That favorite time of year when we catch Thurmond Lake's striped and hybrid bass chasing bait fish to the surface is on the verge of breaking loose.

Reports of surface action came from near Mistletoe State Park and around the "Camel Humps" near Modoc Shores on Wednesday. But the cold front ushered in by high winds Monday and Tuesday lowered surface temperatures into the high 60s and low 70s, while temperatures of 75 to 78 degrees are needed to stir up the schoolers.

If there was ever any question about the health and well-being of the lake's largemouth bass population, it was laid to rest by the results of the 26th annual Easter Seals Open Team Bass Tournament. A record number of fishermen in 205 boats turned out and, while totals weren't immediately available, check out today's tournament report and do the math.

Big catches following the Bassmaster Elite tournament, not to mention local club tournaments having an impact on the bass fishing, certainly prove the fishery is alive and well. Of course, most bass are released alive following tournaments, and a period of recovery from the trauma of being caught follows. It must be a very short period.

THURMOND LAKE

Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), (706) 595-5582 -- Brad Carani, of Washington, Ga., caught 30 channel catfish on chicken livers. David and Elizabeth Duffy, of Augusta, caught 27 crappies fishing minnows over brush.

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 (crockettrocket@bellsouth.net) -- We've had a great week, despite the cold front that came in on Monday. High winds and cooler temperatures caused the fish to switch their predictable pattern. My clients still managed to catch 251 stripers and hybrids for the week, and I had fun watching. Some of these angling enthusiasts include Chuck and Sue Hess and Barbara and Bob Smallwood, all of Aiken, who were joined by David Brown, from Arkansas. They were cold but hung tough to catch their limit. The girls gave the boys a fishing lesson. Three generations of the Kahn family -- Don, Donald and Trey -- joined Jeff Henderson and his son, Kyle. They caught their limits in just a few hours. Rodney Ratchford and his son, Thomas, caught their limit, as did Alan Yarboro and his group. Most of our fish were caught downlining live herring, and some of the larger fish were caught on cut bait on the flats.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706) 860-7373 -- Last Tuesday, Hale Holloway, of Martinez, fished with me. Fishing the XPS Pro Series "Ghost" lure, I caught a 3-pounder, and Hale caught a smaller one. Then, he added a 2-pounder, and I caught another about 3 pounds. It was a tough fishing day.

Pond fishing for bass will be shown on Fishing with Ralph Barbee. It airs Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Stations are Comcast Ch. 21, Knology Ch. 7, G-Force, Ch. 7 (Aiken), Northland Ch. 9 (Statesboro-Swainsboro) and Ft. Gordon Ch. 9. You must have a special box from Comcast to view my show. The box is free.

Billy Murphy, professional guide, (706) 733-0124 (Web site doubletroublefishingguides. com) with twins Brad and Jim -- Larry Freeman, of Evans, and Jerry Olson, of Grovetown, fished with me on Tuesday. We pulled planer boards and caught 12 with the biggest just 6 pounds. Larry came with me Wednesday, and we caught 16 on planer boards and downlining herring. Biggest fish was 8 pounds. I also caught a 31-pound flathead catfish. My grandsons, Johnathan and James, and my wife, Lucy, fished for shellcrackers Thursday morning and enjoyed it for 2 hours.

Dale Gibbs, professional guide specializing in largemouth bass (706) 288-7510 -- There are still some bass hitting on top, but there will be a definite movement toward the humps in 10 feet of water over the next few days. The Carolina rig is producing some bass. Shellcrackers are hitting hybrid pinks. The full moon (May 20) ought to produce some great catches of popular pan fish.

William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 -- William Mitchell, of Kinston, N.C., fished with us for stripers on a morning trip. We fished live herring on downlines in 30 to 40 feet of water. On our first stop, we had three fish on at once and proceeded to fill out a limit. Kenny and Debbie Shockley and Lee Ogden and Megan Burke, all of Millen, Ga., fished with us for shellcrackers. We wound up with a cooler of fish on hybrid pink worms. Lee is in the military and en route to Iraq.

My VHF radio handle is Crappie Master, and I can be reached on the lake on Channel 68. 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 -- The weather has been making us reschedule most trips. Boards early and cut bait later in the morning for big fish. Downline fish are being caught over humps, but you've got to be quick. Those fish are fairly small. Larry and Holly Alberts and Chuck Trowbridge, all visiting from Texas, had a great morning, catching and releasing a bunch of hybrids. They lost four big stripers to trees after switching to cut bait. Brannen Byers, Nick Carroll and Ryan Timmerman, all of North Augusta, had to work for the fish they caught on boards. We had a lot of short hits, but they managed to get two 12-pounders and a 15-pounder on cut bait.

My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer, and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is www.fishlakethurmond.com.

Albert Moody, Clark Hill Herring Hut, Clarks Hill, S.C. (864) 333-2000 -- Dennis Story and Bill White, of Evans, caught a 41-inch, 27-pound flathead catfish on herring. Joseph Haworth, of Augusta, caught a 38-pound flathead on cut herring. People are still catching limits of shellcrackers on hybrid pink worms.

SAVANNAH RIVER

New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam

Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle), (706) 793-8053 -- Fishing is red hot for redbreast, striped bass and mullet. Nellie Daggett and Eleanor Dunn caught some nice crappies, mullet and bream fishing near the Bob Baurle Boat Ramp. Bream fishing is best early and late. Lots of big carp are being caught around the bridge over Butler Creek. Lots of largemouth bass and jack (chain pickerel).

MERRY LAND BRICKYARD PONDS

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) -- Mike Grubbs Jr., and Josh Bratcher won last Friday's tournaments with 11.48 pounds and a 3.59-pound big fish. P.C. Tyler and Jay Pope were second with 5.76 pounds and Billy Gilbert and Ken Barton were third with 5.48 pounds. Josh Bratcher leads the big fish contest with a 6.74-pound bass. There were 46 fishermen in the field. Our bass tournaments are in progress on Fridays and Sundays. The Friday tournament runs from 6 to 10 p.m., and our Sunday tournament runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. A fishing license is not required to fish in our ponds.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

BEAUFORT, S.C. & VICINITY

Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, (843) 838-2530 -- Weather woes continued to plague fishermen earlier this week, with strong winds and plummeting temperatures. Still, fishing remains good fore redfish and whiting, with a few flounder showing up. Grey trout fishing around near-shore wrecks and reefs is red hot, with Spanish mackerel and bluefish schooling where you find them. Black sea bass fishing also is good. Cobia are biting in the Broad River. Only a few offshore reports have come in, with dolphin and wahoo fishing good, but king mackerel have slowed. The Fripp Island Memorial Day Kingfish Tournament generally produces the biggest fish of the year. Anglers are invited to a Lowcountry cookout and captain's meeting on May 23 at 7 p.m.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 -- Inshore, the trout bite is very good. Live shrimp are the key, but after we get 'em to bite, we'll sometimes switch to Bass Assassin Electric Chicken grubs. Offshore, red snapper fishing and bottom fishing is good, once high winds subside. Spanish mackerel are being caught on planers trailed by double- and single-nought ClarkSpoons. Gulf Stream's dolphins are biting. Look for ragged weedlines and temperature breaks as you troll.