Don’t Go Fishing ~ Go Catching!
“Mister Bass” Don Poole ~~ Photograph by Robert Sutherland
Do you know why some people catch fish and others don’t?
Of course not. Neither do I. That’s why we never catch any fish.
Georgia’s waters offer anglers some of most diverse fishing opportunities in the southeast with more than 500,000 acres of reservoirs and 12,000 miles of warm water streams.
Now, thanks to the friendly fisheries biologists at Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD), we have a chance to catch fish just like the big kids do.
The WRD has compiled detailed reports on 31 reservoirs and 18 rivers in Georgia. In the blink of a mouse click you can get:
- local weather forecasts
- links to boat ramps
- lake maps and
- species-specific techniques.
Species specific fishing techniques are similar to the secrets all single guys need to know about women:
- blondes drink wine
- girls in college jerseys drink beer
- girls with visible tattoos drink anything
- be nice to daughters of kung-fu masters and
- women with matching handbags, belts and shoes are too expensive and high maintenance.
The 2012 reservoir and river fishing prospect guides were compiled by Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division fisheries biologists and are based on sampling efforts, knowledge of past fishing trends, staff fishing experiences and discussions with anglers and marina owners.
Fishing prospect guides cover these lakes:
- Allatoona
- Andrews
- Bartlett’s Ferry
- Blackshear
- Blue Ridge
- Burton
- Carters
- Chatuge
- Chehaw
- Clarks Hill
- Goat Rock
- Hamburg
- Hartwell
- High Falls
- Jackson
- Juliette
- Lanier
- Nottely
- Oconee
- Oliver
- Rabun
- Randy Poynter
- Richard B. Russell
- Seminole
- Sinclair
- Tobesofkee
- Tugalo
- Varner
- Walter F. George
- Weiss and
- West Point.
Rivers detailed include:
- Altamaha
- Chattahoochee
- Chattooga
- Conasauga
- Coosa
- Coosawattee
- Etowah
- Flint
- Ochlockonee
- Ocmulgee
- Oconee
- Ogeechee
- Oostanaula
- Satilla
- Savannah
- St. Marys
- Suwannee and
- Toccoa.
Anglers must possess a current Georgia fishing license to fish in public waters. Where can you get a license? Buy it online or find a list of retail license vendors at www.georgiawildlife.com/
By purchasing a license as well as fishing equipment and related items, you and your fellow anglers have helped fund sport fish restoration programs for years, thanks to the Sport Fish Restoration Act. This Act allows funds accumulated from a federal excise tax on fishing equipment and related items to be directed to activities that benefit recreational anglers. A portion of these funds is provided to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources based on several factors, including the number of paid sporting licenses. Sport Fish funds make the following activities possible: managing sport fish populations, raising freshwater fish in hatcheries and stocking them in public waters, maintaining and operating public fishing areas and building boats and fishing piers, and much more!