Among the many newcomers to the Augusta area are fishermen who, after several fishless days on Thurmond Lake, call and ask me what to do.
One of the best ways to learn where and how to fish a strange body of water is to hire a professional guide. While in the guide's boat, check out the type of tackle he's using and pick his brain (for which there is no extra charge).
The several full-time guides on Thurmond Lake know where certain species of fish hang out during specific seasons. They've developed such expertise during years of fishing and don't mind sharing this knowledge.
Tommy Dudley, 55, of Plum Branch, S.C., is one of the fulltimers. He's been fishing since he was 5 and is in his fourth year as a pro guide, specializing in stripers and hybrids.
The Augusta native told me he liked to target big fish this time of the year and so he took my wife, Bea, and I out early Tuesday with that in mind. He caught several medium-sized crappies earlier and placed a half-pounder on a line between four planer boards - two to the side - with live herring below each board.
"Whatever hits that crappie is going to have to be big," he said. "My biggest ever fish caught while guiding was a 30-pounder. I haven't been able to catch a bigger one. Maybe today's the day."
Unfortunately, it wasn't, but we wound up with seven fish, including a 10-pound striper. The crappie seemed to be frightened at times, swirling up from the depths to just beneath the surface, but whatever checked it out was probably too small to eat it.
"I wish I'd started guiding 30 years ago instead of outboard racing," said Dudley, who was among many who participated in what was called backyard races during the 1960s and '70s. "People don't realize it's hard work to buy the bait, keep the boat and tackle shipshape and constantly keep up with the fish, but I enjoy every minute of it."
His fishing report can be found below and a call to him will reveal what he charged per trip.
l Rick's Paint & Body and Lincolnton Marine have come aboard as sponsors for the second annual Tommy Shaw Memorial Open Team Bass Tournament out of Wildwood Park on May 30. Fliers containing tournament rules and other information will be available from bait and tackle stores and other places this weekend.
l "We need at least eight more able-bodied volunteer boat captains and their boats" for the 15th annual Southeastern Paralyzed Veterans Association tournament, said tournament coordinator Kurt Glass. The event will be held out of Wildwood Park on March 28-29. Mobility-impaired anglers, who do not have to belong to the PVA, also are invited. For more information, contact Glass at (706) 796-6301. Applicants also can go online at pva.org.
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 (crockettrocket@ bellsouth.net) - Water temperature is in the upper 50s during the morning. We still have a lot of floating debris, but the fish are hitting good. It sure is easier getting into the water and to navigate. All my parties have been enjoying themselves. I'm fishing the early morning pattern until about noon or 1 p.m., and mid-morning has been producing more fish than any other time. We're pulling planer boards with live herring and some small gizzard shad. One of my favorite groups was Mark and Nathan Schmitz of Atlanta. Nathan is 11 years old and loves to fish. He couldn't get out quite as early as I wanted him to on Saturday, but we had a great morning as he caught his first ever stripers and hybrids. At one point, he was running back and forth from one side of the boat to the other as fast as I could net them. He's looking forward to coming back in a few weeks.
Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706) 860-7373 - I caught another big carp weighing about 25 pounds in the back of Grays Creek on Monday. Like the big carp the week before, it struck the Yellow Fellow stick bait. It was the only strike Danny Sheehan and I had. We got so desperate about catching something Tuesday afternoon, we launched Danny's jonboat in Stevens Creek where I caught a 2-pound bass on the Yellow Fellow. It was the only strike we had.
My show 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.
Billy Murphy, professional guide, (706) 733-0124 (Web site doubletroublefishingguides.com) with twins Brad and Jim - Warmer air temperatures have warmed up the lake's surface and turned on the fish. O.G. Penner and I fished together on Tuesday, pulling live herring beneath planer boards. We limited out, with the biggest fish a 9-pound hybrid. Richard Little, of Grovetown, O.G., and I fished again on Wednesday, catching 15 stripers with Richard catching the most. Steve Lewis, of Oconomowoc, Wis., Larry Freeman, of Evans, and I fished Thursday morning. Steve caught an 8-pounder among the eight stripers he landed.
Capt. Mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in hybrid and striped bass. www.teamsaveonemore.com (706) 373-8347 - I took out Lavoisier and Damien Samuals, of Augusta, and Michael McKie, of North Augusta, and we all had a great time catching stripers. The quick rise of the water level caused conditions to be tough. The time is now here for the stripers and hybrids to turn on for some great catches. You still need to be careful on the lake since there are stumps and treetops hidden just beneath the surface. There also is a lot of floating debris.
Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 - This week started slowly, but quickly heated up as air and water temperatures rose. Cal Williams, of Augusta, and Chuck Norton, of Atlanta, fished with my son, Austin, and me, but we had just a few good bites during the morning hours. Roy Williams with sons Jeff and Jordan, from Albany, Ga., had just the opposite experience, catching lots of hybrids and stripers on live herring pulled beneath planer boards. 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 - Jim and Paul Faddoul, a couple of Ohio anglers who fish the Great Lakes, braved a windy day with me. We caught a few fish. Once this next cold front moves through, fishing success ought to really improve.
My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is
Albert Moody, Clarks Hill Herring Hut, Clarks Hill, S.C. (864) 333-2000 - Tony Freeman, of Clarks Hill, caught 25 crappies in Dordon Creek. Tom Kelly and Jim Enfinger caught stripers weighing 25 and 15 pounds, pulling live herring beneath planer boards around the dam. Elaine Brown caught a 40-pound flathead catfish on live herring.
SAVANNAH RIVER
New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam
Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle and Russ Peyton), (706) 793-8053 - Michael Turner, Chester Duvall and Ryan Smith used nightcrawlers and caught four nice stripers, eight catfish, six or eight white perch and a yellow perch. Konesha Roscoe caught blueback herring and American shad on the Sabiki rigs. They also caught some redhorse suckers. There's been a big catfish bite lately, with cut bait the best bet.
MERRY LAND
BRICKYARD PONDS
Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) - James Gilbert caught nine bass in the Expressway Pond on plastic worms. Gilbert also caught five bass weighing 14.67 pounds in the Garden Pond. Greg and Joel Leaptrotte caught six bass weighing 13.05 pounds in the Shack Pond. Johnny Sims caught eight crappies in the White Elephant Pond, Billy Horton caught 21 crappies in the King Pond, Derrick Cain and Warren Wylie caught 17 bass weighing 39 pounds in the Clayton Pond on crank baits. Josh Bracther and Ronnie Hue caught five bass, weighing 9.9 pounds on plastic worms in the Membership Pond. Chris and Ted Mathis caught eight bass in the King Pond on plastic worms. Melissa Collins and Mike Johns caught four bass weighing 8.25 pounds in the Expressway Pond. Biggest weighed 4.29 pounds. Chris Kelly a 7.21-pound bass in the Garden Pond, Joe Thompson caught an 8.11-pound bass on a crank bait in the Back Ditch and leads our big fish contest for the second month in a row. Trevor Price caught a 3.89-pound bass in the Snake Pit on a plastic worm. E-Z Go held a tournament last Saturday and Rico Grant and Mike Smith won with 9 pounds. They also weighed in the big fish of 3.97 pounds. Our bass tournament starts today. It runs from 6 -10 p.m. Entry fee is $20 per fisherman.
A fishing license is not required to fish in our ponds.
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