Posts by Don Baldwin
Chattahoochee River Cats Caught Deep In The Holes
When Shane Smith moved to Fort Benning, he brought with him a love of fishing — catfishing to be precise. An Ohio native, Shane and his brother established a catfish tournament trail a few years back called Hilljack Catfishing that was designed for avid catfishermen to compete and promote conservation. Shane is Capt. Shane Smith…
Read MoreHartwell Bass Move In, Then Right Back Out In April
Lake Hartwell, on the Georgia/South Carolina border, has long been known as an excellent bass fishery. Both largemouth and spotted bass are present in good numbers, and anglers can land strings of quality fish if they know the territory and habits of the bass. But, right now is arguably the best time of year to…
Read MoreMarch Trolling Tips For Allatoona Crappie
March is a time of transition. Winter is still hanging on to its grip, but an occasional warm day promises the balmy spring weather to come. With that transition also comes a change in the fishing action on area lakes. Crappie fishermen love March. The fish begin schooling up and staging to prepare for the…
Read MoreBrown Trout Reproducing, Surviving In Atlanta’s Chattahoochee River
Each spring and fall a team of WRD biologists conducts an electrofishing survey of the brown-trout population on the Chattahoochee River below Buford Dam. I had the opportunity to be aboard the shocking boat during the fall survey in 2009 to observe the action. I met WRD Region Supervisor Chris Martin at Settles Bridge on a…
Read MoreCatch Chattahoochee River Wild Brown Trout Above Atlanta
For the serious trout angler, nothing much compares to hooking and landing a wild trout. Most purists would rather land a small wild fish over a large stocked fish especially if they had to work harder for it. A case in point is anglers hiking deep into the hills to fish the headwaters of a…
Read MoreAllatoona Spotted Bass Secret Revealed: The Float-N-Fly
Over the years, Craig Miller, of Canton, has taken an annual trip to fish Dale Hollow Reservoir in Tennessee. Craig and his family meet there to go after the big smallmouth bass. Most years he’d head up in early spring, but about eight years ago, he made the trip in the dead of winter. On…
Read MoreLanier Stripers On A Fast Fall Bite
The day was forecasted to be windy, chilly and rainy with a chance of thunderstorms. It wasn’t likely to be very comfortable, but the spirits and excitement ran high on the dock at Lake Lanier’s Van Pugh Park on Saturday morning, Oct. 10. Thirty-one kids, along with parents, grandparents and others lined up before sunrise…
Read MoreMix It Up For Clarks Hill September Bass
One of the most exciting things in bass fishing is watching a largemouth slam a topwater bait. The anticipation of the strike keeps you on edge during the retrieve, and it is almost impossible not to flinch when the spray erupts around the moving bait as the bass hits. The only thing that beats it…
Read MoreBluffs And Shade: Allatoona Daytime Summer Bass Bite
Hunting down a good string of bass can be a frustrating proposition in the heat of summer. It takes knowledge, patience and a good deal of luck to locate bass. However, persistence generally pays off if you have the knowledge to locate fish and know what to offer them. On Lake Allatoona, experts agree your…
Read MoreWest Point Kid-Friendly Crappie In April
Spring is probably the best part of the year to introduce a kid to fishing. Warm sunny days make the time on the water special, and the fish are moving in for the spawn. With the crappie heading for shallow water, they are concentrated, feeding aggressively and easy to catch. On a good day…
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