Catch-and-release pond is a rod bender

How would you like a shot at catching big largemouth bass on nearly every cast?

Sound good? There is a "catch." Once caught, the fish must be put back.

"We tell folks to bring a handheld scale and a camera," said George Atnip, manager of the McDuffie Public Fishing Area near Dearing, Ga. "After landing the fish, they can weigh it and take its picture, but it must be released unharmed."

Pond 3E, also called Rod Bender, is being managed for trophy largemouth bass. It is open for fishing only the first seven days of each month. Atnip said the five-acre pond was stocked about three years ago with 20 female fish per acre. It has produced an 8½-pounder "and I wouldn't be surprised if there are 10-pounders in there," he said.

How did the fish grow so large in such a short time? Female bass grow larger than their male counterparts. But under the trophy bass program, they are being fed a smorgasbord of bait fish, including threadfin shad, gold fish, bream and chub suckers.

The females do not spawn and are believed to reabsorb their eggs.

Fishermen may keep bass caught in the area's other ponds, but the fish must measure a minimum 14 inches in length.

Only boats powered by paddles or electric motors are allowed to be used in the ponds. Coast Guard-approved life preservers must be in the boat for each of its passengers. Anglers 16 years of age and older, except honorary license holders, must have a valid fishing license and wildlife management area license.

Live minnows cannot be used as bait.

From Augusta, drive out Highway 78 to Dearing and turn left onto Iron Hill Road in the heart of town. At the intersection of Iron Hill Road and Ellington Airline Road, turn right and then take a left onto Fish Hatchery Road. The area is open seven days a week from sunrise until sunset year-around.

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) - I love May fishing. Water temperature is 72 degrees and the surface is slightly stained. Fish are feeling so good they're almost jumping into the boat. My groups have had a blast catching stripers, hybrids and largemouths and the Easter Seals tournament this weekend should see a lot of fish weighed in. We pulled one point with planer boards and freelined herring and had an 8-pound striper, 6-pound hybrid and 4- and 6-pound largemouths all on at the same time. That's what I'm talking about right now. Rick Callan, Kerry Bacon and Jeri Cooper had a great trip, catching a limit. Scott Kelly and sons, Logan, 6, Trenton, 4, and their friend, Bill Welch, also had a ball. I felt fortunate to fish with Bill since his hunting and fishing exploits take him all over the world. He's headed for Africa in a couple of weeks in pursuit of lion and cape buffalo. Mark Cisco, from Dayton, Ohio, and Gene Sliker, who told me he used to be from Dayton until he came to his senses and moved South, had a good time catching a limit of fish. Troy Hobbs and Ozzie Newman dodged thunderstorms on Thursday morning to catch a limit of stripers, hybrids and some really nice largemouths. Fishing should continue to be good, and I don't think the full moon can slow these fish down.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706-860-7373) - I fished last Tuesday and caught six bass, the biggest being 4½ pounds. The fish were schooling. The fish struck the Yellow Fellow, and the silver and blue-backed stick bait.

My show features catching big reds at Hilton Head, S.C., with Dan Utley. Sharks, stingrays and a big fish that broke off also will be seen. It 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 double troublefishingguides.com) with twins Brad and Jim) - Last Saturday, my son, Jim, and grandsons, Johnathan and James, fished with me. We cast points for stripers, throwing Pencil Popper, Sammies and Zara Spooks. It was hard to find a point that didn't have a boat sitting on it. We had seven strikes where the fish just knocked the lures out of the water and we couldn't hit them. We ended up with six nice stripers, the big one going 8 pounds. Jim caught it on a red-and-white Pencil Popper.

Dale Gibbs, professional guide specializing in largemouth bass (706 288-7510) - Steve Smith, of Augusta, fished with me last Wednesday. We caught 31 bass, but none of any size; a 3½-pounder would be a good one. The Zara Spook and unweighed Zoom Super Fluke were the ley lures. On Thursday, I fished above the Highway 378 bridge in the Savannah River arm. I caught 12 largemouth bass and about 10 hybrids and stripers. Biggest bass was a 5-pounder. The fish struck a Sabile Magic Minnow.

Mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in hybrid and striped bass. www.teamsaveonemore.com (706) 373-8347) - I fished live herring on downlines in the lower end of the lake this week. I took out Eric Melchior, of Appling, Ga.; Marion Cliatt and Mark Rawlins, of Lincolnton, Ga.; and Tony, Jennifer and Amber Johnson, of Savannah, Ga. We caught 35 fish, with most being small. Amber caught most of them.

Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 - Denzil Beeson, Waynesboro, Ga.; Shawn Starling, Aiken; Ricky Todd, Gibson, Ga.; and Jamie Duncan, Waynesboro, Ga., fished downlines and planer boards for stripers and hybrids. We wound up with 31 stripers and hybrids and nine nice largemouth bass, largest of which weighed about 6 pounds. On another trip, Kelly Fox, of North Augusta; Jamie Felder, of Grovetown; Gene Fox, of North Augusta; L.R. Underwood, of Aiken; and Steve Hutto, of Grovetown, caught 40-some stripers and hybrids on downlines in 40 feet of water.

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 - We've had an outstanding week. Fish have been aggressive during the early morning. We're averaging three or four fish in the 12- to 15-pound class on cut bait early. I'm catching smaller fish on downlines in 20 to 40 feet of water in the ditches. The mid-section of the lake has been sort of flat, but Modoc to Mosley Creek is where most of my fish are coming from. We caught catfish, perch, bass and gar. Shellcrackers have been hot all week. Dr. Randy Fishleder, of Iowa, treated son Sam and his wife, Elisheva, from New York City, to their first fishing trip while vacationing at Savannah Lakes Village. As I baited the second rod, I heard the first one go off and Elisheva picked it up and battled to land a 15-pounder. She added a 13- and a 10-pounder fast, which the guys found was a tough act to follow. They kept 14 stripers and hybrids and went to catch and release until they used up the bait. Robbie Prescott and the Rev. Thomas Moon, of Lincolnton, Ga., enjoyed a great morning limiting out fast on a mixed catch of stripers and hybrids up to 12 pounds. Then they did catch and release until the bait was gone. Jeff Hadden, Jimmy Maness, Jim and Ed McNeil all braved breezy conditions, catching 30 stripers and hybrids. Jeff caught the biggest, a 12-pound striper. Mike Bak, from Michigan, and I left the marina in thunderstorms, but as the weather calmed, we had rods bending and quickly caught three in the 12-to-15-pound range. Then we limited out on downlined fish and then practiced catch and release until our bait ran out.

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 - Tim O'Shell and Jamie Williams, of Clarks Hill, caught huge stripers and up to 25-pound catfish on cut herring. Dianna Richardson, of Aiken, caught a 25-pound striped bass freelining live herring. Rick Quarles, Ronnie, Michael and Gregory Barnes, all of Aiken, caught a 100-quart cooler full of stripers and hybrids pulling planer boards. Kevin Hernandez, of Beech Island, caught a limit of white perch from the rocks on small pieces of cut herring.

SAVANNAH RIVER

New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam

Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle and Russ Peyton), (706) 496-1173 - Fishing is awesome right now. Stripers and hybrids are in abundance and are being caught off the dam. Lots of catfish are being caught on cut bait. Michael Diles caught two hybrids on bucktails off the dam. Chip Moore and Gary James caught 30 redbellies on crickets and pinks down river. The shad are running full force.

MERRY LAND

BRICKYARD PONDS

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) - Adam Beckum won the big fish contest of the month of April with a 7.12-pound largemouth bass. Marty Pearson and Paul Grubbs won last Friday night's bass tournament with 12.28 pounds. J.J. Dixon and J.C. Dicks were second with 8.91 pounds. Wendell Smith's 5.23-pounder won big fish and also is the big fish of the month so far. Billy Gilbert won Sunday's tournament with 4.24 pounds, and Joe Thompson had big fish with a 2.61-pounder. Our bass tournaments run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., every Friday, and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Entry fee is $20 per fisherman in each event.

A fishing license is not required to fish in our ponds.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

BEAUFORT, S.C. & VICINITY

Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, (843) 838-2530 - Check the weather report before coming to the coast. If the report is a good one, come loaded for spotted sea trout, gray trout, redfish, whiting and Spanish mackerel. The black sea bass and grouper bite is growing stronger. The Gulf Stream remains red hot, especially for bull dolphin, wahoo and kingfish. The Fripp Island Memorial Day Kingfish Tournament usually results in catching the largest and most fish of the year. A captain's meeting and Lowcountry barbecue cookout starts at 7 p.m., Friday, May 22, at Fripp Island Marina. The fishing starts at sunrise Saturday and weigh-ins start at 3 p.m., closing by 6 p.m. More information: (843) 838-1517.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 - The inshore fishing has beeen a bit tough because of muddy water. Cobia season has arrived. Look for these fish around channel markers, in rips and sounds, with live eels, cut fish, small blue crabs and live shrimp among the baits. King mackerel also are here, with artificial reefs and the Savannah Snapper Banks key areas. Fast-trolling 31-inch Drone Spoons is one way to catch 'em. Black fin tuna, wahoo and bull dolphin are striking trolled ballyhoo in the Gulf Stream.