Most of our area fishermen have adapted to fishing with live blueback herring or cut herring and have been catching the heck out of Thurmond Lake's stripers, hybrids and flathead catfish.
But those anglers are missing a lot of fun times if they ignore smaller schooling fish which have begun to show up. So rig out some spinning rods with medium-sized Lil' Fishies (on quarter-ounce jig heads) and The Thing Poppers (rigged on a 2-foot-long leader behind popping corks). Also, rig out a rod with three-quarter-ounce Berry's Flex-It Spoons or CC Spoons. I'll tell you why in a minute.
Billy Murphy reports schooling hybrids were spotted in the mouth of the Church Cove and inside and outside Bass Alley on Thursday morning. The technique is to use yo ur boat's electric trolling motor to ease within casting range of the surfacing fish schools and then let fly. In any case, shut off your outboard motor because the underwater exhaust will spook the bait fish, which will leave, taking the game fish with them.
If you find yourself in 40 feet of water or less while chasing the schools, keep a weather eye on your depthfinder screen. If you should spot "blips" on the screen signifying fish on or just off the bottom, grab the rod with the jigging spoon and lower the spoon posthaste to the bottom. Sharply raise the rod to to 12 o'clock high, then lower it quickly, allowing the spoon's weight to carry it to the bottom. If the spoon stops before reaching that level, strike hard. That's fish.
- Congratulations to Ernest G. Swindell, of Keysville, Ga., for catching a 48-pound, 14-ounce Arkansas blue catfish in Lake Moultrie. He earned a Santee Cooper Trophy Five Award and a parchment signed by South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford.
- Daniel Rowe, of Gray, Tenn., caught a 163-pound, 14-ounce blacktip shark in Port Royal Sound on June 6 to claim a new S.C. record by more than 30 pounds. Robby Maroudas, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., caught a 92-pound, 10-ounce cobia for a new S.C. record. He used a live menhaden and caught the fish around the Betsy Ross Reef.
THURMOND LAKE
Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), (706) 595-5582 - Mike Berry, of Thomson, caught 17 nice crappies in our fish house. Mike Wilson and Gary Pierce caught 19 crappies and six bass in the Raysville area.
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) - June is normally one of my favorite months and this one has been no exception. On several occasions, I tried to move the boat away from fish so my clients could grab a snack, but there was nothing doing. Finally, we had to reel in the bait so everyone could have some refreshments. If you think this is a fish story, just ask Charles McGhee, his son, Tony, and grandson, Nick, or Steve Boucher, his dad, son Jonah and brother Matt, from Aiken, or Jack Royalty, Larry Wenot, George Dudich and Will, Kevin and Dave Pethuck, all of whom hammered the fish during their respective trips. Gen. Sam Wakefield and fellow fishermen Dick Selby and Bruce McLean, all of Savannah Lakes Village, could have shot the video of the year on their outing. But no one had the time to pick up a camera because the fish just kept biting. Bruce's son, Rick, just returned from working on a Denzel Washington movie in New Mexico, came along for the ride. The fish are stacked up in 30 feet of water, with live herring the key bait. You can also jig up a few on Berry's Flex-It Spoons.
Billy Murphy, professional guide, (706) 733-0124 (Web site www.doubletroublefishingguides.com) with twins Brad and Jim - Skip Bentley, of Evans, Ga., fished with my son, Jim, and me last Friday. He caught 16 stripers and hybrids with a 9-pounder the big fish. Last Wednesday was a family day on my boat with my son, Jim, his wife, Tiffany, their son, James, and my grandson, Johnathan (Grandma couldn't go). We pulled Capt. Mack's 9-jig umbrella rigs over humps in the main river channels. Tiffany caught the biggest fish of 5 pounds and the most. We learned the fish have yet to suspend over trees along main river channels. Jim, James and Johnathan fished with me on a Thursday scouting trip. We started at 6:30 a.m., and by 7:30 had run out of bait with a cooler full of fish in the 3-to-10-pound range. We started pulling Capt. Mack's umbrella rigs and by 9 had caught and released nine nice stripers and the kids were ready for lunch. Check out new photos on my Web site. My VHF radio handle is doubletrouble on Ch. 68.
Capt. William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 - Alfred and Linda White, from Hephzibah, caught a limit of stripers quickly on live herring on downlines in 50 feet of water. Paul and Bernice Brooks, from Augusta, duplicated their feat on another trip. We're throwing out chum to draw the fish in. 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 - Fishing has been as good as it can get. The fish have been schooling well. You've got to hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast. I tell my people don't take pictures, don't play around. Put 'em in the cooler and then you can mess with them. I'm finding fish along the primary river points in 30-40 feet. I'm catching them on cut bait and also on downlines. Dave Redmond, Mike Reynolds, Michael Parks, all of North Augusta, and Ryan Jenkins, of Lexington, S.C., and Wes Wehunt, of Augusta, enjoyed great rod-slamming action and filled the cooler with 38 big hybrids and stripers up to 10 pounds. Dwayne Whitfield, his son, Brad, and grandsons, Forrest and Garrett, all of Aiken, had six rods slamming so fast that at times I couldn't keep a baited line in the water. Result was 40 fish with big stripers, four in the 10-pound range, and slab hybrids. Kevin Harrison, sons Taylor and Colin, son-in-law Joe Seamon, and grandson Keyton Vaughn, all of North Augusta, enoyed a beautiful morning, boating 31 nice downline fish. Randy and Teresa Fishleder, visiting Savannah Lakes Village from Iowa, smoked big downline stripers, catching and releasing 25 or so by 8 a.m. Five of the fish were 10 pounders. Rick and Tammy Busby, daughters Lauren and Kristen, with their friend, Taylor, all of Augusta, took a morning off to fish while vacationing at the lake. They caught a great cooler full of fish despite a finicky bite, keeping 23 including a 10-pounder caught by Lauren. Benny Johnson, Steve Drake, Michael Deas and Keith Hauley, from the Augusta area, had a great morning. They caught 26 stripers and hybrids on downlines and 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 - O.G. Penner and the Rev. Frank Thigpen, of Grovetown, caught 17 stripers up to 9 pounds on cut bait in 34 feet of water on the lower end of the lake. David Miles, of Augusta, caught a 42-pound flathead catfish on cut bait. Andrew Simon, of North Augusta, caught a 24-pound striped bass on cut herring. Rick and Shelton Harrell, of Winfield, Ga., caught a 21.7-pound flathead. Jamie Jones, of Aiken, caught a 19-pound, 7-ounce striper. Ryan Redden and Bernie Enezoldsen, of Augusta, caught a limit of stripers.
SAVANNAH RIVER
New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam
Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle, Billy Hambrick and Russ Peyton), (706) 496-1173 - Shellcrackers and bream are biting upriver, while the mullet remain hot as well downriver. Some stripers are being caught off the dam during the early morning. Large catfish are being caught off the wall and at the mouth of Butler Creek on rooster livers. Bob let Russell Peyton take off Thursday to celebrate his birthday.
MERRY LAND BRICKYARD PONDS
Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) - Marty Pearson and Paull Greubbs won last Friday night's bass tournament with 5.39 pounds. They also caught the big fish of 2.40 pounds. Mike Craig and Gene Moyer were second with 5.15 pounds. Twenty-four boats were in the field. Our bass tournaments run from 6 p.m.-10 p.m., every Friday, and 7 a.m.-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 - Fishing has been hot for flounder on both north and south ends of the island and in the vicinity of Worrell's Landing. Best bait are live mud minnows. Redfish and trout are not as active as they were last week, but the bite is still on. There are tons of bait fish everywhere and tarpon have moved in. Black sea bass and cobia can still be caught around shallow water reefs, as well as the Betsy Ross wreck. Cobia can be found in the Port Royal channel. Deeper live bottom is producing triggerfish and the occasional grouper and red snapper. Farther out in the Gulf Stream, trollers are catching bull dolphin and wahoo, with the occasional king mackerel.
SAVANNAH
Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, GA 31410-0771 - Spotted sea trout, redfish, flounder, shark, flounder and black drum are hitting inshore, with live shrimp the best bait. Spanish and king mackerel and cobia are being caught around the artificial reefs. All the bottom fish are being caught in the Savannah Snapper Banks. Bull dolphin are everywhere, from 50-200 feet of water.
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