Georgia game and fish [Vol. 4, no. 6 (June 1969)]

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JUN -t J 1969

~GEORGIA
~GAME&FISH

June 1969

Volume IV

Number6

CONTENTS

Ogeechee Mystery Booby Trapped Rivers Ha rtwell is Hot! '(Roll Your Own" Outdoor World Sportsmen Speak Sportsman's Calendar

. Phillips L. Carr 1
. Herb Wyatt 4 .. Marvin Tye 7
. Dea n Wo hlgemut h 10
14 15 17

Save The Alcovy And lake Jackson

Lester G. Maddox Governor
George T. Bagby Director, State Game & Fish Commission

COMMISSIONERS

Ja mes Da rby Chai rma n
Vidal ia-1st Dist ri ct Will iam Z. Camp, Sec. Newna n-6th District
Ric hard Tift Albany-2nd District
Wil lia m E. Sm ith Ameri cus-3rd Dist rict Charles L. Davi dson, Jr. Avondale Esta tes-4th District

Clyde Dixon
Vice Cha irman Cleveland- 9th District
Ra nkin M. Sm ith
Atlan ta-5th District J. B. La ngfo rd
Calhoun-7th District J udge Harley La ngda le Valdosta-8th District
Leonard Bassford Augusta-lOth District

Jimmie Williamson Da rien-Coasta I District

TECHNICAL SERVICES DI VISION Jack A. Crockford, Assistant Director
Leon Kirkla nd, Fisheries Chief Hubert Handy, Game Management Chief Charles M. Frisbe , Supervisor, Marine Fisheries RobertS . Baker, Specia l Services Coordinator
LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION Bill Cline
Deputy State Chief, Atlanta David Gould
Deputy State Chief, Brunswick
GEORGIA GAME & FISH STAFF
Ji m Morrison, Ed itor
Dean Wohlgemuth Staff Writer
Marvin T ye , Staff Write r John Culler, Staff Writer
J. Hall , Staff Writer Ted Borg, Photog rapher

Georgia Game and Fish is the officio/ monthly magazine of the Georg ia Game and Fish Commission, published at the Comm ission' s offices , Tr inityWash ington Building, 270 Washington St., Atlanta, Georgia 30334. No adver tis ing accepted . Subscriptions ore SJ for one y e ar or S2 .50 for three years . Printed by Stein Printing Company , At/onto, Go . Notification of address change mus t incl ude both old and new address and ZIP code , with 30 days notice . No subscription requests will b e accepted without ZIP code . Articles and photographs may be reprinted . Proper credit should be given . Contribu t ions ore welcome , but the editors assume no responsibility or liability for loss or damage of articles, photogra phs, or illustrations . Second.class postage
pa id at At/onto, Go .

Mill Creek in Cherokee County north of Atlanta, channeled by the U. S. Soil Conservation Service in the Little River Watershed Project above Lake Allatoona.
More than 80,000 fishermen and property owners on
the Alcovy and Lake Jackson are mad.
Why?
Plans initiated, designed, and financed by the U. S. Soil
Conservation Service, an agency of the Federal Depart-
ment of Agriculture, are being pushed through Congress
to turn the beautiful Alcovy River above Jackso n into a
muddy drainage ditch.
The inevitable effect of channeling 80 mi les of the
Alcovy River and two of its tributaries with bulldozers
and draglines will be to virtually destroy fishi ng in the Continued on page 15
ON THE CO VER: A scene to d r ive any devoted bass fishern an delirious, thinking about big bass stacked up like underwater cordwood , waitin g to be harvested from hi s favorite fishin' hole. So rry fellows, these beauties are off limits at the Millen National Fish Hatchery of the U. S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. But you ca n see them any day of the week in the magn ificent hatchery aquarium just a few miles north of Millen and Magnolia Springs State Park on U. S. 25. For more on bass that you can catch, see " Hartwel l is Hot! " by Marvin Tye on pa ge seven. Color Photo by Ted Borg. ON THE BACK COVER : The mischievous chipmunk , Georgia's common striped ground squirrel. Except for the ground hog he is the only truly hibernating animal in the state, although bears ta ke short naps in the winter in North Georgia. Chipmunks are prol ific gatherers of all the nuts and fruits eaten by tree squirrels, storing them in the ground or in hollow trees. They rear their young i n the w ound in the spring. Most common in North Georgia, the cute 11ttle fellows frequently make pests of themse lves around houses, di ggi ng up flower beds or stopping up drains with nuts. Chipm un ks are se ldom lon ger than five or six inches, with a tail of about tour inches. Color photo by Leonard Lee Rue, I l l. PHOTO CREDITS: Ted Borg: 1 f . c. , 4, t. & c. 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15; Phill ips L. Carr: 2, 3; Charles Fincher: 7, b. 9; Glenn McBay: t. 14; Jim Morri son: b. 14; Marvi n Tye: 8, a. 9; Herb Wyatt: b . 5.

the current. I yanked the motor alive

and guided the skiff upstream around

another fallen tree to quiet water. Then,

we anchored and I poured the river out

of my shoes.

This happened on the Ogeechee River

in Bulloch Count y, Georgia. Although

it's a favorite fishing place, the Ogee-

chee has a reputation for being danger-

ous. My accident came because I'd

failed to read the water. A young cy-

press had fallen into the current and

was lying beneath the surface, its roots

hidden by brush. T didn't see it and our

propeller hit it. Throwing the motor

left and right threw me off balance. If

I'd scrambled for something to hold

onto, I might have upset the boat. So,

T got out. Mitzi had heard about the

river killing people and thought she'd

lost a husband.

"Take me home!"

"What?" I said. amazed that she

should be so upset.

"I said, 'Take me home,' I don't

want to have anything more to do with

this river. It's creepy and full of snakes.

Look at the big brown one there in the

bush. And all that gray stuff hanging

from the trees makes it spooky."

"But, Mitzi, we've just started. That's

only a harmless water snake, and that

gray stuff is Spanish moss."

"I don't care. You haven't caught

any fish. and I Jon 't think there arc

any fish in this river. just a lot of

snakes."

She was right. I hadn't caught any

fi~h in two or three trips, and the Ogec-

chee looks different from the Pennsyl-

van ia trout st ream s Mitzi's used to. The

bush she pointed to was a wild grape

vine. These and cat-briar tangles arc

favorite places for water snakes. Fan

shaped palmettos grow on the black

mud banks. Bulbous rooted cypress

trees sweep the sky. their branches hung

with Spanish moss. In the swamps

where red oaks and maples grow, you

I

can hear yellow billed cuckoos cluck

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The tall cypress trees draped with ghostly Spanish moss add an air of mystery to the Ogeechee's primitive beauty.

loudly. It looks and sounds like a prchistoric jungle.
I took my wife home. It was sad because fishing is fun and I wanted to ~hare with her the experience of exploring a new river and learning where the fish hid and how to catch them. Her apprehension made it impossible. I'd

have to find somebody to teach me the river and then prove I could catch fish.
During the week that followed I told -.evcral people about falling in the river. " Did you catch anything?" they'd ask. I quit talking about it because admitting that I hadn't was embarrassing. Finally, a ge ntleman offered to teach me. Charles Howard said he'd take me for a couple of hours after work.
We took route 24 from Statesboro towards Oliver. At a dirt cross road about five miles cast of town a matronly Georgia farmhouse plumply spreads its three porches around itself, ~hading its windows. Opposite, on the left of the macadam, a low, yellow brick ranch house stre tch es in th e shade of majestic pine trees. screened by a line of smaller pines along the Oliver road. A little white arrow tacked on a stout, brmvn fence post points left to 1\faccdonia.
To get to the river, you drive through

The slow water in the many sloughs of the Ogeechee are good places to catch jack and the vicious bowfin. The dark coffee colored waters reflect the sky like the surface of a mirror.
2

Macedonia, It's a fork in the dusty road leading to a gleaming white Baptist church, its cemetery and its preacher's house. The left fork is a buff. sandy trail winding through green corn. cotton and tobacco fields, crossing another dirt road and changing to red clay. It plunges through dense, marshy woods of black jack and scrub oak, and spreads out in a clearing as if it were the pale yellow mouth of a sand and clay river spilling downhill to the dark. coffee brown of the Ogeeehcc. This is Williams Landing.
\Ve rented a hoat and Charles started paddling up the river.
"If you fish upstream, it ain't so hard to get home when you're tired." he explained.
He shoved the boat across the thirty yards of river above the landing to the right side. Here, live oaks hung darkly over Jeep holes. The star shaped leaves of sweet gums danced on slender stems above us.
Charles pointed to a whirlpool below a big fallen tree. "The hass lives in places where the current runs backwards." he said. "Try 'cr m there once."
I cast sideways and threw the hlaek plastic worm into a bush.
"That's where the squirrels live. Try again."
I put the next cast into the water, hut nothing happened.
"Nobody home. Let's move up." he said.
We paddled to the opening of a slough. Although the water was moving here, it wasn't as fast as at the log.
"Put it right at the mouth of the slough." Charles pointed with his paddle and I plopped the worm at the hasc of a cypress. It sank and I let it lie while I pulled a loop off of my spinning reel. When I turned the crank. the rod bent double. At first I thought it was a snag, hut the line pulsed and the snag began to swim for the bushes. I kept cranking and brought the fish up to the boat.
" Bring him in. hut don't put your hand in his mouth." warned m y guide. \Vhcn the creature came aboard. he started thrashin g. twisting line and net around my feet.
"That's no hass!" I gasped. "Nope. It's a muJfish." "A what?" "J\Iudfish. You'd call it a howfin or grinneL Kill him. and let's get rid of him."

As I examined the beast, I could feel my neck hair bristle. It had a round. flat head like a catfish. It's jaws were powerful; it had bent the heavy hook out of shape. making it unusable. Rudimentary feelers drooped out of what looked like nostrcls, making it look as if it had a runny nose. It glared with sullen hcligcrcnce. Its boneless fin began about three inches behind the head and merged with the tail, hawing out in a ragged circle. When it moved, it looked as if it were partl y snake and partly fish. It's a hold-over from pre-historic Jays and it looks it. I picked it up with a pair of heavy fish pliers. Charles drew a hig hunting knife and cut its head off. We threw the pieces in the river.
"Look at your worm now," he said. Besides being twisted into a useless wire. the hook was torn completely out of the plastic and the heavy line connecting it to the rear hook was bitten through. I tied on another worm, thoroughly impressed with the power and viciousness of the howfin. \Ve paddled up through a narrow "S" curve where fallen logs forced the river through a tight channel like the nozzle on a garden hose. The water almost foamed. When we got above it, my guide pointed to a Jeep hole under the roots of a red oak. "Try that one." I bounced the worm off of the hank and into the water. The hail closed on the spinning reel and something hit the line hard. I yanked. There was a flash of underbelly and the water surged convulsively. I leaned back on the rod and kept cranking. The rod arched in half

and bounced up and down. Charles' expert boat handling and a lot of luck brought a three pound bass out of the snares and into the boat.
" H e's catin' size. Plop him m the we ll." said my guide.
" I sec, now, where you're supposed to cast," I answered shakily. The fight hadn't been lon g. hut landin g a sizeable hass always lea ves me shaken. "You pick the steep banks and holes. You don't fish in shallow water and around a marsh ."
"Not generally. I might try around the mouth of a slough , like we Jid wi th the muJfish. but there's gotta be a place for the bass to hide. 1\lostly, he likes moving wa ter."
We fi shed until sunset. I lost cou nt of the number of strikes we had and missed, \Vhcn the sun touched the tops of the trees, Charles started the boat down river. I quit fishing and paid attention to our nei ghhors. I looked up and saw a squirrel jerk his hushy gray tail at us as he scolded. A wood thrush started piping back in the swam p. Turtles plopped noi sil y into the water as we slid by their logs. I heard a quail calling to his covey. A blue winged warbler flashed in front of the hoat and. as we rounded a hcnd, two wood ducks splashed aloft and fle w down the glowing blue-green sky.
It was dark when we go t hack to the landing, A barred owl hooted from high in the top of a cypress. We carried home four "catin ' size" bass so Mitzi could cook us supper. We showed her. but she still won't go hack on the river.

The Ogeechee is one of Georgia's finest emaining natural rivers, virtually un'ouched by civilization and industry. Many Jersons feel the river should be preserved n its natural condition as either a state ;cenic river or a national wild river.

fish lines were of cotton and the hooks were of steel that would rust. Those of you who ever set bush hooks or trot lines with cotton lines know that a week in the water made a cotton cord so weak you could easily break it with your hands. But leave a nylon cord in the water six months and it is still about as strong as it was the day you put it in. And you just don't break a piece of nylon cord with your hands. The stainless steel hooks of large size used on a big catfish can hang in the water and air for months and still be there. The steel hooks commonly used a few years ago would almost rust away in a month or two. But now, with the almost indestructible materials, the fish hooks accumulate faster than they rot away.
But why are they left set out? It works like this . Two people go to the river to fish for a day or overnight. They buy a ball of cord and a sack of hooks, and before they get started fishing, they go down the river setting limb lines. For those of you who haven't fished enough to recognize a limb line, it is simply a length of cord. usually between 3 and 6 feet long with a 110 or larger hook tied on and the whole thing tied to a limb hanging over the water. It is usu ally considered better to tie the line to the end of a long, whippy limb. This tires the fish out faster and also is hanlcr for the fish to break off. Or the man, if one should get snagged by it. We left our two fishermen tearing down the river this warm spring afternoon festooning the limbs with lines, hoping to take back a mass of channel cat. As with all fishermen. they are anxious to get to fishing, so they hurry and bait the lines. then light out for a little pole fishing to catch some bream or cast for some bass. Anyhow. like most fishermen, they fish to the last possible moment, then hurry back and run their limb lines. What happen s now is hard to figure, but I guess it is because times are good and hooks and a ball of cord are so cheap, and everybod y's in a hurry to either ( 1) get back to fishing. ( 2) get home before too late or, sometimes ( 3 ) ge t all th ese fi sh back and show th em off, or m aybe even ( 4) to bait up again and catch a croker sack full. For whateve r reaso n. ~o rne people, apparentl y most. fa il to re move their limb lines . .i\la yhc it's jmt too dang late and they' re too tired , a nd " nothing's biting a nyhow. so let's do n't bothe r." I don't know. Hu t I do know the river is then booby-tra pped. Especiall y if the ri ver falls a few feet and the hoo ks tha t we re more or less sa fely unde r a foot or two o f water are now da ngling about chest hi gh to a ma n si tting in a boa t. Or head high to his 8 yea r old sitt ing in th e how. And they arc so metimes hard to sec. Espc-

cially if you are concentrating on laying the plug up along the bank, or if you look off for a moment fo r any reason. I know, I have had shivers while working the rivers, especially at night, and feeling a limb line snaking across my face. Guess I always considered it a remote possibility in the li st of occupational hazards, like being eaten by a gator, but I now believe that for the reasons given above, the limb lines arc becoming more plentiful and more of a menace.
So what can we do about it? The irate river fishermen who started me thinking about it was all for passing a law making it illegal for anybody to leave a limb line out unattended. or perhaps making it illegal to even set limb lines. There might be some merit in such a law. But. as I pointed out to the man, a law is onl y as good as the enforcement that can he exerted, and I know of no way to effectively enforce such a law. How in the world can a wildlife ranger tell if a line is unattended or not, or if it isn't, who put it there. So. you might suggest, make everybody tag his limb line, then we would know who each line belonged to, and he would surely take his lines up then and would

Lim b lines or set hooks can be a threa t to unsuspec ting fishermen and boaters . With the use of modern nylon cord instead of cotton, lines don't ro t away for m onths, even years.
Watch out! If you see a limb line in time, you can usually deflect it with your paddle, like author Herb Wyatt, a veteran fish biologist. Older lines may no t be as visible as this one, especially if the water level drops and leaves the hook only head high.
To o late! If this wasn't a posed scene, Game and Fish photographer Ted Borg could be in need of a tetanus shot and some surgical stitches. /-lis health insurance will cover it, but does yours?

A rusty hook that may eventually be too corroded to puncture your hide?
Modern stainless steel hooks don't rust as fast as the old kind, and this heavy
monofilament cord left on the Ocmulgee River will be around years from now.

be particularly careful not to leave out a line with his name and address attached for the convenience of the wildlife ranger to make a case against him. WelL like the gun law, this would work only for the law abiding. A man who

{


It you use set hooks, or even if you don't, it's a good idea to always cut unused ones
down. If most limb liners did this, their activities would never be outlawed after some
unfortunate "accident."

didn't want to go to the trouble and possible expense of tagging his lines could easily; so very easily, fill the river full of un-tagged lines, and unless he was very careless. it would be only by sheer chance if he were caught.
So what can be done? Nothing very effective, I'm afraid. It's sort of like the Jitterbugging problem. When you come right down to it , it's more or less a personal thing. No law is effectively going to stop people from slinging beer cans all about the landscape, and neither can we keep people from going off and leaving the river boobytrapped with limb lines. About the only thing we can really do is appeal to them to have some regard for other people. It's an interesting example of human nature when you realize that you and I would never throw trash in our own yard, but we will do it on the public right-of-way. And we would think someone was mentally deranged who would set limb lines around his neighborhood where kids and even pets could become impaled on a hook. yet we think nothing of leaving those lines hanging along the river banks.

Maybe this is a tempest in a tea pot , hut J haven't been able to pass it off. The fisherman who came to see me was upset, and he upset me. I believe he was right in his gruesome predictions, and I also believe that something particularly messy will happen before public opinion will force something to be done. And when something is done , it will probably be an over-reaction and result in a law that prohibits limb lines and probably trot lines. At any rate, the way it looks, we will have yet another unnecessary law that wiii have been brought about by the thoughtless actions of a few fishermen who are too tired, too much in a hurry or too unconcerned to clean up their mess.

The concept of rivers being public property and open to outdoor recreation is too valuable to endanger by any infringement of law. Maybe it would not be all that great a loss if we could no longer set catfish lines in the river. but it would be a loss, and it would make the next privilege easier to lose.
I know that on ly one fisherman in I0.000 will ever set a limb line, and it is likely that nobody who has done it lately will even read this, but think about it. It may be that one of your fi shing friends se ts limb lines. and you can bring it to hi s attention that talk is going around to outlaw limb lining, and that he could help by taking hi s up and cutting other abandoned lines off.

It 's no big thing, sure, but then again ,

I can think of better ways to spend an

afternoon on the river than hanging

from a willow limb with a 1/ 0 hook

through the carotid artery.

,_

Hartwell is
HOT!!!
By Marvin Tye
S.C. S.C.

0
LAVONIA

GA.

HARTWELL

0
"Cast toward the bank, let your lure sink, then reel in as fast as you can," Chuck instructed.
This method of fishing seemed better suited to taking bluefish, barracuda, or some other salt-water gamester than largemouth bass, but Chuck was the expert on fishing these waters, so I did as he said. On my second or third cast, a largemouth of about 12 inches grabbed the lure.
I met Charles "Chuck" Fincher about a year earlier when he had come by the Public Information Office of the Game and Fish Commission to ask about hunting regulations and prospects for the I 968-69 season. A few months later he had returned to the office with a big grin and the head of a trophysize whitetail buck which he entered in the Game and Fish Commi~sion's big
Continued on next page
Author brings in two bass in the net during a fast-action moment on the large lake on the Georgia-South Carolina border. Residents of either state can fish the impounded waters of the lake with their resident fishing licenses.

7

deer contest. He also bagged another buck before the season ended.
Chuck, at present a full-time student at Georgia State College, is a skilled deer hunter who has averaged more than one buck for each year he has hunted. In addition, he's really mad about fishing.
Since our f11st meeting, he had been urging me to accompany him on a fishing trip to Lake Hartwell. Until this sunny day a couple of months ago I had been too busy to go. That's one of the disadvantages of working for the Game and Fish Commission. The best hunting and fishing seems to be during the period when we have the most work to do.
Finally, on April 4, we were able to get together. Chuck filled me in on details of fishing the lake as we drove up from Atlanta. Hartwell Dam was completed January 17, 1962. The new structure on the Savannah River formed a large impoundment that covered more than 55,000 acres in Georgia and South Carolina. Branches of the lake extend up the Tugaloo River on the west and the Seneca on the east.
Hartwell was constructed by the Corps of Engineers in conjunction with Clark Hill. located downstream, for the reduction of flood damages. generation of hydro-electric power and for the regulation of river flow for navigation.
The dam is located about 305 miles above the mouth of the Savannah River, 98 miles above Augusta. and 7 miles east of the town of Hartwell. The dam site can be reached by wa y of U. S. Highway 29. Inter~tate Highway 85 crosses the lake near a modern marina. Chuck and I drove up from Atlanta on this highway, a distance of about 98 miles in a little less than two hours.
8

Chuck Fincher uses long-handled net to bring in largest fish of the day. Hartwell bass fishing is now in the hot stage, with many nice catches being reported.

In any new lake, a hot stage occurs sometime during the first ten years. This is caused when organic matter left on the bottom acts as a fertilizer and triggers a rapid growth of smaller species and a corresponding feeding frenzy by the larger predatory fishes. During this period it is not too difficult for the skillful fisherman to haul in a limit catch. H artwe ll is now hot. This is one rea~on why I was eager to sample the fishing.
We launched my aluminum cartop boat about an hour after daybreak. Chuck headed straight for an area that had produced good catches for him many times before. Then he began to demonstrate his somewhat unorthodox style.
Chuck removed his shoes, stood up in the stern and began steering the outboard with his sock-clad feet! He ran the boat parallel to the rocky shore, only a long cast away. I've always been told that it's unsafe to stand up in a moving boat and I've never seen anyone else handle an outboard with his foot. To tell the truth, I halfway expected Chuck to take a nosedive into the water when the first large bass -;truck, but it didn't work out that way .
\Ve cast our lures almost to the hank, allowed them to sink, then began a rapid retrieve as the boat moved parallel to the shore. Perhaps you could call this method a combination of casting and trolling. My doubts about the effectiveness of this method were dis-
The bass lim it for the Georgia portion of Lake Hartwell is 15. Only 10 bass may be
taken in the South Carolina portion or bro ught out on the bank in South Carolina.

pelled rather quickly. I got the first st rike and landed the first bass on my third cast. Chuck landed this fish's twin a few minutes later, and I landed another of about the same size.
"Let's toss these little fellows back and leave room on the stringer for some real bass," Chuck grinned.
"0. K." I replied. I was beginning to share his enthusiasm.
Suddenly I felt a solid strike and I knew I had something larger than the baby bass we had been tangling with. "I've got one too," Chuck yelled. I glanced around at the stern and saw that Chuck was indeed tied into a good bass. He had not fallen into the lake, but seemed to have the situation well under control.
I was too busy with m y own bass to really evaluate Chuck's technique. The fish took line against the drag of my spinning reel as it surged toward the bottom. Steady pressure from my sevenfoot rod soon took its toll and the bass headed my way, resisting every inch of the way. Finally he was at the side of the boat and I scooped him into my long-handled net.
"Net my fish," Chuck yelled. His bass was at the surface, sti ll ~t ruggli ng. The treble hooks on the rear of my plug were firmly embedded in the bass' mouth and those on the front were hopelessly tan gled in the net. Afraid that Chuck's fish would break off unless it was landed quickly, I dipped the net under it, including my bass and lure, and carefully hauled both fish into the boat!
After we untangled the mess. we compared the two fish. They were almost identical in size. mine being only -,lightly larger. The scales showed it to he a little more than 2V2 pounds

We passed over the same area again a few minutes later and had another double hook-up. I brought my bass in first and managed to get fish, lure and all, out of the net this time before landing Chuck's bass. Chuck hooked another bass and I laid my rod aside to man the net. After we got that one in the boat, we were unable to stir up any further action in that particular stretch of water.
"Let's move to another spot ," Chuck said. "I believe we can find some more bass."
"That sounds like a good idea," I said. "We've got a pretty good catch here for just an hour's fi shing, five bass over two pounds each and three too small to keep. I've been on several fi shing trips that didn't produce that well."
"We're not through yet," Chuck said. As if to prove his point , he made a cast near the shore in our new location a nd leaned back hard to set the hooks in the biggest bass of the day. This one was an acrobat. As soon as it felt the strike, th e bass leaped clear of the surfac e, throwing spray in every direction. " He'll go fiv e pounds," Chuck shouted. He was really excited over this one. Again , I wo ndered if he would fall out of the boat as he played the lea ping bass. T o h is credit, he kept his bala nce, and played th e fish skillfull y. The fl ying acrobat spent almost as much time in th e air as in the water.
In the boat, the bass weighed a little less than four pounds. Not as la rge as we thought, but a ni ce catch anyway.
We had to return to Atlanta that aftern oon, so we missed out on the two prime fi shin g times, dawn and du sk. In spite of th at, we couldn't compl ain about our catch. W e kept 10 ni ce bass and a two-pound wal leye, whi ch C huck landed shortly before we quit fi shin g. We threw back at least half-a-dozen h a~s and let one pi ckerel escape at the boat. N either of us wa nted to clean and ca t the little rascal.
T here is no size limit on bass at Hartwell. We could have kept th ose we re leased , but we onl y want ed enou gh for a good fi sh fry. Bass under 12 inc hes are too small to ea t an yway. The Georgi a Game and F ish Co mm ission stocked 25,000 trout in H a rtwell during the past winter. Success of this vent u re has not yet been determi ned. There is a size lim it of 14 inches on trout in the lake.
In addi ti on to bass a nd tro ut, a nglers can catch several other species of fi sh in Hartwell. \Vhite bass and wa lleye have been stocked successfull y in th e lake and produce so me fin e fish ing, primari ly on th ei r spri ng spawning run up the Tuga loo Rive r. To help nature along a bit, thrcadfin shad have hcc n pla nted as a for age fi sh .

South Carol ina has stocked salt-

water striped bass, also known as rock-

fish, a nd the whi te bass-striped bass

h ybr id.

On the G eo rgia side of th e lake,

campers ca n use an y of five ca mpin g

areas and one state park (T ugaloo ) ,

plus motels in th e towns around the

la ke. South Carolina has eight ca mping

areas, one state pa rk, and the usual

motel accomm odations. Two m ari nas

are located on the Georgia sho re, Har-

bor Light Marina near Lavon ia, a nd H i

and Dri Ma rin a near Hartwell .

Under a reciprocal agreement, li-

censes fro m either state a re honored

in the main body of the lake. Lim its for

the pa rt of th e lake in whi ch th e angler

is fi shing correspo nd to li mi ts for the

sta te in whi ch that pa rt is located.

South Caro li na requ ires all anglers

over 12 years old to possess a fi shing

license. South C a roli na's limit is 10

largemouth bass or trout singul arl y o r

in the aggregate, and 30 other ga me fi sh

in Lake Hartwell. No more than two

stri ped bass can be taken fro m th e

Sou th Carolina portion of Hartwell in

any one day, included in th e limit of

I 0 " bass" and trout.

G eorgia regulations permit the tak-

ing of 15 largemouth bass, eight trou t

o f 14 inches or la rger from reservoirs

such as H artwell , five stri ped hass, and

no more th an 50 game fish i"l the ag-

gregate of all species.

Limits of the ind ividual state having

jurisdicti on over a cer tain portion of

the lake must he ad hered to when fish -

ing in th at portion or when docking a

hoat in either state.

Stringers containi ng eight-pound bass

arc not rea ll y unusua l at Ha rtwell , and

Junkers of I0 pounds and larger have

been taken there. T he fishing at lJ art-

well ~hou l d remain hot for a couple of

more seasons at Jc~<;t before leveling

o f f.

I can't wait to try it agam.

...-

The Georgia Game and Fis h Comm ission stocked walleyes in Hartwell several years ago. These tasty gamesters provide fine fishing, especially during the spawning run up the Tuga loo River.
Stringers of fish as good as this or better are often bro ught in at Hartwell. Hot f ishing should continue here for at leas t two more years.

j

A pair of doves headed down the T he acid tes t could come only from tak-

middle of the field and, upon ap pa r- ing game.

ently noting a movement from another

A nd now I had passed the test. My

hunter standing in the open on the batting average continued through the

edge of the field, some 50 yards away, day. and I wound up with exactly six

they swung to their left, straight at me. bi rds for a box of 25 shells.

Just as they came into range, the

As I headed for home, I began to

doves quartered sl ightly, giving me a realize I'd found as much satisfaction

good shot. I trigge red off two quick and pleasure from reloading my own,

shots and the firs t dove fell.

and from having success afield from

Desc ribing the feeling th at came over them, as I did from the actual hunt it-

me is di fficu lt. Perhaps yo u can u nder- self. And I was anxious to get home

stand better if I expl ai n the situ ati on and get to work again with the re-

more full y. It was the fin al da y o f the loader.

firs t half of dove seaso n. I'd been out

Part of the reason for my ambition

onl y once th is year, a nd on th at occa- of the moment stemmed from another

sion had man aged to miss all four shots bo nus afield. During moments when no

I took, all at long r ange.

birds were in sight, I'd noticed a num-

So here , on th e last chance for this ber of di scarded cases left by another

season, l had fin all y scored on doves. hunter.

Needless to say, I enjoy dove huntin g These perfectly good plastic hulls

or I would not have been there. D oves we re excellent for reloading, and would

arc one of m y favorite game bi rds. It suppl y me with a new batch of shells

was, indeed , a sati sfaction to be out in a<> good as factory loads.

the open, gun in my hands, enj oying Of course, unless you shoot quite a

fin e sport.

bit , reloading isn't necessaril y practical.

Moments later the second dove came You'll have to invest so me money in

down . A t thi s point m y score was cer- tools. and stock up on powder, shot of

tai nl y not the grea test in th e worl d, but the va riou s sizes you'll use, primers and
r felt it was fa irly good. I had two wads of various types . This can amount

birds in the bag and had taken eight to q ui te a bit. A good stock o f supplies

shots. At that ra te I'd have six birds m ight run as hi gh as $40, but will load

per box of shells.

several cases of shells. If your only mo-

What added most of all to the pleas- tive for reloading is saving money , it

ure I was experiencing was that the can be worthwhile if you shoot perhaps

shells I was shooti ng had cost me abou t a half case of shells o r m ore per year.

a nickel apiece. or abou t $1.25 per box, Bu t m ore than th at. I think you've

compared to perhaps $2.50 or $3 for gai ned a noth er enj oyable hobby . . .

the normal hox of shells over the one that wi ll save m oney, rather than

counter.

simply cost more.

No, it wasn't the price of the shells

You mi ght as well be fo rewa rned ,

alone, it was the fact that I had re- however, th at by reducin g cos ts of each

loaded the shells myself, adding the shot. you' re going to do quite a hit more

satisfact ion of having made my own. shooting. Increased skill ga ined th rough

These were the first reloads I had more practi ce wi ll ad d more pleasure.

tried for hunting. I got my reloading

Probably the two questi ons that fi rst

press a few months earlier but didn't pop into the mi nd of the average per-

get around to trying it out until hunt- son, when thinki ng of reloadi ng are: Is

ing season was almost upon 1ne. Then, it safe? Is it difficult to reload?

realizing the short ness of time, I got

If you can read and follow directi ons

husy!

with reasonable care, you' ll find there

With a schedule that permitted no is no danger in re loading. Powder and

hunting time right away, I took my ca ps should be stored out of reach of

first reloads out into the woods for a ch ildren in a dry, cool place. And of

little test and practice on clay targets course, such things shouldn't he boun ced

thrown by hand. I just wanted the con- aro und or dropped. Smokeless powder

fidence of knowing for sure that my wi ll ignite easily if exposed to flame or

own self-made shells were potent. After srark, but un less it is confined un der

filling the air with bits of clay birds. pressure, it wi ll only burn and not ex-

my confidence was reasonably suffi- plode. If you pour a small amount on

cient.

cement or similar safe hase and touch

Yet. even being aware that accord-

ing to the hooks , the experiences of Right: Use a tunnel to assure the

others and the person:1 l experience of powder and sho t aren't spilled when

"hooting clay targets was not eno ugh . poured into the tubes.

---=
Before starting to reload, make sure everything you'll need is close at hand . .. powder, shot, primers, wads , a reloading data book and of course, a reloading press or tool.

c. -a.ik. ." ' ' , -\.\

~~ j(ii

\."

'\(. V"<

-.'-~-~.!.u,., n. /.O

-~"' ::;5~
The first step is to select the proper load for the shoo ting you want to do. The basis of selection is the empty hull to be reloaded. Choose a powder tailored to the desired load, then find in the data book the proper bushing to throw the correct load of powder and shot. Also, be sure to use the recommended wad to assure the right wad column length. DO NOT EXCEED RECOMMENDED POWDER OR SHOT CHARGES. Reloading is not dangerous if directions are followed carefully.

The bushings are put into place in the

charge bar of the reloading press. Make

sure the shot bushing is under the sho t

.... .. holding tube, and the powder bushing is

in its proper place under the powder

reservoir. Reversing these two would

be dangerous.

~ ~~

~~ ~~

>


.,



.


..--~.........




Photos by Ted Borg

a match to it, it will simply burn. Just be certain that when loading
shells, you do not inadvertently put a double charge in any shell, or do not exceed recommendations of a reputable loading chart. Many such charts are available from various manufacturers of loading equipment and components.
Difficult? Well, that's a doublebarrelled question to my way of thinking. The actual mechanics of loading the shell are quite simple and any child can do it. The difficulty, if any. is in getting all the necessary proper components together for the load you choose to make.
For example, hulls made by various ammunition makers have different interior lengths. Also, different amounts and types of powders and shot vary the length of the wad column you'll use. The wad column must be the correct height in order to get a proper crimp. Crimps must be good enough to keep shot from spilling out of shells, and also to provide the necessary confinement for the powder to explode properly.
Most reloading presses are tools that are ba<;ically the same. Since I am familiar with my own Texan DP I. I'll use it for an example. It is equipped with plastic hoppers for both shot and powder. A charge bar underneath the hoppers is fitted for changeable bushings to whatever amount of shot or powder you wish.
On the first step on the Texan, you place the fired shell on the decapping station. A pull of the lever presses out the spent primer and size<; the empty <;hell. At the next station, a new primer is placed in the priming seat with the shell over it, and another pull of the lever <;eats the new primer in the pocket.
The next step is to move the case to the third <;tation, where three operations are performed. The first is to lower the lever so the shaft, through which shot and powder flows. enters the mouth of the ca<;e. Slide the charge bar so that the powder is dropped into th e ca-;e. Next, insert the wad into the wad <; tarter and press it into the shell hy lowering the lever all the way. Proper sea ting pressure of the wad is adjustable. The chart yo u're ming will tell you what pressure to use.
While holding the lever down after ~eating the wad, sl ide the charge bar the opposite direction. This drops the -,hot.
Now yo~1're ready to crimp the shell. 1\love the shell to the fourth station (number of stations may vary on diffl'I ent prc<><>es). This is the crimp starter \tation. Pull the lever down all the way and the mouth of the ca-;c will be

creased to properly form the crimp. Most reloaders have interch angeable crimp starters for both six-point and eight-point star (folded or "pie") crimps. The final station simply completes the crimp.
If you did everything right , you've loaded your first shell! From th is poi nt , it's a simple matter to repeat the process over and over unti l you've loaded as many shells as you'll need . I've loaded as many as six boxes of shell s in a short evening, making no effort to hurry. I see no need to go faster, but progrcs<;ive type reloaders, costing much more, will load much faster. This type reloader is primarily for use by gun clubs or groups that use large amounts of ammunition.
The initial cost of reloading equipment may seem high to some. Presses similar to the one described in the reloading process vary in price fro m about $40 on up to $1 00 or more, or for the mass-producing progressive rcloaders up to more than $200. A $40 or $50 reloader is ample. While this seems like quite an outlay, it can pay for itself in a season or two, depending on how much you use it. And from there on, your shooting costs take a dramatic drop of 60% or more. Further. you'll always be able to have plenty of the ammunition you need for any type of shooting.
The initial outlay must also include the necessary components. For the average Georgia hunter, I wou ld guess it would be most desirable to accumulate components for dove or quail loads first. and progress from there as needed. A good all-around load for most small game hunting, including doves, quail. and even squirrels and rabbits, would be a light or medium field load of either 3 or 31,4 drams equivalent of powder and I Vs ounce of No. 8 shot.
For loading <;uch shells, you can buy a 25-pound bag of No. 8 shot and, accordi ng to how much you'll likely load. either a half pound tin or a keg of 3 to 5 pounds of powder. A half pound of powder will load from five to six boxes of shells. If you shoot much, and you probably do or you wou ldn't be interested in reloading in the fir<;t place, it's more economical to buy at least a 3-pound keg. A variety of three or four different powder bushings for your reloader are almost a necessity, to allow you to vary the amount of powder you use, and for using different types of powder.
Bushings for the Texan, and most other reloaders, run about $1 each. Also. two or three different shot bushings, at about the same price, should he added to allow you to load differ-

The first step in actually reloading is to put the empty hull in the first station, which presses out the spent primer and resizes the hull so that it will fit into the shotgun's firing chamber properly.
The new primer is placed into the seating die on the second station, the hull is placed on top of the primer, then pressed onto it to seat the new cap into the pocket.
The third station performs several functions. First, depress the lever to insert the loading tube into the hull. Slide the charge bar to drop the powder charge. Bring the lever up, insert the wad column, and press firmly to get the proper pressure on the wad (refer to reloading manual for correct pressure.)

cnt amounts of shot. For light or medium loads, your
choice of powders might well be either Alcan 120, Red Dot or Green Dot. There are many different types of shotgun powders available, but these are among the more popular. Alcan 120 is excellent for skeet, trap and field loads. The Red Dot and Green Dot powders arc also very fine for light to medium loads. These are fast burning powders. which are desirable for light and medium loads. For heavy loads, using a slower burning powder, such as Alcan 5 or Alcan 7, is necessary.
The standard for loading shells actually is an old-fashioned method, but still seems to be the most accurate way of gauging the power of a shell. Powder is measured in "drams equivalent." That is. in the old days of black powder, a shell might have three drams of black powder in it. Modern smokeless powders are much more powerful. thus a smaller amount than three drams is used, but the amount will produce an equal amount of power as will three drams of black powder.
For example, in a paper hull using fiber wads, 23 grains of AL-120 would produce three drams equivalent, or the same amount of power as three drams of black powder. However, other modern advances in shell design have made other changes necessary in loads.
Because of the stronger, tighter case, a plastic shell will not require as much powder. Usually, there should be a 10 per cent decrease of powder for a plastic shell. In the case of AL-120, therefore , you would subtract 2.3 grains of powder, leaving the charge required for that powder at 20.7 grains. Further, new plastic wads seal the gases much more tightly than do the fiber wads creating still greater pressures. Thus another decrease in powder is necessary. The only safe thing to do is to get a reputable reloading guide and carefully follow the charts. There arc even different requirements of powder from one brand of hull to another as well as from one brand of wad to another. A good handbook will give many variations of combinations of how much powder and what type wad to usc with the different brands of cases for your chosen load.
The simplest thing to do, of course, is to limit yourself to using just une brand of hull as much as possible . O f course, thi s means savi ng old hulls fro m shells you bought yourself, pi cking up empti es on a skeet range or you can buy new empt y shells fro m Alcan. Both plasti c and paper shells a rc availab le in new form from Alcan. It's cheaper to buy new empti es th an buying

factory shells just to shoot them and

get empties.

The plastic hulls are quite popular

with rcloaders. They can be very hand-

il y reloaded in a good press. And the y

can be reloaded safely several more

times than a paper hull. I find, how-

ever, that paper hulls are somewhat

easier to reload, so don't throw away

any good paper hulls you have. Some

brands of plastics arc more difficult to

load than others. The only problem

with them is in getting a good crimp.

Getting the wad column the correct

height is important in getting a good

crimp.

Whatever type hull you use , after it

has been fired, check it over carefully

for defects before reloading it again.

I have found that it pays to tread

carefully with hulls picked up from a

trap or skeet range or that have been

fired from a different gun from which

you'll be shooting your reloads in.

Under the extreme pressures of ex-

plosion, a shell expands to perfectly fit

the chamber of your gun. This is called

"fire forming." If another gun's cham-

ber is slightly larger than your own,

a shell may tend to fit too tightly in

your gun. This sometimes is corrected

sufficiently with a resizing device, but

I doubt if it's worth the trouble. You're

more likely to have trouble in an auto-

matic or pump than in a double or

single barrel, but don't think you can't

shoot reloads in your auto. You can.

I do.

No matter what type gun you use,

what game you shoot or where you use

that scattergun, be it afield or on the

target range, you'll get more pleasure

and satisfaction from your fowling

piece if you roll your own!

~

Wit h the lever still depressed from sea ting the wad, slide th e charge bar the opposite direction to drop the sho t charge.
Th e crimp start er station com es nex t. Another press of the lever starts the told at the m outh of the hull tor the star (pie) crimp. Two dies are av3ilable, one for six-poin t and the other for 8-point crimps. Use the one that originally was used on the spent shell, for perfect crimps .

Righ . How's this for clinchers? Looks good enough to pass for a factory job. And it will do the job just as well if you were careful in every phase ot the project. What's more, this load costs only about half of what it would across the coun ter. A word to the wise-you still may spend as much on ammuniticn, but you'll shoot a lot more tor the same amount, and get doubiP. the pleasure from shooting your own!

Slide the shell from the crimp starter position to the final post. Press the lever down. and Presto! A perfect crimp and a tine load, tailored especially tor the kind of shooting you want to do.

the
outdoor world

Record Catfish Caught in Satilla

The new State record channel catfish
ca ught by St. Simons Island druggist W. H.
Backus, held by son-in-law Willie Caldwell.

A sixty-year-old St. Simons fis herman has not only taken the lead in the channel catfish division of the Georgia Game and Fish Magazine's fishing contest, but has established a Georgia record for th e species.
\V. H. Backus, a St. Simons druggist fishing on hi s afternoon off. landed a 34-pounJ, two-ounce channel cat March 19 in the Sat illa River in Camden Cou nt y.
T he world's record for channel catfi<>h is 57-pounds, but until now, Georgia did not have an official state record.
Fishing with his so n-in-law when he hooked the record fish, Backus gave thi s account of th e action:
"\Ve had been fishing for rockfish with live shrimp for about two hours, hut hadn't had much luck. We had just sta rted fishing in a little slough when I -;aw my cork go down. When I st ruck , the big cat jumped out of the water just like a bass, and I saw what I had hooked. We got the boat hack out into the river, and let him pull us around until he tired. Our net wasn't big enough
to land him so we beached him on a -;and bar.
"When I got him on the beach, I saw
the hook was just holding him in the corner of his mouth. He flipped over,
the hook came out and he got hack into

the water, but my son-in-law managed to get the net around him in the shallow water. To show how lucky we were, when we started to pick him up, the bottom of the net busted out but he fell into the boat."
Backus said he realized he had an awfull y big catfish, but he never thought it would be a Georgia record. " I started to cut him up, but a friend persuaded me to enter him in the Game and Fish :\l agaz inc's contest," he said.
Weighed and measured by the Game and Fish Commission's Coastal Fishcries Supervisor, Glenn McBay, the fish was 3 7Yz inches long and 2~ inches around the girth.
Backus was fishing with a fortypound-test line and eight-pound leader.
A big booster of the Satilla River, Backus sai d he has been fi shing in the river 20 years, "and when it's not too high it's the best fishing river I have ever seen. I can't understand why more fishermen Jon 't discover the Satilla."
Backus said he fished in the river "every Wednesday afternoon last summer, and caught my limit of bass or bream almost every time."
The Satilla hegins near Fitzgerald and flows just north of \Vaycross, then turns south and follows a winding path until it runs into the sea about 30 miles below Brunswick.-John Culler ~

WOOD DUCK NESTING BOXES
The Georgia Outdoor Sporhmen's Club of Cobb County has constructed 3H wood duck nest in g boxes for erection on area swamps in cooperation wit h the program hcing sponsored by the State Ciamc and Fish Commission, U.S. F ish and Wildlife Service. and Agric ultural Cooperative Extension Service. Showing the boxes from right to left arc 196~ president Hampton Logan and Ed Clauser, chairman of the wood duck conservation project and new president of the club.

14

Save The Alcovy And lake Jackson Continued from inside front cover

river itself, while permitting the destruc -

tion of 4,000 acres of prime wetland

wildlife habitat which cannot be eco-

nomically drained without the four mil-

lion dollars of federal fund s earmarked

for channelization.

Even more disturbing arc the fears of

fish biologists of the State Game and

Fish Commission that silt a tion from the

project, especially during the seven-year

construction period , will possibly ad-

versely affect fishing, sw imming, boat-

ing. and esthetic values of Lake Jackson .

Their eoneern is heightened by the

faet that the two other major tributaries

of Jackson arc already heavily polluted.

The South River is the sewer for half of

the municipal ami industrial wastes

from Atlanta and DcKalb County, while

the Y ell ow River suffers heavil y from

siltation caused by agriculture and past

strip minin g. Onl y the normally elear

year-round waters of the Aleovy help.

rather than hinder, the water quality of

Lake Jackson.

The practically unpolluted waters of

the Alcovy mate riall y increase the fer-

tility of Lake Jackson, boosting its pro-

duction of fish and providing the best

bass fishing of the spring and early sum-

mer in the lake. Muddy wa ter wi ll lower

the amount o f food for fish. and make

bass fishing more difficult.

Biologists sa ys that wi th clea r water,

Lake Jackson is more fertile than any

other h ydroclcetric power rc"iervoir in

Georgia. More than 300.000 crappie

were caught in the lake in a three-month

period alone in 1966. 1\lany of them

we ighed a h alf a pound or better. with

two and even th ree pound c rappie not

unusual. Fishermen spend more than

half a million dollars annuall y to fish

in Jackson.

-

While the c rappie i"i mo re tolera nt of

mudd y water than ha-;s, the sm all

thrcadfin shad that he feeds o n is no t.

Originally stocked in Jackson five years

ago by the State Game and Fish Com mi ssion, th e threadfin feeds exelusivcly on plankton, the tiny one celled plants a nd animals that give Lake Jackson it s rieh green color of a we ll fertilized farm pond in the summer. But with muddy water, the plankton arc blocked off from the sunlight, preventing the rich green plankton population explosion known as th e "bloom." The remlting declin e in th e food suppl y for fish is reflected in the threadfin shad, a nd in th e crappie a nd bass whic h cat them year round.
How much wi ll it eost to ruin the A lcovy and allow drainage of its swa mps? The work plan for the two projects in volv ed prepared by the Soil Conservat ion Service indicates that channelization of 80.8 mil es of the Alcovy. Flat Creek. and Cornish Creek w ill allow th e drainage of 4.326 acres o f swampl a nd a t a eo~ t of $3.494,43::?. in federa l tax money for construction and e ngi neering costs. Simple division indicates th at it wi ll cost the U . S. Taxpayer $807.77 per acre to m ake dra in age of privatel y owned swamplands possible. In man y cases, the land owner will still have to spend approximat ely $300 to $400 per acre of his own mone y or obt a in up to 50 pe r ecnt cost a id from another gove rnm e nt agency. the Ag ricultural St a bili za ti o l' a nd Co n"crvation Se rvic e, to b uild ad dit ional dit ches and draim to th e main ditch built by th e So il Co ns erva tio n Service.
Thus. the to tal investment per acre to drain th e -;wa mps p robably will cmt more than $ 1. I 00 or $ 1,::?.00 per acre o n land wh ic h accord ing to the SCS i-; worth an average of $300 per acre now. and whi c h w ill he wor th on ly $350 per aerc fo r ag ric ul ture a ft er drainage.
\Vhat recourse doc-; the taxpayer have to p reven t th e creation of "uch an c\ csorc boondoggle? The onlv perso n-; who ca n h a lt the approval of

funds for the project until the objec-

tion s again st it arc removed arc Geor-

gia's two U . S. Senators, Richard Ru s-

sell and H erman Talmadge, and its ten

U. S. Congressmen.

Most of th e Aleovy and Cornish

Creek-Flat Creek Watersheds arc in the

1Oth District of Congressman Robert

Stephens of Athens. although a small

portion, Gwinnctt County, is in the 9th

District of Congressman Phil Landrum

of Jasper. Most of Lake Jackson is in

the 6th District of Con gressman Jack

F lynt of Griffin. Thousand s of fi sher-

men and propert y ov. ncrs on the La ke

live in the 5th District o f C o ngressm a n

Fletcher Thompson of East Point and

the 4 th Di strict of Con gress m an Ben

Blackburn of Atlanta.

A ll twelve ca n be reached thro ugh

telegram s or letters to \Vas hin gto n.

D. C., add ressed to either the Sena te

Offi ce Building or th e H o m e Office

Buildin g. If an y o f Geo rg ia's twe lve congrc-;s-

mcn as ks for postponement of a pp rova l

o f fund s for the A lcovy and Cornish

Creek-Flat Creek Pr ojects, th e U. S.

Soi l Co nservation Service will he force d

to redesign their plans to protect the

Alcovy and l .ake Jac kson hy eli m inating

channelization between the upstream

dams and Lake Jackson.

The State (;arne and Fish Cnm m is-

"ion has not objected to the 15 dam<;

to he bui lt in the two p rojcch, or to

que ... tionahle cha n ne ls up... trcam from them. On!~ the channels without a dam

lo settle ... ilt ou t before it reaches Lake

lachon arc a m a tter of major di<;agrcc-

ment.

But unlcs'i there is groundswcll of

public opinion againq the unwarranted

channel" and drainage. the agricultural

engineers of the f-ederal Soil Conserva-

tion Service will prove again that tcch -

nolo~y ha-; ouhtrippcd common scmc.

L\1.

~

15

Sportsmen~
Speak... ~At

OGEECHEE EVIDENCE
Here are a couple of snapshots of some of our Bulloch County fishermen with a sample of the type fish to be found in th e Ogeechee River. Mr. Wallace Brown, of th e Clito Community, is shown with a twentypound channel catfish and a 51/2-pound striped bass, or roc kfish as th ey are called here.
Mr. Hubert Lee is shown with a 24-pound roc kfish t hat he caught a wee k after Mr. Brown cau ght his and in th e same area of th e river. All were ca ught on setlin es using live bait.
This is good eviden ce that we hc.ve in the Ogeech ee River a source of recrea ti on that cann ot be measured in dollars and cents. So we sh all make every effo rt t o keep it free of pollution and unspoi led by so-called progress. To pollute and spoi l a stream as beautiful and produ cti ve as th e Ogeec hee River, wou ld certa in ly be regression. By working with t he Georgia Game an d Fi sh Commission, the Georgia Wate r Quality Control Board, and wit h the cooperation of yo ur fine magazin e, Georgia Ga me and Fish , we hope to keep th is last unpo lluted rive r in Georgia as close to it s na t ural sta t e and productiv ity as possible.
Keep up t ne good wor k th at you are doing with your magazi ne. I enjoy it very much.
Billy Tyson, Presi dent Bulloch County Wild life Club Statesboro, Georgia

IT'S NOT TOO LATE
I have just completed reading and admiring, for the third time, Jim Morrison's Editorial, "Laugh (Before it's too late)." Without a doubt, it is one of the most thought provoking editorials I have ever read. It expresses my sentiments to a "tee". I only wish the material could be reproduced in every publication ac ross th e country, thereby reviving public interest to the fact that the days of our wilderness are sadly numbered. Our only recourse is to stop the wanton and ignorant destruction of our national resources by unconcerned agencies, industries, and individuals.
You are to be congratulated on an excellent magazine. It is quite informative and very enjoyab le. Keep up the good work.
Rufus L. Brown Gainesville, Georgia
FOX HUNTER'S REBUTTAL
After reading the letter written by J. W. Todd of Toccoa, Ga., in the April issue of Georgia Game and Fish, I thought it was tim e someone came to the defense of th e fo x hunters. I do hope you will print this sin ce I fee l that there are a lot of oth er peo ple like Mr. Todd, who doesn't know what a fox hunter or fo x hound really is.
First of all, a true fox hunter is a protector of all game, not just fox alone. He believes in the balance of nature in wild life. If left alone by man there wou ld be plenty of wild life for all hunters. The fox hunter very seldom carries a gun with him wh en he goes hunting, for he is not interested in killin g any game, but just enjoy ing li st ening to his hounds chase a fox. He spend s endless hours training and se lectin g th e breed of his choice. Not any hunter t akes more pride in having a dog th at is dee r-proof than a fox hunter. It is true a lot of people use dogs of the fox hun t ing breed to ch ase deer, but these peop le are not fox hunters. They are just like th e hunters who use the rabbit beagle to chase dee r with. You can not classify t hese peop le as rabbit hunters.
A dog that chases dee r isn't kept very long by a fo x hunter. Th ey can ruin a good nigh t' s hu nt as well as lose your dogs. A hou nd th at ca nnot be broken off dee r is q uickly eliminated from th e packs, always at a reduced price, or just given away. A

good hound will bring much more than a deer dog. A fox hound is harder to train and must be of a breed that is bred to take an all night's chase, while any dog from a beagle to a collie with a little encouragement will run a deer.
The fox hunter carries more than his share of the load of financing the Game and Fish Commission. He is required to buy a hunting license, yet the fox is not protected from trappers or anyone who wishes to destroy them in any way. Also the fox hunters have to do their own restocking with no aid from the State Fish and Game Commission.
I don't think the fox hound is destroying game such as Mr. Todd has stated. I have been hunting for approximately 20 years and have trained many a fox hound and have yet to see a fox hound come close to catching a deer or destroying a bird's nest or catch a quail.
Sincerely yours, E. C. Ellington Ellijay, Georgia
Fox hunters can hardly be described as paying more than their share of financing the State Game and Fish Commission, since a 1966-67 survey showed that Georgia only had approximately 11 ,DOD fox hunters that year, compared to more than 300,000 hunters of all species. Indications are that the number of fox hunters is steadily declining. Fox hunters ought to be grateful for the special perogatives they enjoy now in being allowed to hunt foxes year 'round throughout the entire state. In addition, non-resident fox hunters are not required to purchase a license to participate in field trials in Georgia. As for protecting foxes, most people would scoff at the need for protecting a predator of poultry and game birds and animals that has managed to survive in ample numbers without any protection or legitimate restocking efforts. Fox hunters themselves have always resisted any suggestions of having a closed spring season on fox hunting to protect young foxes or pregnant does and small fawns, although this would be a logical step if fox hunters really wanted to increase the number of foxes. As for restocking foxes, this practice is illegal, and is roundly condemned by officials of the State Health Department, who point out that it is the best way of spreading rabies throughout Georgia, with the distinct possibility of beginning a new rabies epidemic similar to the one just after World War II when 600 persons in Georgia were treated with painful anti-rabies vaccine in a single year after being bitten by suspected mad dogs who contacted the disease, primarily from rabid foxes. There is presently an active rabies epidemic in foxes in Tennessee. In addition, game biologists have proven that hunting pressure, cover, and food supply are the answer to high fox populations, not restocking in unsuitable areas with too many fox hunters.
IRRITATED
In reading your Apri l issue of Game and Fish, I became a little irritated at the content of Mr. Todd's letter entitled, "Dogs and Deer." I do not speak directly at Mr. Todd alone, for his vi ews are held by many; however this does not justify some of his misconceptions and id eas about the use of hunting dogs and th eir control.
First, Mr. Todd states that fox hunters ca rry packs numbering from 15 to 20 dogs to th e woods and leave them to kill at will. Th e number of dogs per pack in my area se ldom excee ds eight dogs, exc ept during hunting contests; also, I know of no hunters wh o leave th eir dogs to kill any game as Mr. Todd ref ers, but spend most of the night and following day collecting their dogs.

I'm sure that hunters have little objections to the use of collars and rabi es tags to insure their dogs' sa f ety; however, the expense of controlling wild and homeless dogs should not be placed on these hunters, but on everyone.
I feel Mr. Todd's knowledge is somewhat limited if he thinks fox hunters tra in dogs to be deer dogs. Th ere are people who do train dogs to be deer dogs, but I find it appalling to refer to th em as fox hunters.
I agree th at there is much to be done in controlling the threat of Georgia's deer by dogs, primarily wild dogs, but I feel that letters of Mr. Todd's type tend to alienate many people toward any dog control measure.
I f ee l that only by th e sportsmen's working together can anything constructive be accomplished in their area.
Danny Pate Whitesburg, Georgia
The 1969 session of the General Assembly adopted two new dog control laws signed by Governor Lester Maddox which will require all dog owners to have their dogs innoculated for rabies annually after July 1, 1970, displaying the numbered tag on a collar or harness. Counties will be authorized to charge a 50 cent license fee per dog, and required to operate a dog pound and have a county dog warden.
DEDICATION I was recently introduced to your magazine by a local sportsman. I think it is one of the finest sports magazines I have ever read. It is refreshing to know that Georgia has such a dedicated Game and Fish Commission. It would be an honor to be a subscriber to the Game and Fish Magazine.
Frank W. Cran e, Jr. Columbus, Georgia

Sportsman's Calendar

SEASONS OPEN THIS MONTH

FISIIING SEASON

All streams, lakes, and ponds of Georgia a re open to fi shing throu ghout the entire yea r with the exception of the mountain trout wa ters of North G eorgia . See trout regulation s for details . Sunda y fishin g Js allowed.

DAILY CREEL LIMITS

Bream (Bluegill , Red Breas t,

a nd oth er species of Brea m)

50

C rappie, Yellow Perch

50

White Bass

30

La rgemouth Bl ac k Bass, Sm allmouth

Bass. Red eye Bass, a nd Spotted

Bass or Kentucky Bass

15

Striped Bass or Rock Fish

5

C hain Pickerel or J ack

15

Brook or Speckled Trout, Rainbow

Trout and Brown Trout

8

White Shad. Hickory Shad

8

Sauger. Walleye

8

I\lu skelung e

2

C ha nnel Ca tfi sh

No Limit

There is a creel limit o f five la rgemo uth

bass in La ke Russell, a nd the M cDuffie

Publi c Fishin g Area. There is a creel limit

of 25 sunfi sh o f all spec ies a nd five la rge-

mouth bass o n L ake Worth. Th ere is a

creel limit of five la rgemouth bass, five

chain pickerel. and 25 sunfi sh (including

bl uegi ll , wa rmouth, redbreast, stumpknocker, and round flier) on the Suwannee Ri ver. Channel catfish may not be ta ken o n th e Su wa nn ee River.
POSSESSION LIMITS
No person m ay possess at a ny time more th a n 50 fi sh in the aggregate or total of a ll the spec ies na med exce pt ch annel catfish a nd no mo re th an 15 large or smallmouth bass. 30 white bass, or 8 trout of a ny o r a ll species in th e aggrega te or to ta l possess io n.
SIZE LIMITS
T here a re no mmunum or m axi m um size limit s o n ga me fi sh in Georgia, w ith the excepti o ns no ted in th e t rout regul ati o ns a nd in the fo llowin g areas wh ich a ll have a ten-inch size limi t o n large m outh bass: La kes Bl ac kshear, J ac kson, an d Russe ll ; M c Duffi e Publi c F ishing Area; Wil li a m s Publ ic F ishin g Area a nd m the sta te park lak es: Indi a n Springs, H a rd Labo r C reek, F ra nklin D. Roosevelt, Fo rt Mo un ta in . La ura S. W a lk er. A. H . Steve ns, M agno li a Springs, Gordon ia Alta m ah a, Fort Ya rgo a nd Hi gh Fa ll s State Pa rk . Th ere is a size limit o f 12 in ches o n la rgem o uth bass o n La ke Tobeso fk ee, Suwann ee Ri ve r , a nd La ke W orth . T he Suwa nn ee R ive r h as a size limit o f 16 inches o n chai n pi ckerel or jack . The use of bas kets, set hooks, trot lin es. nets. and a ll o th er types of com m erc ial fishing gea r a re p ro hi bited in a ll Sta te P a rk La kes.
Fo r furth er in for m a tio n o n state pa rk s and their facilities. contac t the State Parks D epa rtm ent, 7 Hunter Street, A tl a nta , Geo rgia 30334. Fo r inform a tion o n Lake Ru ssell and o th er C ha ttahoochee Na tional Fo rest rec reati on areas. con tac t the U . S. F orest Se rvice, Peachtree-7 th Build in g, Atl a nta , Georgia 30323 .

JUNE, 1969

TIDE TABLE

JULY, 1969

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

1. Sun. 8:12 6.9 8:48 8.5 2:30 2:30

2. Mon. 9:06 6.8 9:42 8.2 3:24 3:24

3. Tu es. 10 :06 6.7 10:42 7.9 4:18 4:18

4. Wed. 11 :06 6.5 11 :42 7.5 5:12 5:18

5. Thurs.

12: 06 6.5 6:06 6:18

6. Fri. 12:42 7.1 1:12 6.5 7:06 7:24

7. Sat. 1:42 6.7 2:12 6.7 8:06 8:36

8. Sun. 2:42 6.5 3:18 6.8 9:00 9:36

9. Mon. 3:42 6.2 4:12 7.0 9:54 10 :30

10 . Tues. 4: 36 6.1 5:06 7. 2 10:42 11:18

11. Wed. 5:30 6.0 5:54 7.4 11 :24

12. Thurs . 6:18 6.0 6:36 7.5 12:06 12:06

13. Fr i. 6:54 6.0 7 :12 7.6 12:54 12 :54

14. Sat. 7:36 5.9 7:48 7. 5 1:36 1:36

15. Sun. 8:06 5. 8 8:24 7.4 2:18 2:12

16. Mo n. 8:42 5.7 9:00 7.3 3:00 2:54

17. Tues. 9:18 5.6 9:36 7.1 3:36 3:3 6

18. Wed. 10 :00 5.6 10:12 6.9 4:12 4:12

19. Thurs. 10: 36 5.6 10:54 6.7 4: 48 4:54

20. Fr i. 11 :24 5.7 11 :36 6.5 5:30 4:42

21. Sat.

12:06 5.9 6: 12 6:30

22. Sun. 12:24 6.4 1:00 6.1 6:54 7:30

23. Mon. 1:12 6.2 1:54 6.4 7 :48 8:30

24. Tues. 2:06 6.1 2:54 6.8 8:42 9:36

25. Wed. 3:06 6. 1 4 :00 7.2 9:36 10:30

26. Thurs. 4:06 6.1 5:00 7.6 10:30 11 :30

27. Fri. 5:12 6.3 6:00 8.0 11 :30

28. Sat. 6:12 6.5 6:54 8.4 12:24 12:24

29. Sun. 7:12 6.7 7:48 8.5 1:24 1:24

30 . Mon. 8:06 6.9 8:42 8.5 2:18 2:18

JUNE-JULY 1969
GEORGIA COASTAL WATERS HOW TO USE THESE TABLES

Th e calcu lation s are for the outer bar. Find the readin g for the desired t ide. In th e ta b le below find the number of minutes to add to correct for the place you are goin g to fis h o r swim . The outer ba r calculation, plu s thi s co rrection, g ive s the c orrect readin g for the po in t des ire d.

AdJUSt For Daylig ht Savmg Tim e By Addmg One Hour

CORRECTION TABLE

Th e t1m e s g 1ve n are fo r Sa vann ah Ri ve r

entrance (Tybee) .

Hrs. Min.

S ava nnah Hi g h Sa va nnah (Low)
Hilton He ad , s. C.
Thunder bo lt

0 44 * 57
0 10 0 20

Is le of Ho p e

0 40

War sa w So und

0 00

Ossabaw Sound Ve rn o n Vi ew
Coffee Blu ff
Ogeec hee Rive r Bri dge
St. Catherine Sound Sapelo Sound
Bru nswick Ba r
St. Simon Pier Frederica Bridge

0 05 0 35
0 55
3 50
0 25 0 00
0 00
0 25 0 50

McKay Bridge Brunswick East River Turtle River Bridge
Turtl e River, Cr ispen Is.
Humpl lCk Bridge Jekyll Point

0 50 0 50 0 55
1 10
1 00 0 30

Jointer Is land

55

Hampton River Village Creek Ent.

0 20

Villa ge Fishin g Camp

0 45

Taylor Fishing Camp

1 00

Altam a ha Fi s hin g Park, Everett, Ga.

4 00

Two-Way Fishin g Camp, S. Altamaha 2 00

Full

Last

New First

Moon QJarter Moon Quarter

JUNE

29

JULY

2R

0

14

22

o

14

22

HIGH WATER

LOW WATER

Day

A.M. HT. P.M. HT. A.M. P.M.

1. Tues. 9:00 7.0 9:36 8.3 3:10 3: 12

2. We d. 9:54 7.0 10:30 8.0 4:00 4:12

3. Thurs. 10 :54 7.0 11:24 7.6 4:54 5:06

4. Fr i. 11:48 7.0

5:42 6:00

5. Sa t. 12:18 7.1 12:48 6.9 6:36 7:00

6. Sun. 1:12 6.7 1:42 6.9 7:30 8:00

7. Mo n. 2:06 6.2 2:42 6.8 8:24 9:00

8. Tu es. 3:00 5.9 3:36 6.8 9:12 10:00

9. Wed. 3:54 5.6 4:30 6.9 10:06 10:54

10. Thurs. 4:54 5.5 5:24 7.0 10:54 11:42

11. Fri. 5.48 5.6 6:12 7.2 11:42

12. Sa t. 6:30 5.6 6:48 7.3 12:30 12:24

13. Sun. 7:12 5.7 7:30 7.4 1:12 1:12

14. Mon. 7:48 5.8 8:00 7.4 1:54 1:54

15. Tues. 8:24 5.9 8:36 7.3 2:36 2:36

16 . Wed. 9:00 6.0 9:12 7.2 3:12 3:12

17. Thurs. 9:30 6.0 9:42 7.1 3:48 3:54

18. Fri. 10 :12 6.2 10:24 6.9 4:18 4:30

19. Sat. 10:54 6.3 11:06 6.7 4:54 5:12

20. Sun. 11:36 6.5 11:48 6.5 5:30 6:00

21. Mon.

12:24 6.6 6:12 6:54

22. Tue s. 12:36 6.3 1:18 6.8 7:00 7:54

23. Wed. 1:30 6.2 2:18 7.0 8:00 9:06

24. Thurs. 2:30 6.0 3:30 7. 2 9:06 10:06

25. Fri. 3:42 6.0 4:36 7. 5 10:12 11 :12

26. Sat. 4:54 6.2 5:48 7.9 11:12

27. Sun. 6:00 6.5 6:42 8.3 12:12 12:12

28. Mon. 7:00 7.0 7:36 8.5 1:06 1:12

29. Tues. 7:54 7.3 8:30 8.6 2:00 2:06

30. Wed. 8:48 7.6 9:18 8.4 2:54 3:06

31. Thurs. 9:36 7.6 10:06 8.1 3:42 3:54

To r epo rt viola t io n s or If you need assistance 1n th e Coastal Area - Call - State Game & Fish CommiSSion. Brunsw1ck . Georgia. P. 0. Box 1097, Phone 265-1552. Savannah 233-2383. R1chmond Hill 756-3679