Georgia outdoors [1966]

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Published by the GEORGIA GAME & FISH COMMISSION
Lake Permits Not Required

Issue Number Six, 1966

If you are planning to go boating,

fishing, picnicking, camping, or

otherwise using public facilities on

Corps of Engineers lakes in Geor-
-- gia, you will not repeat, will not --need to purchase a "Golden Pass-

port" or any other form of permit.
The permit system actually was tablished last year by the U.S. Depa

Game and Fish Commission technicians keep long handled nets ready as they carefully scan the
tr surface for fish coming to the top after rotenone is applied, suffocating the fish. Data is
kept on the number of each species found, along with length and weight.

merit of Interior and various goverj

ment agencies including the Corps

Engineers. However, rigid enforcem of the permits was to have been
into action this year.
Now, new regulations have bekn

Population Studies Show

adopted which eliminate Georgia reser-
voirs from being under the system.
In other words, if you put a boat into
-- any Corps lake in Georgia or use any
other public facility within Georgia on
-- Corps lakes you do not need the per-

Lake Jackson Number One
Bass fishing is on the upswing in Georgia, and Lake Jackson has taken
the lead in the trend.

mit.
However, on two lakes on the Georgia-South Carolina border, there are facilities where the permit will be necessary. All three locations are on the South Carolina side. They are The Modoc and Parksville areas on Clark Hill, and Island Point on Hartwell.
Nowhere on Lakes Lanier, Allatoona, Walter F. George, Columbia Lock and
Dam and Seminole, will users be re-
quired to have a permit for use of public facilities. Previously, the Corps had said permits would be required for all public facilities on all of these waters,
but the new regulation eliminated this

"Lake Jackson has shown the heavi-
est bass reproduction we've ever seen anywhere," said Leon Kirkland, coordi-
nator of fisheries for the State Game
and Fish Commission, at the conclusion of the spring series of population stud-
ies on Georgia's large reservoirs. "Jackson's phenomenal bass repro-

duction is largely the result of our intense management program on the lake,
we believe," Kirkland said. "The management practice which
seems to have had the greatest effect is the 10-inch size limit," he said. "The
smaller fish in the 10 to 12 inch size appear to be better reproducers than
the larger bass.
"And not only do we have large quantities of newly spawned bass this year, the young bass are showing a very satisfying growth rate. They are run-
ning about an inch and a half long," Kirkland said.
He said population studies in the

requirement.
The permit will still be required at more than 6,000 Federally operated
public facilities across the nation.

various lakes showed consistently good
bass reproduction this year, particularly in the middle Georgia lakes. In north
Georgia, results of the spring spawn

have not yet showed up.

As a result of the excellent spawn

this spring, bass fishing should be ex-

cellent for several years to come.

Studies at Clark Hill also showed

good samples of adult bass and indicate

that bass are on an upward trend on

that lake.

Although there was a severe winter

kill on threadfin shad on all reservoirs,

Lake Sidney Lanier has produced a new lake record 7-pound rainbow trout. Frankie A. Davis, Roswell, caught the scrapper on night crawlers at a depth of about 60 feet while fishing at night. The Game & Fish Commission has been stocking Lanier for the past two years and the phenomenal growth rate (stocked fish weighed approximately 2-3 ounces when released) is attributed to an abundant food supply and plentiful living space. Davis said that he caught a number of trout in seven days fishing and that the total weight was near 96 pounds. (See page two for the new

studies indicate there are still good quantities of this forage fish, which will
provide plenty of food for all game
species in all lakes, Kirkland said. As a sidelight, Kirkland said large
walleye taken in the study at Lanier indicated there is probably a sizable

state record rainbow.)

Continued on Page 4

New Trout
Record Set
When the statewide record for a
fish falls after nine years, that's
news. But when the record falls twice just a week apart, that's something to make all trout anglers in the state sit up and really take
notice!
Until May 24th, the state record for
rainbow trout had been 9 pounds, 11
ounces. On that day, Henry Charles,
of Ellijay, hauled in a 10 pound rainbow near the Georgia Broilers plant on the Coosawattee River near Ellijay. Charles, an employee of the plant, said not many trout had been caught in that area until the plant was built. "Now lots of big ones are caught," he said, "There have been 15 or 20 trout over three pounds caught near the plant since it was built."
But Charles' new record didn't stand long. John Whitaker, also of Ellijay, landed a 12 pound 4 ounce rainbow on May 31st. Both men used chicken liver
for bait. Relating the catch, Whitaker said he caught the trout at about 11:30 a.m. and landed the fish on "8 or 10 pound test line. I had some 10 pound on the front and some 8 tied on the end," Whitaker said.
According to Whitaker, he knew that
big trout were in the waters of the Coosawattee there at the broiler plant because several trout weighing over 4 pounds were taken a few days before and he had landed a pair weighing 2 and 3V4 pounds.
Both Charles and Whitaker were fishing specifically for trout. "They feed in there below the chicken plant so that's
why I fished with chicken liver," said Whitaker. "There was nothing in that
trout's stomach but chicken liver."
The State Record for rainbow trout is now 12
pounds, 4 ounces with the landing of this beauty. John Whitaker is the fisherman. The rainbow is almost as big as Whitaker's son, Bobby. Whitaker caught the trout in the Coosawattee River near Ellijay using chicken
liver as bait. (Game & Fish Commission Photo by Dan Keever)

timit catches like this one aren't at all rare when the white bass are really running during their spring spawn on several Georgia reservoirs. Even if you don't catch a full limit of 30, you're bound to get a good number.

7966 PEAK YEAR

FOR WHITE BASS

About eight years ago, a new species of sport fish was introduced to
-- Georgia anglers. Now the program has reached its climax the new fish,

white bass, hit its peak this spring, and Peach State fishermen had a field

day (rather, season) on these tremendous fighters this spring.

Action on the white bass comes mostly
at one time, and when it comes it is fast and furious. The time to catch them is around April, when the spawning
run is on. Sometimes the run starts in late March, and sometimes it drags out longer, possibly into May.
But when conditions are right, these
silvery white scrappers can be boated almost as fast as you can pull them in.
Don't think, however, that "pulling them in" is just as simple as putting those few words on paper. True, he's usually hooked deep enough in a tough mouth that he's unlikely to throw the
hook. And he rarely takes to stumps,
roots or brush piles to snag the line.
What he does, though, is pull. For his
size, there's probably not another fish that can put up such a tussle. Even against strong river currents, he powers upstream with such force that if you pull hard enough, the line will literally sing as it slices through the water.
The big danger, then, of losing a white bass is in breaking the line. Yet,

if you play him cautiously and don't put too much pressure on him, he'll eventually tire. He won't quit until he
-- is tired in fact, completely exhausted.
White bass fishing is now available
in just about all parts of Georgia, although the greatest concentration is in
the state's midsection.
Best places to find him during his spring run is in rivers that are headwaters to these reservoirs: Sinclair, Allatoona, Clark Hill, Lanier, Burton, Blackshear, Bartletts Ferry and Goat Rock. There are also white bass in Nottely, Chatuge and Jackson.
These last three lakes were stocked later, and in a few years should be just as good as the others.
White bass can be caught other times of the year, but without any regularity.
When nature calls in the spring, how-
ever, the white bass answers with his long run up rivers out of the reservoirs,
to spawn. He particularly likes rivers
with rocky beds, the rockier the better. Continued on Page 4

--2--

SMALLMOUTH AND WALLEYE TO
FILL CAP IN GEORGIA FISHING
By Dean Wohlgemuth

.

,ju.



The pugnacious smallmouth bass may be the answer for fishing in many north Georgia streams that are too warm for trout and too
cold for largemouth bass. The smallmouth is easily identified by the dark vertical bars on
its side.

Many anglers on Lake Allatoona and other
north Georgia waters mistake the spotted bass for the true northern smallmouth. The color bar on this spotted bass resembles that of the largemouth bass.

Commission fishery biologists use an electric shocking machine to capture smallmouth bass already found in a few north Georgia streams. Brood fish captured this way and purchased from other states are now being used in State
hatcheries.

There's really no explaining just why, but nature doesn't always provide

a full variety of fish species even in waters which are suitable for more types

of fish.
A lot of reasons for this could be
theorized. Probably it's because that at one time, conditions were not right for some species.
This is where nature needs an as-
sist from man. And the State Game and
Fish Commission steps into the picture
to give a hand.
Now there's good fishing in north
Georgia's mountain streams for trout.
And in the lakes, bass, crappie, bream and white bass are giving anglers some
fine fishing.
This sounds like a well-rounded pic-
ture. Yet, there is a niche to be filled. There's a gap between the co.ldwater
species, the trout, and the warmwater species, which includes the others.
Room For More
There is a good bit of water in Georgia that borders between coldwater and warmwater fisheries. Yet nature has not given Georgia anglers a fish for this type of water.
To provide good fishing in these situ-
ations, the Game and Fish Commission is working on two projects right now
to fill this niche.
These projects are to establish the walleye and the smallmouth bass.
Walleye stocking was started four years ago. The state has added more than three million walleye to Georgia waters this year. Walleye were put into Lakes Allatoona, Burton, Rabun

and Sinclair, and the Coosawattee
River.
There are already good populations of walleye, established in Hartwell, Burton and Blue Ridge lakes.
A group of four or five fishermen
caught a string of 12 walleyes on a recent night, that weighed in the vicinity of 50 pounds. Six of them weighed more than five pounds apiece, the largest hitting the 10 pound mark. These same
men had good luck on later nights.
Will Establish
Eventually, it is hoped that these stockings will establish the smallmouth
in the reservoirs.
Lake Burton now has some small-
mouth, too, but not in large numbers. However, Burton, Lanier and Allatoona have good numbers of the spotted bass.
The spotted bass is a different species from the true northern smallmouth, although both are smallmouth. Like
the largemouth, the spotted bass is distinguished by its dark lateral line run-
ning along its sides. Yet it has a mouth the same size as the smallmouth. The true smallmouth has several vertical
bars on its sides.
Native Smallmouth
Two Georgia lakes do have native
populations of the true northern small-
mouth. They are Chatuge and Blue Ridge. These two, along with Nottely,

--3

Walleye can already be found in several
places in Georgia, but thanks to stockings
made this spring, soon anglers will find them
in more waters of the state.
are on the Tennessee drainage system, where the smallmouth is prominent. Yet Nottely, strangely, has only a small population of this species.
The Commission now has smallmouth
fry at the McDuffie Public Fishing area near Augusta, where they are be-
ing raised to fingerling size for stock-
ing. When they are up to six inches
long, they'll be put into north Georgia streams below trout water, where the water is still cool, yet not quite cool enough for trout.
As soon as possible, smallmouth stocking will be extended to rivers which feed the large reservoirs, such as the Etowah which feeds Lake Allatoona, and the Chestatee and Chattahoochee rivers, which feed Lanier

LAKE JACKSON TOPS IN POPULATION STUDIES

POPULATION STUDIES, Continued from Page 1

spawning population in the lake, mak-
ing it possible that there will soon be good walleye fishing in Lanier.
"We also took more channel catfish
from Lanier than in previous studies.
This is of particular interest to float fishermen, jug fishermen and sportfish-
ermen who like to take the channel cats
on rod and reel. "Channel cats have been classified
by us as sport fish now," Kirkland explained "because of their gamy qualities, the types of baits they take, their fighting qualities and their eating qualities. However," he said, "we do still permit channel cats to be taken on trot lines and bank lines, in baskets and
in nets."
The reason for this, he said, is that there are plenty of channel cats for both purposes and it is desirable to keep the numbers of these fish down so there will be a good growth rate.
Again discussing Lake Jackson, Kirk-
land said that as this year's class of bass comes around and reproduction remains

consistent on the lake, "we should be
able to bring the bass population
around at Jackson. If so, we expect
predation on bream, particularly bluegills, and other forage fish to be sufficient so as to increase the size of bluegills and other bream. This will provide more interesting fishing for these
species."
Crappie fishing this year has been excellent in Lake Jackson. "You never have to worry about maintaining a large enough population of crappie," Kirkland said, "but the big problem is to keep populations in line so that the
crappie may obtain good size." Due to stocking of threadfin shad in
Jackson, crappie are now much larger
than in recent years. "Crappie are
showing a good growth rate, and we
have a good backup population of small crappie to insure future catches of large
crappie."
Kirkland said that last year, there
were 300,000 crappie and the same number of other fish taken from Jackson

This young Georgia angler has found the key to catching slabsided crappie. He caught these two fine specimens in Lake Jackson on minnows.

This Lake Lanier white bass of four pounds and nine ounces fell victim to a minnow at night in the Chestatee River section this spring. The catch by C. L. Morris of Tucker, Ga., is the closest approach this year in Georgia to the world's record of five pounds, two ounces. A four pound, 14 ounce fish was caught in Lanier last year by Albert Pittman of
Gainesville.

in nine months of fishing. This means the 5,000 acre lake produces fish at the rate of 60 crappie per acre, or 120 fish of all species per acre.
"We expect that fishermen will get
larger crappie in the future from Lake Jackson, although there probably will be slightly fewer fish caught in actual numbers. Previously the population
was stunted by lack of food. Now with
more food available, the crappie will be considerably larger," Kirkland said.

WHITE BASS

Continued from. Page 1

The way to catch him is with a jig,

spoon or spinner. Jigs are best and may

be white, red, yellow or orange. Silver

spoons and spinners are usually better

than gold or brass. Cast the lure across

the current, let it drift down, and

slowly bring it upstream, keeping it

as close to the bottom as possible.
You'll know when he hits.

Jackson, Nottely and Chatuge re-

ceived the bulk of their white bass

stockings two years ago. Nottely re-

ceived some white bass three years ago,

and an additional stocking was made in

Jackson this spring.

The first big white bass stockings

were made in Georgia in 1957 and

1958. These stockings were made in

Allatoona, Clark Hill, Lanier and Sin-

Now clair.

all of these lakes have well-

established populations.

No more stocking is anticipated for

the state, except perhaps in smaller

reservoirs, such as Lake Rabun. The

white bass is now on his own.

In stocking white bass, only adult
fish are used. "We find they become

established faster this way, and that

it is an easier and better way to stock

them," said Leon Kirkland, supervisor

of fisheries for the Game and Fish Com-

mission.

He said brood stock of fish weighing

between one and two pounds are nor-

mally used for stocking.

STATE GAME & FISH COMMISSION
Public Information Office 401 State Capitol
Atlanta, Ga. 30334
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GEORGIA OUTDOORS
Jim Morrison, Editor Dean Wohlgemuth, Managing Editor
Dan Keever, Photo Editor

New Record Fish;

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Smallmouth Bass Stocking

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