Georgia has seen no cases of a deer infected with CWD. A presentation earlier this month at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology has unnecessarily reignited fear and uncertainty associated with human consumption of CWD-infected venison. Published in the journal, Neurology, the abstract stated, “The patient’s history, including a similar case in his social group, suggests a possible novel animal-to-human transmission of CWD.” While the researchers qualified their statement by citing a lack of evidence of transmission, their presentation has led to news reports with sensatio ..read more

As the author writes and looks out his window, he gazes at the Berrien County woods that surround his home and thanks God for this land, this country where we are free to go out there and chase ample wild game for our own enjoyment. I will be one of the first to admit it; I take hunting for granted. Don’t get me wrong though. I love it and value it. Hunting is a major part of who I am. I grew up doing it, with easy access to wild game. But that might just be part of the reason that I am incapable of appreciating the total blessing that it is. Recently, I was talking to the father of a boy wh ..read more

Madalen Driver with an Allatoona bass. Level: 1.1 feet above 840. Temp: 67 degrees and rising. Expect it to be around 70 by Saturday, April 20. Clarity: Clear. Bass: Tournament angler Matt Driver reports, “This weekend will be a great weekend. The topwater bite is firing up due to the warm week. The shad spawn is in the beginning stages, and the bass are keying on shad. Typically, you will see shad spawning on the surface, especially on rip-rap, boat docks and even on red clay banks. This surface activity should go on for the first hour of the morning. My favorite baits for this bite is a je ..read more

Double spurs on a wild turkey gobbler are extremely rare. Pretty impressive turkey for Grant Tucker’s first tom. As a 19-year-old turkey hunter in just his second season, Grant Tucker was just hoping to finally claim that he had killed his first turkey. Killing a gobbler that was one of the rarest in history wasn’t even in his wildest dreams. “I had been chasing this bird on my father’s blueberry farm for two seasons,” the Valdosta college student said. “I had seen it several times and knew it was a good mature bird. I just couldn’t call it in close enough to ever get a shot. All I knew abou ..read more

The 2024 Lake Hartwell BFL winner winner was Brian Tidwell (left), of Seneca, S.C., and the Strike King co-angler winner was Chris Wilson ,of Easley, S.C. Brian Tidwell, of Seneca, S.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds even Saturday to win the Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Hartwell. Hosted by the City of Lavonia, the tournament was the third event of the season for the BFL Savannah River Division. Tidwell earned $3,684 for his victory. For Tidwell, the winning strategy revolved around the spawn and … the spawn. That’s the bass spawn and the blu ..read more

Mark Smith has been putting folks on fish this week in the Richland Creek area but says white fish are also up the rivers right now. Level: Full pool Temp.: 62-66 degrees. Clarity: Up the river is stained. Down the lake it’s clearing from Highway 44 and south. Linesides: Guide Mark Smith with Reel Time Guide Services reports that the lineside dam run is not really happening this year. It’s actually gotten worse and worse over the last five years. Instead, look for linesides on the south end in Richland Creek between the Ritz-Carlton and Jumping Rock. Best baits have been threadfin shad and s ..read more

  Brentz McGhin, of Blackshear, broke the warmouth and white catfish river records on the St. Marys River recently. The warmouth weighed 1.09 pounds, and the white catfish was 1-lb., 8-oz. Rain was the story mid-week, and all our rivers are likely going to rise into the floodplain again. Satilla River: Because of significant rains and the fast-rising river, the annual Satilla Riverkeeper fishing tournament has been moved to May 3-12. Get the details on the Satilla River Facebook page. St. Marys River: Brentz McGhin set two GON River Records this past Friday and had them certified at the ..read more

The author killed his first wild quail while on a hunt with his father-in-law. I have never read a description that fully conveys the feeling of witnessing a covey rise. How can anyone accurately describe such a scene? You must be present in the moment. It’s a feeling that should be experienced. The tense muscles as you quietly approach the thick cover. The pulse in your finger as it hovers over the safety. Your straining eyes trying to pick out the invisible birds. The quietness…. Then the explosion of wings into a world of chaos. Flapping feathers go every direction. You subconsciously fli ..read more

Jeffrey Forester with the new state record rock bass, a new species now recognized for state record status by Georgia DNR. Exciting news out of northwest Georgia this week with the establishment of a new state-record rock bass. Angler Jeffrey Forester, of Rossville, landed the 1-lb., 0-oz. fish on April 6 on South Chickamauga Creek. This catch will be the first rock bass state record recognized, according to the Georgia DNR’s Wildlife Resources Division. Jeffrey’s rock bass was 10 13/16-inches in length. “Until this catch, I think I have literally caught maybe 600+ rock bass, and only two of ..read more

Michael Barnes with his super rare gobbler in Talbot County. Talbot County’s Michael Barnes was just looking to get his first turkey of the season last Sunday morning. He never dreamed he’d get a turkey that even the experts say the likes they’ve never seen before. “When I shot it and got to it, the first thing that I noticed was that it didn’t have any spurs,” the Woodland resident said. “A few minutes later after looking at him good, I realized that it had solid black wings.” A gobbler with no spurs happens on rare occasions. A gobbler with a solid dark color configuration is also rare. A ..read more