Thurmond Lake fishermen should keep an eye for migrating Monarch butterflies over the next several weeks. What in the world do those insects have to do with fishing?

It's probably just a coincidence, but I've noticed hybrids and stripers start to school on the surface during the same period the butterflies start their long migration to Mexico.

Be that as it may, I had two reports about "acres of schooling hybrids 3 to 5 pounds" surfacing in Little River, Ga., Thursday morning. Friends Ron Brown and William Sasser reported seeing the fish break the surface "as far as the eye could see" from the IBEW cove to Fort Gordon Recreation Area.

"I caught a bunch on the Zoom Super Fluke," Brown said, "before I decided I'd better find some bass."

Sasser said his party caught 10 on just about everything they cast. More schooling activity was seen in Keg Creek opposite Trade Winds Marina.

Neither Brown nor Sasser reported seeing any Monarchs.

Guess where my wife and I will be this morning?

STROM THURMOND LAKE

Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), (706) 595-5582 -- Hybrids are starting to school during the early morning and late afternoon hours in our section of Little River.

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 mid to high 80s, and the lake is still falling. We're in the Dog Days of Summer, and the oxygen levels are at the lowest they'll be all year. The lake has stratified. Despite all these negatives, the one positive is that we're still catching a lot of fish. I am using some live bait, but mostly trolling. I seem to always catch the larger stripers and hybrids trolling this time of the year. Some may think trolling is a desperation move, but it can be very effective and the action can be furious. Most mornings when we start marking fish in the thermocline, we can't get the second rig out before we're hooked up with a nice fish on the first rig. My clients get real excited as the rod bends double and the reels' drags screams. Bucktails seem to produce the most fish and, of course, downriggers are extremely important as they help control your depth. With the lake being low, it's easy to get hung up as the trees are closer than usual to the surface. I use a heavier line on my reels and a lighter line going to the bucktails. We get hung up, we just keep going and pop the line. We've got another six weeks of hot fishing and then look forward to some fall live bait fishing.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide, (706-860-7373) -- My new show features professional guide Billy Murphy and his techniques with Capt. Mack's Umbrella Rig. He's trolling a rig with eight bucktails and one spinnerbait. Billy's buddy, Larry Freeman, was catching two fish at a time on the rig. The first show is this weekend. 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 doubletrouble fishingguides.com) with twins Brad and Jim) -- My grandson, Johnathan, wanted to have a grandson-grandfather fishing trip before he returned to school. Our first two hits came on Capt. Mack's umbrella rigs last Monday, and it was nonstop most of the morning. We practiced catch and release because the 11-year-old likes to watch them swim off. We fished up to 2 p.m., and kept several fish including a 12-pounder, a 19-pounder and a couple of 8s to show to his grandmomma and some of our neighbors. O.G. Penner, of Grovetown, fished with me last Tuesday. I was trolling umbrella rigs, and he trolled lead-core line with two Capt. Mack jigs. We limited out with O.G. catching the two biggest fish of 9 pounds apiece at the same time. We had a time getting those into the net.

Mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in hybrid and striped bass. www.teamsaveonemore.com (706) 373-8347) -- I had another great week of fishing, but had to work a lot harder to find fish. They did not seem to be as grouped up as they should be. However, we seemed to find enough fish for good limits of hybrids and stripers all week. I had the pleasure to take out several groups of fine fishermen. Richard Johnson, Bill Freeman and Brian Strickland competed in a who-could-catch- the-most-fish contest, and I believe it ended about even. Michael Parrish, John Parrish and Ricky Gantt managed to catch some hybrids and stripers after a lot of searching. I took out Joey Hadden, his son, Brent, and Tom Byrd, Tommy Brannen and his sons, Barrett and Chandler, on an evening trip. We started catching some nice fish and managed to get 19 into the boat before the first lightning strike. Safety and life are more important than fishing, so after maybe one second, rods were out of the water, the anchor pulled in and we went back to the dock. The decision was the right one. We loaded the boat, and the storm hit. All our fish came in 40 to 60 feet of water on downlines and blueback herring.

William Sasser, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass. (706) 589-5468 -- Steve and Cal Morris and Mike and Patty Yohe, of Appling, caught 30 hybrids and stripers on a morning trip. Rod Veasey, of Augusta, and Donald Nelson, from Springfield, Ga., caught limits of fish, also on a morning trip. The next morning, Sheri Thoman and her two sons, Tyler and Brayden, with Gaven Hynek McGill and Russell Blackmon, all of Augusta, caught 35 stripers. It was Brayden's ninth birthday. Roger Rautio and his daughter, Stephanie, and son, Chris, all from New Ellenton, S.C., fished with me on the only rainy day I fished this year. They limited out. Randy Colter, of Hephzibah, with Stephen Colter, of Barstow, Calif., limited out pretty quick on Thursday morning. All our fish have come out of 60 feet of water, with the bigger ones coming from 35 feet. 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. williamsasserfishing.com.

Capt. Tommy Dudley, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed professional guide specializing in stripers and hybrids. (706) 833-4807 -- The lower end of the lake is the place to be this time of the year. The quality of the fish is much better down there than in the upper end. Dwayne Whitfield was joined by his 12-year-old grandson, Forrest, of North Augusta. The boy caught on fast and didn't miss many fish. They caught a limit of 5- to 8-pound slab hybrids. My VHF radio handle is Boat Racer and I can be reached on Channel 68. My Web site is www.fishlake thurmond.com.

Albert Moody, Clark Hill Herring Hut, Clarks Hill, S.C. (864) 333-2000 -- Bern DeWitt, of Augusta, caught 25- and 30-pound catfish on cut herring night fishing in the shallows. O.G. Pender, Ted Boileau and Flash Featherston have been catching limits of hybrids and stripers, using a combination of live bait and umbrella rigs. Rodney Silvey, of Edgefield, S.C., just started striper and hybrid fishing. He caught three stripers -- two 8-pounders and a 13-pounder.

SAVANNAH RIVER

New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam Lock and Dam Bait and Tackle (Bob Baurle), (706) 793-8053 -- Kayla Hall and her grandfather, Bill Horton, limited out on bream and redbreasts up the river. They also caught a couple of channel catfish, all on worms and crickets. Lee and Sammy have been catching eels and bream and using them as cut bait to catch nice stripers and catfish off the dam. A 3-pound flounder was caught. Pinfish, normally found in salt water, have been swimming in great numbers around the dam. They're catching them on cut bait and worms. Rarely a year goes by without some flounder being landed. Some of the biggest mullet have been landed over the past week. Lots of bass and bream are being caught beneath the Butler Creek bridge leading into the park.

MERRY LAND

BRICKYARD PONDS

Harrison Sears (706) 722-8263 (www.brickyardponds.com) -- Clayton Hardin and Mike Johnson won Friday's bass tournament with 4.47 pounds, and Mike and Greg Leaptrotte had the big fish with a 1.78-pounder. No Sunday tournament was held. Jeff and Earl Richards caught 19 nice bream in the Pollard Pond on red worms and crickets. William Seago caught 12 bream on red worms in the King Pond. Raymond Collins caught seven catfish in the White Elephant Pond on nightcrawlers.

Our bass tournaments are in progress on Fridays and Sundays. The Friday tournament runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Sunday event runs from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. A fishing license is not required to fish in our ponds.

ATLANTIC OCEAN

BEAUFORT, S.C. & VICINITY

Ralph Goodison, Fripp Island, 1 (843) 838-2530 -- The 18th annual Fripp Island Kingfish Tournament will be held on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Fripp Island Marina. A captain's meeting and Lowcountry cookout will be held Aug. 29, and a representative of each boat entered must attend. Fishing starts Aug. 30 at 6 a.m., and closes at 6 p.m. More information: (843) 838-1517.

Fishing is excellent for redfish and whiting and fair and improving for trout and flounder. A few tarpon have been hooked and landed in the Trenchard's and Fripp inlets and near the shore in the breakers off Pritchard's Island. Good catches of schooling Spanish mackerel and an occasional king are being made near the shore. Large red snapper, grouper and black sea bass fishing is fair. The Gulf Stream is yielding some good catches of wahoo and kings, with bull dolphin and marlin showing. Some anglers are going nightfishing for swordfish.

SAVANNAH

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (www.missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 -- Early morning during the hot weather period is the best time to fish for redfish, so you need to plan to go when the incoming tide stage barely reaches the edge of the marsh while the sun hasn't quite made it up.

Capt. Ray Crawley of our charter service took out a client the other day, but by the time they had reached the redfish area, the tide had already pushed the fish into the marshes. Capt. Ray asked his client: "Do you mind getting your feet wet?" The client responded: "Where do I get out?" Capt. Ray tied the boat bow line around his waist and the two moved carefully within range of the feeding fish. The first cast netted a fine fish and there were other tight lines before the action ceased.