The chief complaint of most fishermen about Thurmond Lake is that water temperatures have been too cold to produce a consistent fish bite, but thanks to predicted warmer air temperatures, that's about to change.
However, there are areas in Georgia and South Carolina where cold waters are producing good catches. Those waters are the trout streams in the northern mountainous parts of the states.
Seasonal trout streams open Saturday, and to fish for trout in Georgia you must have a trout license in addition to your regular fishing license. A map showing the streams is available from www.gofishgeorgia.com where you'll also find regulations governing the taking of rainbow, brook and brown trout.
- The third annual Tommy Shaw Memorial Open Team Bass Tournament will be televised on Fox Sports South on March 21 and again on March 28 from 10:30 to 11 a.m. by the Anglers Channel. The name of the show is The Progressive Bass Weekend Wrapup .
- Volunteer boat captains participating in the Paralyzed Veterans Association bass tournament March 26-27 can register at www.PVA.org for the event, said Southeastern PVA's Kurt Glass, of Grovetown. "We still need 10 non-boaters (observers) and two boat captains," he said. Glass can be contacted at (706) 796-6301.
THURMOND LAKE
Capt. David Willard, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed full-time professional fishing guide specializing in hybrids and stripers and trophy largemouth bass. (Boat phone: (706) 214-0236, (803) 637-6379 (www.crockettrocket striperfishing.com) -- Water temperatures have reached into the low 50s in some spots during the early morning, but are struggling to stay there. We're still on the muddy side, but it should be clearing on the lower end soon. I had a tough weekend with high winds, but fishing has been better the past few days. Fish bites have come during a really short window of opportunity, with the best time for me coming an hour before dark. That's because the water has reached its warmest temperature by then. It's obvious when the fish move into the shallows as we start to see some swirling activity and, of course, when rods start to bend. I know we're going to get another cold front, so I'm not getting too excited. All our fish have come on live herring freelined in shallow water.
Billy Murphy, professional guide, (706) 733-0124 (Web site www.doubletroublefishingguides.com) with twins Brad and Jim) -- Doug Holland went scouting for crappies with me Tuesday and Wednesday. We fished the channels and over trees in 18 to 35 feet of water. We trolled Hal-Flies and downlined live herring, but we couldn't find the fish. Water temperature was 46 degrees in the morning and warmed to 51 degrees by afternoon. We wound up with two stripers and one crappie.
My VHF radio handle is doubletrouble on Ch. 68.
Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 or (864) 333-2000 -- Jeff Bybee, of Snellville, Ga.; Earl Butler, of Oxford, Ga., and Blake Bybee, of Oakwood, Ga., fished with me last Sunday. They caught 20 fish, all on downlines in 22 feet of water. The hybrids were chunky. Don Bowlin, of McCormick; Herb Trammell, of New Lothrop, Mich., and Gerald Baryo, of McCormick, caught 12 fish including a 7-pound striper, all on live herring fished below planer boards during another outing.
Check out my Web site at www.williamsasserfishing. com.
Capt. Tommy Dudley, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in stripers and hybrids. (706) 833-4807 -- Everything's been biting. The fish this morning (Thursday) bit early and hard, but it was over pretty quick. Planer boards are the only way I have been able to catch fish. When the wind quit, so did the fish. I think fishing's going to cut loose pretty soon.
My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer, and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is www.fishlakethurmond.com.
Capt. Mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed guide specializing in stripers and hybrids. (706) 373-8347 or (864) 333-2000 -- Steve Hunt, his wife, Cheryl, and son, Colton, of Evans, fished with me on Saturday. The winds were horrible and they were able to catch just one small hybrid. On a better day, Dean Mitchell, of Evans; Errol Blakeney, of Amissville, Va.; and Rodney Williams, of Front Royal, Va., caught 13 hybrids and stripers 2 to 5 pounds on downlines in 30 feet of water.
Donna Sasser, Clark Hill Herring Hut, Clarks Hill, S.C. (864) 333-2000 -- It's been an awesome week around the banks. Folks have been coming up after work and fishing until dark. They're catching hybrids in the 2- to 5-pound range on cut bait off the banks, both in the West Dam area and below the welcome station on the South Carolina side.
SAVANNAH RIVER
NEW SAVANNAH BLUFF LOCK & DAM
Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle, Billy Hambrick), (706) 496-1173 -- Carlos Delgado caught a limit of bream on red worms Saturday. He caught 17 shellcrackers Monday. Scott Ecstein caught a 3-pounds-plus crappie on a wax worm. Pete Stodgel caught catfish weighing 8 and 12 pounds on large shiners. White perch are being caught on red jumbo worms and minnows. Some nice American shad are being caught, too.
MERRY LAND BRICKYARD PONDS
Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) -- Robert Hughes caught 9 pounds of bass in the Snake Pit on plastic worms. Patrick Weston caught a 3-pound, 12-ounce bass in the Swan Pond on a trick worm. Austin Young caught a 3-pound, 5-ounce bass in the Warren Pond on a plastic worm. Our bass tournaments, which run from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m., will start today. Entry fee is $20.
NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAIN STREAMS
Carter and Hunter Morris, licensed professional guides specializing in rainbow, brook and brown trout. (706) 833-1083 (www.flyfishinggeorgia.com) -- We fished the Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area on Friday. It was cold and wet, with water temperature at 49 degrees. We caught three rainbows and three brook trout on Royal Wulff flies. I guided a group on Saturday and Sunday at Brigadoon Lodge on the Soque River. It was wet and cold both days with a hail storm on Saturday. The river was running high and muddy. However, we caught seven big rainbows on bright pink San Juans and big dark streamers. We also caught one big brown trout on a streamer. Lake Petit in Big Canoe last Monday and Tuesday yielded four big rainbows each day on an olive Wooly Bugger.
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BEAUFORT, S.C. & VICINITY
Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, (843) 838-2530 -- They're catching redfish around docks, bridges and in the marsh. But not many fishermen have been out because of inclement weather conditions. Huge black drum also are being caught, while black sea bass are being taken around the 6HI marker and the tire reef. The wreck of the Savannah is home to smaller black bass.
SAVANNAH
Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 -- Best news is that our coastal waters are beginning to warm. Sheepshead, black drum and redfish are biting. The latter can be caught in the shallows near mud flats or in the grass on high tides.
MC Squared Publishing releases the Memoir, "It’s Not About the Fish" by Bryan McMurry.
03/11/10
By Bryan McMurry
Minneapolis Minnesota--Mar. 1, 2010—MC Squared Publishing released the memoir from Bryan McMurry, "It’s Not About the Fish." "It’s Not About the Fish" is a journey to an unforeseen destination. McMurry explains the allure of fly fishing and why it instills a dedicated passion in those afflicted.
This easy to read memoir, written for the non-fly fisher has life lessons that most have experienced sparking memories of "the good old days." You'll enjoy the range of characters entering McMurry’s life, learning something import from each and discovering the most important of which in the end. The insightfully written, often funny memoir chronicles a journey of learning to fly fish, but what McMurry really learns is that learning, like your life, is only as important as what you do with it.
Less than thirty feet away from a monster steelhead, Bryan, about to cast, is on the brink of discovering one of life’s important secrets. Suddenly he’s stopped by a chilling question, “What right do you have to cast to a magnificent fish like this?” That thought initiates the recollection of a journey through learning to fly fish that has fortuitously brought him to this point in time.
Having always been fascinated with fly-fishing while growing up on a hardscrabble ranch too small to survive, Bryan’s journey begins on a quaint Montana creek at a time others his age are suffering mid-life crises. That first fly-fishing lesson leads to a host of encounters, each contributing to the understanding that the meaning of life has nothing to do with a peaty single malt scotch crisply splashed over ice, but the journey does.
In the end, after Bryan learns life’s single truth and the secret to all happiness, we return to the monster steelhead. However, life is not always what it seems and Bryan faces an unexpected ethical challenge. Confronting that challenge Bryan uncovers the final piece of life’s puzzle, that there is a life going on around us that is all too frequently missed. Realizing that the peripheral life holds countless rewards, he discovers that there are even more gratifying prizes when you do the right thing.
Available at http://www.amazon.com and autographed copies at www.byranmcmurry.com
About The Author
Bryan McMurry grew up on a ranch in Siskiyou County, California near the Oregon border. He works as a marketing manager and lives with his wife, Roberta in Monticello, Minnesota. In addition to writing for several publications, Bryan is a public speaker addressing audiences on a multitude of life and business topics. Bryan regularly participates in triathlons and is, of course, an avid fly-fisher.
Source: www.bryanmcmurry.com
3503 85th Street NE
Monticello, MN 55362
(817) 914-2609
Copyright © 2010 MC Squared. All rights reserved.
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