The Tommy Shaw Memorial Open Team Bass Tournament is going to be around awhile after getting nothing but positive vibes from all involved last Saturday at Wildwood Park.

The tournament drew 122 boats, with Keith Hutto and Eddie Burgess capturing the top prize of $5,000 with a 20-pound catch and $1,200 more with Burgess' big bass of 6.16 pounds.

Asked her feelings about the event honoring her late husband, Rose Nell Shaw, of Leah, Ga., replied: "It was fabulous!"

The event raised $5,000, more than expected, for the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center toy fund.

Hutto said the pair used a combination of blue glimmer Zoom Super Flukes and a Sebile 51-inch Magic Minnow.

"We'd been on these fish for three weeks, and luckily they were still hanging around a hump in 8 to 12 feet of water," Hutto said.

But the fish that clinched the title came when Hutto decided to make the long run up the Savannah River to Russell Dam.

"We left for that area shortly after 9 a.m., when we had 14 or 15 pounds," Hutto said. "Water temperature in that area was 74 degrees (compared to the mid-80s in lower Thurmond Lake), and Eddie used the Super Fluke to catch the big one."

Hutto said the flukes are fished weightless on 5/0 hooks and using a slight bit of rod tip "twitching" to impart some action to the lure.

The flukes are cast out and reeled straight in just beneath the surface.

The Sebile baits, which are manufactured in China, are cast and allowed to sink about a foot and then reeled straight in. The lures are double-jointed so they have a built-in wiggle on the retrieve.

THURMOND LAKE

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 at present is 85 degrees. The water is clear, almost Caribbean blue. The larger stripers and hybrids are grouping up in the river channels 30 to 40 feet down, and they are definitely open for business. Look for fish in or close to standing timber, put a live herring on top of them and watch out. My clients are catching 31/2- to 8-pound hybrids and 6- to 12-pound stripers, with an occasional bigger fish. The main bite has been daylight until 10 a.m., and we're back before it gets hot. Concentrate on the upper Savannah River from Wells to Soap creeks all the way to Russell Dam. This area is holding the best oxygen and the coldest water. Johnny Hobbs, Michael Daniel Hobbs, Mick Lawrence and Brian Page got into a huge school of fish that had my sonar blacked out for nearly an hour. They claim they never caught fish that fast as we had rods going down everywhere. They had their limit of nice fish in just a little over an hour. I called the Rev. Buddy Myers and asked him if he knew where we could get up a team to help me out with some really nice fish. He called in John Gantt, Marion Taylor and David Elam. They blistered a cooler full of nice fish in just a couple of hours. Charles Landers called to tell me he wanted his grandson, Justin, to catch some nice fish. I told him I thought we could do that. Joe Gibbons and Carl Miller also came along to check out the fishery. They had a blast, and at times, we had three fish on at once en route to a limit.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706) 860-7373 -- The Bassmaster Elite Pride of Georgia tournament held out of Wildwood Park several weeks ago is being shown all this month on Fishing with Ralph Barbee. 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 Fort 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 is doubletroublefishing guides.com with twins Brad and Jim) -- It's umbrella rig time. Last Tuesday, Larry Freeman, of Evans, and I pulled rigs all morning and we limited out. Fish were good-sized, and we caught them two at a time. I'm fishing 20 feet down over humps 20- to 40-feet deep. I'm using the nine-jig umbrella rig. O.G. Penner and I fished together on Wednesday, down-lining first thing in the morning. We were in 36 feet of water fishing live herring 22 feet down. We started pulling umbrella rigs after 9 a.m., and limited out. Biggest was 6 pounds. Robert Robinson, of Martinez; his father, Richard, from Grovetown; and Raymond Walker, of Evans, fished downlines first and then switched to umbrella rigs to limit out. Biggest fish was 4 pounds.

Mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in hybrid and striped bass. www.teamsaveonemore.com (706) 373-8347 -- Fishing just does not get any better than what we experienced this week. The key is to start before daybreak and fish until it gets hot. John Claeys and J.P. Claeys, of Evans; Frank Claeys, of Michigan; and Irene Dewierdt and Danny Dewierdt, of Belgium, all caught limits of nice stripers and hybrids by 8:30 a.m. Joseph, Nina and Angela Shaver, of Martinez, also caught their limits by the same hour. William "Hollywood" Cooper, of Augusta, S/Sgt. Dedric Gardner, of Hephzibah, and S/Sgt. Clarence Gilmore also caught quick limits, the latter catching the day's big fish of 10 pounds. Ronnie Reese and Emmalee Reese, of Clarks Hill, Henry Reese and Rhonda Hatcher, both of Belvedere, caught their limits by 8 a.m.

William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 -- Capt. Dave Willard reporting for Capt. Sasser: He called from Myrtle Beach where he was parasailing with his family and in general just enjoying life. Before he left for the beach, he massacred the fish. Here are just a couple of his trips I was able to get over the phone as the wind was blowing in the background. C.J. Moore, 13-year-old Timothy Moore and 12-year-old Travis Johnson, of Aiken, caught a limit of fish on one of the best days they've had on the water. Jimmy and Donna Carter, Clark Carter, Ira and Eric Carter and Justin Pittman, all from the Augusta-Evans area, had a great morning on the lake as they went through a tankful of bait in about 90 minutes and put a limit of nice fish in the cooler. In fact, Capt. Sasser called me on the radio asking to borrow some bait, but I was running low, too. He finished limiting out using cut bait. My VHF radio handle is Crappie Master and I can be reached on the lake on Channel 68. Check out my Web site at www.williamsasser fishing.com.

Capt. Tommy Dudley, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in stripers and hybrids. (706) 833-4807 -- It's been another fast week. You've got to catch 'em fast and furious while you can, because when they quit, they quit. The bigger fish have sort of disappeared. Gary McMahan, his dad and daughters Michelle and Jennifer, fished with me last Sunday. The girls put it on the guys, and the party kept 37 of 42 fish, including some slab hybrids. Richard and Robin Marshall, their son, Jackson, and his granddad, Robert, had a fast and furious morning. We found fish schooling around a rocky bank and put 50 in the boat really fast. Seven-year-old Jackson caught the big fish of 7 or 8 pounds. Chad McFalls, Mike Smith and Shane Fulcher had a great morning with some nice downline fish. We kept our 40-fish limit. John Constantine and Tom Collins had a real fast morning, too, keeping enough of the 30 taken to cook.

My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is www.fishlakethurmond.com.

SAVANNAH RIVER

New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam

Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle), (706) 793-8053 -- They're catching the devil out of mullet. Douglas Stearley, 12, who goes to C.T. Walker Magnet School, caught a 15-pound striper on a Rapala while fishing off the dam. His father had to help bring it up and over the wall. Some nice bream and redbellies are still being caught in the deep holes down river.

MERRY LAND BRICKYARD PONDS

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) -- Chris Kelly leads the big fish contest with a 5.58-pound bass that helped him win last Friday night's bass tournament with 12.07 pounds. The 51/2-pounder also was the big fish. Greg and Mike Leaptrot were second with 7.26 pounds, and Greg Childs and Doug Saxon were third with 4.37 pounds. Twenty-one boats were in the field. J.C. Dicks, fishing by himself, had 11.07 pounds to win last Sunday's tournament, including a 4.89-pound big fish. Seven boats in the field. Our bass tournaments are in progress on Fridays and Sundays. The Friday tournament runs from 6-10 p.m. The Sunday event runs from 6-11 a.m. A fishing license is not required to fish in our ponds.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

BEAUFORT, S.C. & VICINITY

Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, (843) 838-2530 -- Cobia fishing remains red hot, fishing live eels around the Broad River Bridge or in the Cobia Hole and checking out nearshore wrecks and sight-casting for cruising fish. King mackerel are hanging around those wrecks. Redfish and whiting fishing is good, while flounder and trout fishing is fair. Billfish are patrolling the Gulf Stream where trollers are catching wahoo and bull dolphin.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 -- The Savannah Snapper Banks are producing good catches of bottom feeders. Best baits to use include cigar minnows or Spanish sardines.