During the 1970s and into the 1980s, it was commonplace to find huge schools of white bass mixed with largemouths at various places on Thurmond Lake.

We measured those schools in acres and the difficulty was deciding which fish to cast to. Introduction of hybrid bass in the mid-1960s by the S.C. Wildlife and Marine Resources Department (now DNR) resulted in the demise of white bass and the disappearance of those huge schools.

Guess what? They're ba-a-a-ack!

Hybrids and stripers joined by an occasional largemouth bass have been schooling in the Savannah River arm of the lake near its junction with Keg Creek.

On Wednesday afternoon, scattered schools surfaced in Keg and at the entrance to Trade Winds Marina. The fish had struck Zoom Super Flukes (white ice, quarter-ounce lead-head) and Thing Poppers (white "bug") with gusto on Monday and Tuesday afternoon.

Late Wednesday, they weren't having any, but I had tied on a quarter-ounce Little Cleo spoon, one of the late Tommy Shaw's favorite lures.

One cast and a 3-pound hybrid nailed it. I yelled into my VHF radio microphone: "Yeeeehaaaaw! It struck a Cleo! This one's for Tommy!" It was the only fish I landed.

The afternoon bite is best, with many negative reports coming from early morning anglers. Try to be on the lake by 6 p.m., and plan to fish 'til dark.

- Speaking of Mr. Shaw, I think it would be meaningful for his bass club to sponsor a Tommy Shaw Memorial bass tournament. To make it different from other such events, contestants would be required to fish only with Little Cleos or Dardevle spoons.

- I have been fishing in the lake for 54 years, 41 of those in a boat, and thought I knew all the low-water danger spots.

Well, I got to know one of them a lot better Wednesday when my boat struck a soft clay shoal opposite the Fort Gordon Recreation Area.

Happily, little damage was done and my wife and I were able to get out and shove the boat into deeper water. I had been distracted when I ran aground.

Don't stay away from the lake because there are plenty of deep water areas left, but stay alert, don't run at high speeds and especially watch your depthfinder.

- The ninth annual John de la Howe School Rufus Sawyer Memorial Children's Tournament will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, at the Dorn Boating and Fishing Complex on Thurmond Lake.

"I need nine more 'boy boats' and two 'girl boats,' said Bonnie Annis, explaining volunteers with boats are needed to take out at least 10 girls and 20 boys ranging in age from 8 to 16.

More information: Mrs. Annis (803) 278-3933 or e-mail belvederemarine@aol.com, using JDLH as the subject.

Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), 1 (706) 595-5582 - Cliff Crow and Don Ginder of the Raysville area caught 51 catfish in three days, using nightcrawlers and chicken liver.

David Willard, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed full-time professional fishing guide specializing in hybrids and stripers and trophy largemouth bass. 410 Sprouse Road, Clarks Hill, S.C. 29821 (803) 637-6379 (crockettrocketstriperfishing. com) - Water temperature was 78 degrees and the lake is clear and 10 feet down. The Little Cleo, Tommy Shaw's favorite, has been catching some schooling fish. The fish have been moving a lot so we have been running a lot. They can come up anywhere right now and usually in a different place each day. Dr. Bob Rafoth, alias Striper Doc, and I were exchanging pleasantries, but hadn't caught any fish early Thursday. I left to go look around and had been gone about 20 minutes when Bob called to say the fish has him surrounded in the spot I'd just left, I had Alan Yarbro and his longtime buddy, Chuck Schrankle, from Kansas City, Mo. We talked it over briefly and decided to turn around and help Bob out. We pulled 17 stripers and hybrids off him and he caught a bunch himself.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706-860-7373) - Last Tuesday, Bill Shaw and I found schooling hybrids and each of us caught just one. The fish were reluctant to bite. My new show features Capt. Mack catching striped bass in Lake Lanier, using two new techniques. One is called power reeling. You hook a dead herring onto a 2-ounce lead-head jig with trailer hook attached and lower the rig onto the top of fish suspended over trees. Then, you reel up the rig as fast as you can and the fish will nearly snatch the rod out of your hands. The other method is trolling 2-ounce Capt. Mack bucktails with chartreuse trailers and stinger hooks 225 feet behind the boat with lead-core line. The line has different colors in 10-foot intervals and makes it easy to measure off the line. Biggest fish caught during the taping weighed 30 pounds. Fishing with Ralph Barbee airs Saturdays at 11 a.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Stations are Comcast Ch. 21, Knology Ch. 7, Atlantic Broadband, 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.

Dale Gibbs, professional guide specializing in largemouth bass (706 288-7510) - Last Friday, Gene Williams and I caught five bass together. Largest fish was a 3-pounder and came on a buzzbait. The chartreuse ShadRap firetiger crank bait caught the others.

Capt. Tommy Dudley, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in stripers and hybrids. (706) 833-4807. - My end of the lake has had some very inconsistent fishing. My best luck has been around Hamilton Branch and Modoc areas. I'm catching most of my fish on downlines over submerged trees fishing live herring 30 feet down in 50 feet of water. Nancy, Ralph Pacino and their son, Chris, visiting from Rhode Island, kept nine quality fish. She hooked up a big fish, an estimated 25 to 30 pounds, but lost it in the trees. 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 - Gary Burdic, of Clarks Hill, S.C., found 4-to-5-pound hybrids schooling in the Lake Springs vicinity late Wednesday. Maria Madias and Bruce Bobcat found them schooling at the IBEW cove (mostly largemouth). Maria had the hot rod, catching a 5-pound largemouth and a 6-pound hybrid. Rip Schaffer, of Martinez, caught a 17-pound striped bass below the dam on a live herring.

SAVANNAH RIVER

NEW SAVANNAH BLUFF

LOCK & DAM

Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle), (706) 793-8053. - Big mullet are still being caught in the lock and down river. Lots of handsized bream are being caught in the same places and some nice catfish and carp are being caught near the Baurle boat ramp.

MERRY LAND

BRICKYARD PONDS

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyard ponds.com) - Joey Bishop and Jack Smithy won last Sunday's tournament with 8.58 pounds and big fish with a 2.96-pounder. A few crappies are being caught in the ditch late in the day. A fishing license is not required to fish in our ponds. The Sunday bass tournament starts at 6:30 a.m., and ends at 12 noon.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

BEAUFORT, S.C., & VICINITY

Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, 1 (843) 838-2530 - Goodison: Speckled trout fishing is on the upswing at last and most of those being caught are nice ones. They're hitting in the tidal creeks and inlets, with live shrimp the key bait. Fishermen also are finding improved conditions for redfish. Whiting fishing is excellent, from Trenchard's Inlet to the surf. Not many boats have ventured offshore, but bottom fishermen are catching vermilion and grouper, as well as medium-sized black sea bass. Gulf Stream is producing some kingfish and dolphin. A few tarpon are still being caught.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters. com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 - The fish of the month in Savannah waters has to be the tarpon. One fisherman reported hooking up four times in six tries and another angler was six for seven. Mullet, porgies, pinfish and ladyfish are among the small species making excellent baits. Wendell Harper, a guide out of Two-Way Fish Camp at Darien, believes the high surface temperature (82.6 degrees) is responsible for the tarpon invasion.