Posts by Lindsay Thomas Jr.
April Wildlife In Mind
Spring is here, and it’s an early one this year, so the wildlife on your land has been carried through the sparse months of winter on the food plots you offered. The browsers have made it to the season of plenty, and for birds, spring means the return of insects. Soon there will be fruits…
Read MoreDodge PFA Throwing Lunker Bass
Dave Partridge, of Albany, is a senior biologist with DNR Fisheries who had never seen Dodge County Public Fishing Area until February, 2003. He was impressed and decided to come back the next weekend. The results of Dave’s fishing over two days, February 8 and 9, included largemouths weighing (in pounds-ounces) 11-14, 10-1, 8-14 and…
Read MoreDNR Budget 2003: Georgia Sportsmen See Decline In Services
The people who bring you the services you pay for when you buy a hunting license or fishing license are feeling the pinch of budget tightening. The services they offer to you are being stretched, thinned, even eliminated in some cases, and budget circumstances are likely to worsen. Georgia is facing a budget crisis, and…
Read MoreMarch Wildlife In Mind
For deer and turkeys, March can be the toughest survival month in the calendar. Acorns, seeds and soft mast are usually gone by this time of year, and of course the green growth of native forbs and grasses has yet to return and won’t until April in most parts of Georgia. Yet, this is a…
Read MoreWildlife In Mind: March 2003
If I told you to plant something in the “brassica” family for your deer, chances are good you’d give me a blank stare. But you’ve actually heard a lot about brassica — it’s the family of plants that includes collards, mustards, turnips, rape, kale, and any of the “greens.” You’ve heard of Biologic? Pennington’s…
Read MoreFebruary Wildlife in Mind
One of the greatest ironies of the present struggle that quail are facing in Georgia and the Southeast, an irony pointed out a few months back by wildlife biologist Reggie Thackston in the pages of GON, is that at one time people created excellent quail habitat and flourishing populations entirely by accident. Today, even through…
Read MoreJanuary Wildlife In Mind
This fall, like last year, has been a great year for acorns across Georgia. From live oaks on the coast to white oaks and chestnut oaks in the mountains, this year’s mast crop has been heavy and widespread. Though the jury is still out on whether a good mast crop helps or hinders a hunter’s…
Read MoreGeorgia Closes Doors To Farm Deer
In June, 2002, Georgia DNR and the Department of Agriculture enacted an emergency rule closing Georgia’s borders to the importation of farmed, captive-bred deer and elk in an effort to prevent chronic wasting disease (CWD) from reaching this state. The emergency rule is good only for 120 days, but in that time the agencies will…
Read MoreShoot Docks For Jackson Crappie
There are two keys to successful “dock shooting” — the crappie-fishing technique that involves using your fishing pole like a catapult to fire a crappie jig into shady crevices under docks. One key is shooting accuracy, the other is hook-setting skill. You can practice the first without even going to the lake — shooting jigs…
Read MorePlant The Ultimate Dove Field
If you’ve struggled with trying to bring off a field of sunflowers, corn or millet in the last couple of years, you are not alone. The drought has made it difficult to prepare for dove season by withering a lot of would-be dove fields. Maybe this time around you would like a little professional guidance,…
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