Professional guides and others who use live bait, as well as cut bait, are having a blast catching monster flathead catfish and striped bass from the depths of Thurmond Lake.

Pictures are worth 1,000 words and the one accompanying this report speaks volumes. It's a real testament to the high quality of our favorite lake's fishery.

As for me, I don't use live bait, opting to stay with artificial lures, but during the fishes' transition from the spring shallows to the hot summer's depths, it's pretty tough for me to find catchable fish.

The ones I'm after have not yet settled into their summer mode of hugging the bottom in schools 25 to 30 feet to where I have a chance to use jigging spoons to catch a few.

My time will come, but until it does, I'm trolling Lil' Fishies (medium size) and catching and releasing small hybrids and stripers in the backs of coves. At this time of my life, what makes me really happy is to feel the strike of a fish, any fish.

This week's full moon turned on the shellcracker bite on the Savannah River above the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam. There's something about that moon phase that makes those panfish, as well as their bluegill cousins, want to spawn.

My wife, Bea, and I smelled many beds in the Clark Hill Park and Church Cove, but could never pinpoint their locations. The smell is not unlike a bad batch of eggs.

THURMOND LAKE

Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), (706) 595-5582 -- Keegan Weaver, 10, of Tignall, Ga., caught 11 nice crappies in the fish house on minnows.

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. crockettrocketstriperfishing.com) -- We've had another great week. The surface temperature is in the mid-80s and the lake is very clear. The increasing temperatures have pushed the fish into deeper depths and they are schooling up well. I've had people come in from Columbia, Atlanta and as far away as Taiwan. They've all caught limits of nice fish and have enjoyed our fishery. Richard Posey brought in a group from the Savannah River Site. They had a limit of fish in just a few hours. Jeff Stanley had his extended family down for a camping trip. They wanted to catch enough fish for a fry. They fed 22 people and had fish left over to take home. Rich Cushman brought his son, Thomas, and friends, Jenny Lin, Jessie Campbell, and her sister, Kori. They slaughtered the fish on their first-ever striper trip. Kori had the big fish, a 10-pound striper. The next few weeks should be red hot and we're looking forward to a good summer's fishing.

Billy Murphy, professional guide, (706) 733-0124 (Web site www.doubletroublefishing guides.com) with twins Brad and Jim -- Last Saturday, my sons, Jim and Brad (the original Double Trouble), and their sons, James and Johnathan, fished with me. We started pulling planer boards and freelines early in the morning, but couldn't find any fish. We started scouting and in a few minutes our depthfinder lit up with fish, so we went to downlines. We couldn't keep a rod in the holder. Every time we dropped a live herring, we'd get a hit. After two hours, we had two 120-quart coolers loaded with great stripers. Smallest of the 40 fish weighed 5 pounds and the largest was a 15-pounder. Fishing with me on Monday were son Jim and grandsons James and Johnathan. Again, the fish provided non-stop action and we limited out by 8:30 with 4 to 18-pound fish. We were downlining live herring in 22 to 40 feet of water. The same crew fished with me on Tuesday. We wound up with 24 stripers and hybrids, the biggest 15 pounds. Johnathan caught the big fish. My son, Jim, and grandson, Johnathan, joined Ralph Barbee on Wednesday aboard my boat to tape a TV show. As could be expected, Johnathan outfished Ralph. Action was quick to start when we couldn't keep a rod in the holders. Johnathan was in charge of keeping lively blueback herring hooked up. Ralph caught the big fish, a 120-pounder striper. We wound up with 18 and had three on at one time coming in. Ralph said the show will be aired in July.

Check out new photos on my Web site. My VHF radio handle is doubletroubles on Ch. 68.

Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 -- Glen Minton, Andrew Covar, Rusty Bryant and the father-daughter team Ken and Katie Smith, all from Edgefield, S.C., caught fish on planer boards in eight to 10 feet of water above Bass Alley. Calvin Williams, Augusta, and Forrest McMahon, and Charlie Norton, from Atlanta, caught 25 nice fish on planers. Terry Reeves, Leo Parrish, Jason Lanier, all of Statesboro, Ga., and Brandon Reeves, of Sandy Springs, Ga.., caught a limit of really nice stripers and hybrids on live herring fished on downlines in 30 to 35 feet of water. J.W. Roberts and his wife, Vassie, of Leesburg, Fla., and granddaughter, Caitlin, with Sheila and Hoyt Whisenhunt, of Harrison, Ga., also caught limits of fish. J.W. caught a 15-pound striped bass. Samantha and Amanda Holcombe, their father, Mike, all of Hilliard, Fla., with his uncle, Jack Gillian, from Anderson, S.C., caught a limit of fish including a few over 10 pounds. Samantha caught the biggest of 12 pounds. 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 -- I took a few days' break to spend in the North Carolina mountains. I was on fish when I left and I've been on 'em since coming back. The fish are starting to school up in the depths. Jefferson Murray and his fish-slaying daughters, Sarah, 9, and Mary Hunt, 7, of Augusta, braved last Friday's 20-mph winds to keep Dad and I busy boating 27 fast hybrids caught on downlines. After the frenzy was over, we picked up mom, Carrie, and little brother Jefferson, 3, and took them out for a short stay. He had fun pulling in his own hybrid, with dad's help. Jerry Latvalla, Rick Maddox and Anthony Battle, all of Brunswick, Ga., enjoyed fast action on feeding hybrids in 15 feet of water, catching 26 on downlines. 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 -- O.G. Penner, of Grovetown, and Billy Faulk, of Augusta, caught a 100-quart cooler full of mostly stripers and some hybrids, using cut bait and live bait on downlines. Bill and Tony Polson and Fred McNatt, all of Augusta, caught limits of stripers and hybrids 4 to 9 pounds in 22 to 28 feet of water, using live herring on downlines. The day before, McNatt caught a 272-pound striper. Jacob Kramer, of Clarks Hill, caught a 25-pound flathead catfish on 10-pound-test line and a closed face reel on cut herring. Tony Nguyen, of Augusta, caught a 20-pound striper on cut bait last Monday and a 22-pounder on Thursday. Keith (Buddha) Rimkus, of Martinez, caught a 26-pound flathead on cut bait.

SAVANNAH RIVER

New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam

Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle, Billy Hambrick and Russ Peyton), (706) 496-1173 -- Aaron Skinner caught five big catfish on worms down river. Trey Pack and Gene Watkins caught 40 really nice shellcrackers upriver on worms. Sammy Hogan caught and released several stripers at the dam, the biggest 14 pounds. Bream are biting crickets and worms up and down river. Lots of mullet are still being caught.

MERRY LAND

BRICKYARD PONDS

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) -- E-Z-GO held a fishing tournament and Shane and Cody Holley won with 6.32 pounds. Ricky Winfrey won big fish with a 4.92-pounder. Twelve fishermen competed. Chris Kelly and P.C. Tyler won last Friday night's tournament with 6.35 pounds and big fish of 2.20 pounds. Gene Moyer and Mike Craig were second with 4.72 pounds. 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.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 -- You name it and it's biting: spotted sea trout, redfish, flounder, black drum. Live shrimp remain the key baits. No live bait has arrived, but it could happen any day. There's a bit of bait at the artificial reefs, but it's small. The Savannah Snapper Banks remain active with red snapper, grouper and king mackerel. Bull dolphin, aka mahi mahi, are patrolling the Gulf Stream.