member Shimano deserves recognition. Along with donating $100,000 a year and considerable staff time annually to the cause, it has been one of the most outspoken critics of the way in which the MLPA has been implemented.

As a consequence, it has been the target of the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups, who have deep pockets with which to voice their zealotry. Filled with invective and inaccuracy, the Shame on Shimano website (www.shameonshimano.com) is but one example.

“The ‘Shame on Shimano’ campaign by NRDC is an outrageous misrepresentation of the facts about a company who has led the outdoor industry in supporting scientific research, habitat improvement, youth programs and fishery conservation efforts across North America for twenty years,” said Jeff Crane, president of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF).

Starting to see the big picture yet?

Robert Montgomery is the author of Why We Fish, a collection of essays exploring the many reasons that we go fishing. Bill Dance also contributed to the book, as did nine others. It is available from Amazon ($12.03) and other booksellers, as well as from the publisher, NorLights Press ($15.95).

www.whywefish.info

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Fish-Wisdom-Fishermen/dp/1935254782/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372125081&sr=8-1&keywords=why+we+fish

What Eats What In the Gullf of Mexico

Fish were collected and studied to see what eats what

University Researcher Calls New Database the “Who Eats Who” of the Gulf of Mexico

Editor’s Note: Today’s feature is courtesy of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
from The Fishing Wire

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS- About 1,500 marine fishes make the Gulf of Mexico their home. From birds, to fish, and marine mammals to crustaceans, the Gulf of Mexico Species Interaction database (gomexsi.tamucc.edu, created by a researcher at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, currently has diet data on over 600 of the marine fishes. It is the first and only database of its kind for the Gulf of Mexico that shows how the cataloged animals interact with each other in the food web.

“Unless you’re a scientist or grad student, you may have never wondered what preys on porcelain crabs,” said Dr. James Simons with the University’s Center for Coastal Studies. “But if you’re a fisherman, you would probably like to know what type of critters your favorite game fish likes to eat.”

Simons started collecting data on how the different species of the Gulf interact in 1987, but it wasn’t until 2002 that he got the idea to put all of the information he had collected into one, easily-accessible place: the worldwide web.

“In any ecosystem, it is important to know the food web, or who eats who,” said Simons. “This food web is the biostructure that shows us the pathways by which energy flows through the ecosystem.”

The scope of data in GoMexSI (gomexsi.tamucc.edu) includes the estuaries and coastal waters of Cuba, Mexico, and the United States and all of the Gulf waters to the deepest realms. Simons says the database has already proven valuable to various research projects including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Integrated Ecosystem Assessment program that is using the data for diet information on fish that will aid in the construction of fishery ecosystem models. The effort has also enabled the detection of data gaps that will help to direct future data gathering efforts.

Recently the data were used for a Gulf of Mexico Alliance project that seeks to understand the movement of mercury through Gulf food webs. The data that Simons has collected was used to construct food webs for the king mackerel in six locations around the Gulf.

Dr. James Simons “if you’re a fisherman, you would probably like to know what type of critters your favorite game fish likes to eat.” Photo from Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.

“Fisheries are especially important in the Gulf as a source of employment, income, recreation, and food,” said Simons. “The detailed data provided by this project will hopefully improve the accuracy of the fishery models that are used, in part, to make management decisions.”

Simons also hopes to work with the Texas State Aquarium to develop a GoMexSI app that would show people, at any given display, where the fish they are seeing fit in the food web.

“For example, at the Aquarium, you may see ten fish in a tank, but the fish that eat those fish are not in the same tank, for obvious reasons, so you are only seeing half of the ecosystem,” said Simons. “Seeing the other half of the picture would be invaluable to young students.”

The GoMexSI project already has over 45,000 digital records of species interactions, and Simons hopes that is just the beginning. The data comes from a wide variety of sources including abstracts, contributed datasets, proceedings, unpublished manuscripts, peer-reviewed literature, theses, and government reports. Simons and his team are currently extracting and standardizing the data to make it easier to explore and use.

“The most commonly used data are the data that are easy to find,” said Simons. “So, for example, while information from an unpublished manuscript or a thesis may have the best data for a given species, it isn’t used because it’s nearly impossible to locate.”

About Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi: Offering more than 60 of the most popular degree programs in the state, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has proudly provided a solid academic reputation, renowned faculty, and highly-rated degree programs since 1947. The Island University has earned its spot as a premier doctoral-granting institution, supporting two institutes and 13 research centers and labs. Discover your island at http://www.tamucc.edu/.

Go Fish Georgia Fishing Education Center

Regan Green with bass

On October 8, 2010 the Go Fish Georgia Education Center opened in Perry, Georgia. This center promotes better water stewardship and increased fishing participation around the Georgia.

“The Go Fish Georgia Initiative will allow us to improve our fishing resources and boat access, drawing not only more tourists but also major fishing tournaments that will have a positive economic impact in communities across Georgia,” said Governor Perdue. “It also promotes conservation and encourages families to spend time together outdoors, making memories that will last a lifetime.”

The Go Fish Education Center features an interactive and educational journey through Georgia’s diverse watersheds. It also serves as a resource of fishing information for any level of angler, with tips on where to go, what gear to use and when to fish.

With 76 species of fish on display in tanks and ponds, the Center offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn about Georgia’s aquatic wildlife and habitats. Boating and fishing simulators let visitors test their skills on the water. And a state-of-the-art fish hatchery offers a look at the science of fisheries management. The hatchery will expand research and increase fish production to improve the quality of fishing in Georgia.

The Center also offers educational programs to school systems and to the public, including kids fishing events, on-site classroom programs and teacher development sessions. Classroom and educational programs are aligned with the Georgia Performance Standards.

“Whether you are new to fishing, mentoring a young angler or are a seasoned professional, you will find exhibits here that educate, excite and encourage you to get outdoors and go fish,” said Chris Clark, Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.

The Center is part of the Go Fish Georgia Initiative, a $30 million initiative that leverages $19 million in state bond financing with private donations and financial support from local communities. It includes development and improvements of mega-ramps and other access areas that improve the quality of fishing throughout Georgia and increases participation in fishing through active promotion and marketing of Georgia’s exceptional fishing resources.

Construction of the Center began in 2008 and was completed in September 2010. The Go Fish Education Center is part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (Fisheries Management Section). The Center is located next to the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry. The Center will maintain special hours Oct. 8-17, 2010, during the Fair: Monday-Saturday (10 a.m.-9 p.m.) and Sunday (12-9 p.m.). Standard hours post-fair will be Friday-Saturday (9 a.m.-5 p.m.); Sundays (1 p.m.-5 p.m.). Fees are as follows: Adults – $5, Seniors 65 and up – $4, Children 3-12 – $3; Children 2 and under – free.

Perry is on I-75 south of Macon, Georgia and would be a great trip for Georgians or a interesting stop for travelers headed south. Check it out.

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