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Trout Fishing
Editor’s Note: Chad Doughty was in September 2023 convicted and sentenced to life in prison for molesting a family member. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/man-given-3-life-sentences-plus-30-years-prison-after-molesting-young-family-member-da-says/3I7OVPBYTVHHVJFNLC7HZQ3G4M/ The DNR press release below was written in 2014 when the fish was caught. Catching a big fish is awesome, how about if the first fish you catch that day is a new state…
So I’m pretty embarrassed about this, but I feel like I should share it as a cautionary tale. You can never be too careful, even when the conditions are perfect… My day started around 6 a.m. when I headed up to Island Ford on the Hooch. I haven’t gotten to get in the water since…
If you’re one of the many Georgia trout anglers whose ideas of Peach State trophy trout streams involve private water, fat trout, pricey guides and hefty access fees, it’s time to think again. Dukes Creek, in the Smithgall Woods Conservation Area near Helen, blows those assumptions out of the water with plentiful trophy rainbow and…
Blue Ridge native Hunter Barnes had seen this fish before. He had watched it for two weeks in the tailout of a big run while guiding on the Toccoa River tailwater. A college student and wrestler at UT Chattanooga, Hunter spent the summer guiding, and in one stretch of river he watched a resident mallard…
We’ve got a couple of impressive new records to report this month, a big Toccoa River rainbow trout and the coveted West Point flathead catfish record. Last year at this time, GON was reporting on trout populations devastated in the Toccoa River tailrace by warm-water discharges associated with construction at Blue Ridge Dam. A lot…
Trout anglers showed up in force Nov. 10 to voice varying opinions when the Toccoa River Watershed Coalition (TRWC) held a public meeting on its proposal for special regulations on the Toccoa River tailrace. The proposed regulations would restrict anglers to single-hook, artificial lures, a slot limit and reduced creel limit on a large section…
Atlanta area trout fishermen may have been thrilled with the news that the brown trout below Buford Dam are reproducing so successfully that there is no longer a need to stock them in the tailwater. However, those big browns are still very tough to catch. From previous catches and shocking surveys, we know the…
It’s official. Following six years of study, biologists with DNR have concluded that brown trout are reproducing in numbers significant enough to warrant a permanent cessation of brown trout stocking in the Chattahoochee River tailrace below Buford Dam. DNR Fisheries Biologist Patrick O’Rouke said they’ve finished crunching all the numbers from a study that began…
The Chattooga River downstream of Burrells Ford has produced a second South Carolina state record brook trout in less than a year for the same angler. Wes Coker, of Gray Court, S.C., caught a 2-lb., 14.56-oz. brookie on March 25, 2010. He broke that record on Dec. 23, 2010, with a 4-lb., 10-oz. fish measuring…
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) deep drawdown of Blue Ridge Lake to more than 60 feet below full pool for dam repairs this summer has all but wiped out the trout population in the Toccoa River tailrace below the dam, rendering one of the state’s premier trout fisheries almost barren. An electrofishing survey was taken…
Trout Recipes
Ground Venison Shipwreck Casserole 1 pound ground venison 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, chopped 28-oz. canned diced tomatoes Nonstick cooking spray 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp black pepper 30-oz. pack frozen hashbrowns 4 cups grated cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 400. Set the oven rack in center. Spray 9×13-inch baking…
Cajun-Style Venison Hindquarter This easy recipe is great in the crock pot, and It makes a complete meal. • 1 debonded hindquarter • Louisiana Cajun seasoning • Vegetable Oil • McCormick Au jus Gravy Seasoning (1-oz. dry pack) • Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning (1-oz. dry pack) • 1 stick butter • 3 mild Pepperoncini pepper •…
Creamy Garlic Wild Hog Pork Chops A deer hunter told me the other day he had encountered his first feral swine on his property. I asked what he had done with the animal. He said he dug a hole and buried it. “Those things are not any good to eat, you know,” he said. Here’s…